AMERICAN LEGENDS: AMANDA McBROOM

She was inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Julie Andrews, Judy Collins and Jacques Brel, attended U of Texas and turned pro on graduation; she appeared in many guest spots on TV incl. Hart To Hart, M*A*S*H, Star Trek: The Next Generation etc. Like many of the best cabaret artists, she makes use of all her skills as a singing actress; as Clive Davis wrote in The Times of London, 'Who needs an all- dancing, all-singing West End spectacular when you can have Amanda McBroom instead?' She showcases her own songs, which deserve it; a medley may begin with Sammy Cahn's romantic plea 'Teach Me Tonight' and end up with a shareout of matrimonial goods, 'You Can Have The TV'. Her show is brash yet sophisticated; her style is intimate but she can also display an operetta-style vocal purity. On her albums she is backed by a full complement of studio musicians except as noted: they began with Growing Up In Hollywood '80 and West Of Oz '82 on Sheffield Labs; she formed her own label and released Dreaming '88 and Midnight Matinee '92 on Gecko; then came Amanda McBroom Live From Rainbow And Stars '94 on DRG (backed by her trio, and incl. 'The Rose', which she wrote for the Bette Midler film). Heartbeats '94 on Varese Sarabande is the original cast album of the Pasadena Playhouse prod. of her musical show (co-writers incl. Tom Snow, Michele Brourman, Jerry Sternbach; the cast incl. her husband George Ball); it had a dozen other prod. in the USA by '97. On stage '97 in London she was accompanied by pianist Joel Silberman, while A Waiting Heart '97 on Gecko has a 21-piece orchestra. Like all the best cabaret singers, she appears at Pizza on the Park in London's Knightsbridge. Graduate of The University of Texas at Austin - BFA '69. Her recording career began on an MGM soundstage where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had overdubbed the sounds of their tap routines over forty years before. It was 1980 and she recorded direct-to-disc – no tape, no overdubs, no mixing, no fixing – for the prestigious vinyl audiophile label Sheffield Lab Recordings. GROWING UP IN HOLLYWOOD TOWN became an audiophile classic around the world and set a new standard for vinyl recording and hi fi stereo reproduction. Billboard called the LP a “stunning artistic success” and Amanda became “the queen of the high end” for the purity of her vocals and the emotional depth of her songs. Sheffield released a second McBroom direct-to-disc recording entitled WEST OF OZ in 1981.

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