Donna McElroy
Fly To Forever
© 2007 Donna McElroy
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When Donna McElroy left Louisville, KY, in 1973, a young talented voice scholarship recipient (Fisk University-’77), she never dreamed her days in Nashville, TN, would be many and very rewarding. First she and her friend Vicki Hampton took all the natural talent and great ears they’d been gifted with growing up and started doing demos and backup sessions, bringing a new sound to the Music City vocalist pool. In a short while they’d dived on in and twenty-two years later, and after helping to make such hits as “Why Haven’t I Heard From You?” (Reba), “Baby, Baby” (Amy), and “Addicted Love” (Bebe & Cece), Donna signed briefly with Nashville’s Warner-Reprise label, “discovered” by old friend and client, Jim Ed Norman. After nearly two years of learning the ropes, Donna realized she knew nothing of being an artist, and the road gigs she’d been on had spoiled her for starting as a new artist. She’d forgotten as a backup singer for Amy Grant’s early days on the road, how much sacrifice the artist and band have to make. She was demanding and expected the top of the line for product which hadn’t proved anything yet. Poor record sales made Donna long for the days when she could just sing and not have to be any particular kind of singer. She realized that the music she’d always been the most comfortable with from her days growing up and listening to her dad’s record library, was jazz.
So in 1993-94, when she’d been released from her contractual arrangement with Warner, Donna met Lori Mechem and Roger Spencer, two musicians who hailed from Anderson, IN, and were new to Music City. Having begun writing jazz songs with Billy Adair while signed, Donna had gotten the bug, as it were, and over the next four years wrote with Lori, Billy Crockett, John Aarn, Chris Mueller, and other great songwriters in Nashville.
Richard Evans, Professor of Creative Writing and Production at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, heard some of those songs after inviting Donna to speak and being politely turned down.
“I would have nothing positive to say about the industry.” was all Donna could reply when she received Richard’s call, still slightly disappointed in her short run as a recording artist. “But I’ll send you a cassette of some of my tunes”. And the rest, as they say, is history. Richard played the tape for Jan Shapiro, soon-to-be chair of the Voice Department; Jan recorded two of the songs on her CD, then asked Donna to consider coming to help buld the Voice Department at Berklee.
Relocating to Boston to begin teaching was the most productive and rewarding thing that could have happened to Donna. She’s now been able to teach; not only how to sing healthily and correctly, always referring to her own voice instructor back at Fisk, Valija Bumbulis, and her first voice instructor, her mother, who still lives in Louisville; but how to build on a dream and plan one’s career as well. Not to mention performance skills and knowledge of the whole spectrum of stage experience she’s had over the years. Donna and Berklee seem to be the perfect match.
So when the opportunity came to develop a kind of teaching tool to show new artists that they can do much of the work themselves, and benefit from their own production, networking, marketing, and accounting skills, the result was ”Fly To Forever”. Definitely Jazz, definitely Art, and definitely Donna McElroy!
reviews
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awesome CD
author: BenWell worth the purchase, thanks for the good tunes. This makes for a good CD to listen to around the holidays (as well as anytime, not just the holidays). Have you considered doing a Christmas album? I think it would be a hit!
Fy to Forever
author: Robert McDuffeeWitty, intelligent, sophisticated lyrics - by the artist on ten of the twelve tunes - with singing to match and a uniformly strong cast of instrumentalists. Donna swings at any and every tempo. I have missed Dakota Staton for decades - here's someone who can take her style and add lots of herself to every tune. Love it! I look forward to my commute with this CD in the car.
Friend
author: Brenda HicksThe quiet times of listening to music have been filled with too much chaos. It was so soothing and peaceful to me - it was like I was spending a morning with an old friend. And then when I would stop to think of who was actually singing the music - I was spending the morning with an old friend! I thoroughly enjoyed each song. Great job. Thanks for thinking of us. Hope to see you soon. Brenda Hicks
- author: Donna McElroy
From: lthorson@berklee.edu Subject: CD Date: November 2, 2007 7:59:25 PM EDT To: dmcelroy@berklee.edu Thanks so much for your artistry and the music.. I hear some Dakota..love it..Also the message of many of the lyrics..we need all we can get of positive honest real music with integrity. Thanks for sharing it. Sister in song Lisa
She saved the best for last
author: J. Curtis Warner JrFly To Forever is more than the title cut – but a revealing glimpse of an infectious “I-can-do-anything” spirit … and Donna McElroy almost does, in this hard swinging compilation of self-penned originals steeped in an authentic traditional jazz bouillabaisse. You think… “Haven’t I heard that before?... Sounds like a classic”! Well you probably haven’t ... but it definitely is… 30 years from now. They are the kind of songs music student listen to so they can get it right! Donna’s stylistic rendition of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” is her own testimony to having studied the masters that preceded her. The music on this project is upbeat; it’s real, and indicative of the last cut – “Why Can’t We Live Together”- very personal. “Give me my due”… she sings “ and I’ll give it back to you”… what a way to end a medley… Donna’s lyrics are in no way shallow. A song the whole world needs to hear…
This Sister Can Swing
author: Felix McElroy IIIHaving grown up listening to this kind of jazz I recognize when someone gets it. Donna gets it and gives it back to you with a fresh feel. The fact that she wrote the majority of the pieces in a style that is mainstream, classical jazz impresses me greatly. But the fact that she reached deep inside herself and managed to touch deep inside me impresses me most. This is an incredible offering and I feel that I have been given a gift with some fresh new music that is real jazz. Her voice is beautiful. The jazz is smooth. The musicians are tight. I LOVE THIS CD AND I WANT MORE OF DONNA's STUFF!!!
Fly To Forever
author: Pam Bellamy WilliamsGood to hear you again...It's been a long time since our days at Fisk University
Oh My Donna!!
author: Steve ProsserWhat an American treasure Donna is . . . I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing bossa novas, gospel music, jazz, r&b, blues and even pop tunes. She is equally great in all styles--an amazing accomplishment! I have been listening to, accompanying and coaching singers for 35 years, and to this day I have never heard anyone in Donna's class. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to Donna had she come up in the 30s and 40s. I think she would have become a star and quite comfortably stood alongside Ella, Sarah, Billie and the other great singers of the era. But being in this era, Donna is what she is--a multifaceted talent--singer and composer. And that said, I LOVE THIS CD!! What drives me crazy is that, as wonderful as it is, it is so long overdue. Further, the songs and arrangements you will hear will make you a believer in Donna the jazz singer. But, dear listeners, please remember that Donna is a master of many, many styles and this CD is just a beautiful taste of Donna. So, perfect for the holidays, this sweet, sweet taste of Donna is perfectly on time. Do what I've done--buy 5 copies or so and give them as holiday presents. Share the joy of the holidays by spreading the great musical joy of Donna McElroy.