Dame Cleo Laine

Born in a London suburb, Cleo showed early singing talent, which was nurtured by her Jamaican father and English mother who sent her to singing and dancing lessons. It was not, however, until she reached her mid-twenties that she applied herself seriously to singing. She auditioned successfully for a band led by musician John Dankworth, under whose banner she performed until 1958, in which year the two were married.

Then began an illustrious career as a singer and actress. In 1958 she played the lead in a new play at London’s famous Royal Court Theatre, home of the new wave of playwrights of the ‘fifties – Pinter, Osborne and the like. This led to other stage performances such as the musical “Valmouth” in 1959, the play “A Time to Laugh” (with Robert Morley and Ruth Gordon) in 1962, and eventually to her show stopping Julie in the Wendy Toye production of “Showboat” at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1971.

During this period she had two spectacular recording successes. “You’ll Answer to Me” reached the British Top Ten at the precise time that Cleo was ‘prima donna’ in the 1961 Edinburgh Festival production of the Kurt Weill opera/ballet “The Seven Deadly Sins”. In 1964 her “Shakespeare and All that Jazz” album received widespread critical acclaim, and to this day remains an important milestone in her identification with the more unusual aspects of a singer’s repertoire.

Source: Quarternotes.com
Read her full biography on her website.