Artist Biography - Anita Kerr

Anita Kerr


	Home Biographies On The Fringe Artist Profile Archives News Flash Message Board Reader's Poll Fan Pics Photo Album Merchandise Artist Websites Related Sites Website Resources Contact Us Get the latest Countrypolitan news! Join our mailing list today! Click Here				Anita Kerr was right at the beating heart of Countrypolitan music , assisting innovators like Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley to establish the new and largely dominant `Nashville Sound’. Not only was Anita a gifted singer, pianist, composer and conductor, but she was also a pioneer for women in the fields of music arranging and producing – musical areas rarely touched by women of her era. Her work in all of these areas contributed substantially to Nashville’s pre-eminence in the recording industry during the 1950’s and beyond. A native of Memphis, Anita Jean Kerr was born on 31 October 1927 (albeit the Music Web Encyclopaedia of Popular Music cites Anita as born with the surname, Grilli). Anita’s interest in the world of music was initiated in her childhood when she appeared on her mother’s radio show in Memphis. As a teenager at high school, Anita expanded her musical talents when she formed a singing group, with which she performed. In 1949, Anita’s experience with singing groups translated to the working world. She formed a singing group styled the Anita Kerr Singers which was later trimmed to a quartet. The group comprised Anita as soprano, tenor Gil Wright, alto Dottie Gillard and baritone Louis Nunn. The Anita Kerr Singers initially played local radio and gained television exposure on NBC’s `Sunday Down South’. Decca Records liked what they heard and, in 1951, signed the group as backing singers. In 1956, The Anita Kerr Singers appeared on the CBS television show, `Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts’. The group also appeared on the fledgling Jim Reeves Show in 1958, along with Owen Bradley and his orchestra. Moreover, the group began to record in their own right, not as The Anita Kerr Singers but under other names. They had a few minor hits, including `Forever’, which they recorded as The Little Dippers. The Singers also recorded an album, `Voices in Hi-Fi’, which Decca released in 1958. Toward the middle of the decade, however, the group signed with RCA. They continued to record and, in 1962, had another minor hit with `Joey Baby’, this time recorded under the name of Anita and the So and So’s. Meanwhile, Anita’s talents as a chorus director had not gone unnoticed. The head of the Country Music Division of RCA Records, Chet Atkins, soon made use of them. He was striving to achieve a reformed sound which would change the face of Nashville country music and make it more acceptable to the pop buying American mainstream. The finished product was known as the `Nashville Sound’. Chet and Anita had produced a new country music sound: country music enhanced by the addition of strings and vocal backing. To this extent it became a crossover to the mainstream music scene and adopted the new name - `Countrypolitan’. Anita’s talents were also borrowed by fellow Nashville innovator, Owen Bradley. Like Chet Atkins, Bradley used Anita’s faculties to create the new commercial sound, based on the country music artists of the day. Moreover, The Anita Kerr Singers, along with The Jordanaires, became the major vocal backing group for the new sound. The group backed many of the major country artists of the time: Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, Floyd Cramer, Dottie West, Roy Orbison and many, many more. While working at RCA, Anita became more and more involved in the production side of the industry as well as orchestral arrangements for the RCA products. She became a pioneer for women in the production of country music recordings, through her involvement in the production of `The End of The World’ by Skeeter Davis. As news of the enhanced Nashville production quality grew, mainstream artists began to trickle into Nashville to record. Foremost among these was legendary pop artist, crooner and balladeer, Perry Como. Perry Como recorded the album, `The Scene Changes’, utilizing the skills of Chet Atkins, Anita Kerr, and the RCA production team. The Anita Kerr Quartet provided the vocal backing on the album. In the ten years from 1965 Perry Como recorded three albums and over seventy songs in Nashville, including his huge hit, `And I Love You So’, written by Don McLean. Other artists followed in Como’s footsteps, including Brook Benton. Such was the success at Nashville’s RCA country music studios that RCA and other record companies began to send many more of their pop artists there to gain benefit from the production standards developed by Chet, Anita, and the team. Not content with working just as a backing group, The Anita Kerr Singers continued their career recording in their own right. They began to branch out into the pop field with songs such as `The Girl From Ipanema’. Their fortunes reached a peak in 1965 when the group received two Grammies. They were awarded Grammies for the Best Performance by a Vocal Group for `We Dig Mancini’, as well as for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording for their work with George Beverley O’Shea on `Southland Favorites’. `We Dig Mancini’ edged out The Beatles’ `Help’ to win the award. By 1967, however, Anita felt a change of scene was warranted. Following an earlier trip to Europe, she disbanded the group and moved to California. She formed a new group of `Anita Kerr Singers’, this time featuring tenor Gene Merlino, bass Bob Tedow and sopranos Jackie Ward and B.J. Baker who had former involvement with the Ray Conniff orchestra. The group signed with Warner Bros. and was to concentrate on the pop sounds of the day. They also recorded as The Mexicali Singers, combining a Mexican flavor with jazz. Moreover, Anita also pitched herself wholeheartedly into pop musical arrangements for her new employer. The change in musical direction is exemplified by their Warner Bros. recordings - `Slightly Baroque’, Bert Kaempfert Turns Us On’, and `All You Need Is Love’. At this point Anita’s career took a further tack. Anita began work with fellow Warner Bros. artist Rod McKuen. They produced two albums for Rod, with Anita writing the music for the songs and Rod writing the words. The first album `The Sea’ was released in 1967 and was a best seller. It was followed by `Home to the Sea’ in late 1968. The Anita Kerr Singers and the orchestral backing became the San Sebastian Strings and Singers for the support work on these and other albums by Rod McKuen. The new name related to Rod’s experience with `the sea’ off coastal San Sebastian. In 1969, Anita moved to the Dot label. Once again variety was the keyword. Anita began to record pop songs of a more easy listening variety including some of the work of noted songwriter, Burt Bacharach. While at Dot, Anita also produced a number of albums for other artists - once again demonstrating her versatility – and The Anita Kerr Singers also gained a number of guest spots on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The group’s work with the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David is the feature of their album `The Anita Kerr Singers Reflect On The Hits Of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’. The group’s earlier `Mexicali’ works are reflected in the recording - `Velvet Voices and Bold Brass’. Other Dot releases by the Singers were `Touchlove’ and `Spend This Holiday With Me’. Once again seeking a change of direction, Anita moved to Switzerland where she turned her talent to composing film scores. However, in the late 70’s, Anita returned to Nashville and began work again with Chet Atkins. In the 70’s Anita released the following recordings: `The Simon and Garfunkel Songbook’, `Anita Kerr Performs (Stevie) Wonders’, `Anita Kerr’s Christmas Story’, `Daytime, Nightime’, `Grow To Know Me’, `Precious Memories’, Gentle As Morning’, `Hallelujah Brass’, `Walk A Little Slower’, and `Hallelujah Guitars!’. A number of these relate to Anita’s decision to concentrate predominantly on Christian music into the late 80’s. Her 1988 recording `In The Soul’ realizes her new direction. Anita Kerr, `countrypolitan’ midwife and stalwart. Singer, pianist, chorus director, composer, arranger, producer and leader of the renowned countrypolitan vocal backup group, The Anita Kerr Singers. The faculties of this multi-talented genius have seldom been matched, neither in this nor other genres, nor in eras other than her own. Truly, Anita Kerr’s abilities as a countrypolitan artist rank only as `on the fringe’ of her overall career. Countrypolitan.com salutes Anita Kerr, and expresses appreciation for her talents, work and guidance which led to the creation of our favorite sound. *Written by Michael D'Arcy. April 2002, Countrypolitan.com.* Look for Anita Kerr's Music

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