LetsSingIt the internet lyrics database
en
0
picture

Nelson Eddy

0
5.0 / 5
New content available, review now!
Artist info:
Also known as
Verified yes
Albums10
Songs129
AboutNelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American singer, baritone and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred with soprano Jeanette MacDonald. He was one of the first "crossover" stars, a superstar appealing both to shrieking bobby soxers and opera purists, and in his heyday, he was the highest paid singer in the world.

During his 40-year career, he earned three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one each for film, recording, and radio), left his footprints in the wet concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater, earned three gold records, and was invited to sing at the third inauguration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. He also introduced millions of young Americans to classical music and inspired many of them to pursue a musical career.

Eddy made more than 290 recordings between 1935 and 1964, singing songs from his films, plus opera, folk songs, popular songs, Gilbert and Sullivan, and traditional arias from his concert repertoire. Since both MacDonald and he were under contract to RCA Victor between 1935 and 1938, this made it possible to include several popular duets from their films. In 1938, he signed with the Columbia Masterworks division of Columbia Records, which ended MacDonald-Eddy duets until Favorites in Stereo, a special LP album the two made together in 1959. He also recorded duets with his other screen partner, Risë Stevens (The Chocolate Soldier), and for albums with, among others, Nadine Conner, Doretta Morrow, Eleanor Steber, and Jo Stafford.

Eddy's recordings drew rave reviews during the 1930s and 1940s, and he continued to get good reviews into the 1960s. The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner on October 4, 1964, noted: "Nelson Eddy continues to roll along, physically and vocally indestructible. Proof is his newest recording on the Everest label, "Of Girls I Sing". At the age of 63 and after 42 years of professional singing, Eddy demonstrates not much change has occurred in his romantic and robust baritone, which made him America's most popular singer in the early '30s".

Like many performers, Eddy was active during World War II, even before the United States entered the war. He did his first "war effort" concert on October 19, 1939, with Leopold Stokowski for Polish war relief. In 1942, he became an air raid warden and also put in long hours at the Hollywood Canteen. He broadcast for the armed forces throughout the war. In late 1943, he went on a two-month, 35,000-mile tour, giving concerts for military personnel in Belém and Natal, Brazil; Accra, Gold Coast; Aden; Asmara, Eritrea; Cairo (where he met King Farouk); Tehran; Casablanca; and the Azores. Because he spoke fluent German, having studied opera in Dresden during the 1920s, his work as an Allied spy was invaluable until his cover was blown with a near-fatal assignment in Cairo.

In March 1967, Eddy was performing at the Sans Souci Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida when he was stricken on stage with a cerebral hemorrhage. According to Gore Vidal, writing in Myra Breckinridge, he was singing "Dardanella" when he collapsed. His singing partner, Gale Sherwood, and his accompanist, Ted Paxson, were at his side. He died a few hours later in the early hours of March 6, 1967, at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach at the age of 65.

He is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, between his mother and his widow (who outlived him by twenty years).

Papers
Eddy's meticulously annotated scores (some with his caricatures sketched in the margins) are now housed at Occidental College Special Collections in Los Angeles. His personal papers and scrapbooks are at the University of Southern California Cinema/Television Library, also in Los Angeles.

Most Popular Songs (More)

Nelson Eddy - Love Serenade
Love Serenade lyrics
Nelson Eddy
submit lyrics
5,410 (new)
4.4 / 5 (5)
playlist
Nelson Eddy - Strange Music
Nelson Eddy - The Cork Leg
The Cork Leg lyrics
Nelson Eddy
submit lyrics
vote!
playlist
Jeanette MacDonald feat. Nelson Eddy - Love Me Tonight
Jeanette MacDonald feat. Nelson Eddy - Toreador's Song [Carme]
Nelson Eddy - It's Love, Love, Love
Nelson Eddy - Dusty Road
Dusty Road lyrics
Nelson Eddy
submit lyrics
vote!
playlist
Nelson Eddy - The Laughing Song
The Laughing Song lyrics
Nelson Eddy
submit lyrics
vote!
playlist
Nelson Eddy - Smilin' Through
Nelson Eddy - Today
Today lyrics
Nelson Eddy
submit lyrics
vote!
playlist

Most Popular Albums (More)

Artists you may also like

Similar genre
Popular on LetsSingIt
New on LetsSingIt
show more artists with similar genre
show this week's top 1000 most popular artists
show all recently added artists

Pictures (4)

Nelson EddyNelson EddyNelson EddyNelson Eddy

Fans (0)

no fans

Contributors

leaderboard
activity

Comments (1)