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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Michael Feinstein

Aired June 30, 2002 - 08:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Singer Rosemary Clooney was surrounded by her family when she died last night from lung cancer complications. Just this year, she received a lifetime Grammy for a career that spanned more than five decades. The singer known for her distinctive voice first began her career singing duets with her sister.

We are joined this hour by a close friend of Rosemary Clooney's, Michael Feinstein. Michael, good morning.

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN: Good morning, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know you were a big fan of hers as a child. Tell me how that started and how you finally met her.

FEINSTEIN: The first time I heard Rosemary's voice, I was carried away by the love and the heart and passion. As a little kid, this was a voice that connected to me in a way that I hadn't felt before. And I met her a number of years later, when I started working in Beverly Hills for Ira Gershwin as a personal assistant, and Rosemary lived next door. And it was through mutual cats in the neighborhood that I finally got to meet her. And we became very close and ended up singing together, gosh, several hundred concerts through the years.

PHILLIPS: You're a composure and entertainer. And I was reading that you've performed with her 200 times. Give me some moments. What do you remember, just the interaction and the time with her? What was it like, and what do you remember? Just the chemistry and the interaction.

FEINSTEIN: Rosemary was an earth mother. I think that's the thing that people loved about her on stage, because she radiated a warmth, a love. Also, a God-given voice and a consummate interpreter of lyrics. She reinvented a song every time she sang it. was always fresh, it was always new, it was always wise, and regardless of whether she was feeling great physically or not, when she came on stage, she came alive, because she had this connection with her audiences that really meant the world to her.

PHILLIPS: Michael, did she ever give you any advice?

FEINSTEIN: Yes. The first time that I recorded with her, my first album, I asked her if she would do a duet with me. And I was nervous singing with her. And she said, "honey, smile when you sing." She said, "people will be able to hear it and they will be able to visualize it."

PHILLIPS: What's one of the most special songs? Give me a little something.

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think the song that we both loved the most was "Love Is Here to Stay," because it was her favorite Gershwin song and it was written in the living room of her home, and she frequently ended her concerts with it; sometimes I sang it with her. "In time, the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, they're only made of clay, but our love is here to stay."

PHILLIPS: Now, she had a pretty turbulent childhood, didn't she?

FEINSTEIN: She did. Yes, she had a father who was an alcoholic and absent, and when she was quite young, she and her sister Betty sort of ran away to sing with -- eventually sing with big bands, and I think that music was their salvation. It was something that rescued her from an otherwise unhappy childhood and it was what sustained her through a turbulent life. But she still managed to raise five extraordinary children, who are probably her greatest achievement. They are just marvelous people who are a demonstration of her goodness.

PHILLIPS: And she never forgot her roots, did she, Michael?

FEINSTEIN: Oh, no. She went every year back to her home town of Maysville for the Rosemary Clooney music festival, and she was revered there, because she was truly a small town girl who made good all over the world.

PHILLIPS: Michael Feinstein, thanks so much for sharing your memories about Rosemary Clooney. We appreciate you being with us.

FEINSTEIN: Thank you.

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