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CNN Sunday Morning
Profile of Singer Nancy Wilson
Aired September 22, 2002 - 09:23 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ... then and now simply describing Wilson as a singer wouldn't quite capture what for more than half a century she has done.
NANCY WILSON, JAZZ SINGER: People from the day I hit a recording studio have tried to put me in a box. I'm a song stylist. I sing songs.
I have never considered myself a jazz singer, in the tradition of a Billie Holiday or an Ella. I'm a cross between Lena Horne and Diana Washington.
KAGAN: From the beginning, the unique style of this Grammy- winning artist has brought her success. And in the here today, gone tomorrow music business, she is still going strong, more than five decades and 60 albums later.
WILSON: We sang the music, and it was about the music. That is what makes us have the kind of longevity we had, because we sing songs that matter. And that's what I miss today.
KAGAN: These days, Wilson is the voice of NPR's "Jazz Profiles," a fitting place for someone who lists among her friends virtually every jazz legend over the last half-century.
WILSON: I came up in a generation where that which was good was recorded by everybody, because it was so good. There was no selfishness about the music. Today, with singers writing, producing, singing, you know, doing the whole thing, the music has become very selfish.
KAGAN: Wilson is performing at this weekend's Monterey jazz festival, along with Ramsey Lewis. The duo collaborated in the early '80s, and recently made music together again. But after four decades on the road, Wilson wants to tour less and spend more time with family.
Things for her are different. The business of performing has changed along with the era itself.
WILSON: Basically, what makes Nancy Wilson Nancy Wilson doesn't exist hardly anymore. I miss the great rooms. I miss the supper clubs, and that's who and what I am. And without them, it kind of takes a little of the what you feel away. KAGAN: A feel that Wilson says audience deserve from her, now just like then.
Daryn Kagan, CNN, Monterey, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 22, 2002 - 09:23 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ... then and now simply describing Wilson as a singer wouldn't quite capture what for more than half a century she has done.
NANCY WILSON, JAZZ SINGER: People from the day I hit a recording studio have tried to put me in a box. I'm a song stylist. I sing songs.
I have never considered myself a jazz singer, in the tradition of a Billie Holiday or an Ella. I'm a cross between Lena Horne and Diana Washington.
KAGAN: From the beginning, the unique style of this Grammy- winning artist has brought her success. And in the here today, gone tomorrow music business, she is still going strong, more than five decades and 60 albums later.
WILSON: We sang the music, and it was about the music. That is what makes us have the kind of longevity we had, because we sing songs that matter. And that's what I miss today.
KAGAN: These days, Wilson is the voice of NPR's "Jazz Profiles," a fitting place for someone who lists among her friends virtually every jazz legend over the last half-century.
WILSON: I came up in a generation where that which was good was recorded by everybody, because it was so good. There was no selfishness about the music. Today, with singers writing, producing, singing, you know, doing the whole thing, the music has become very selfish.
KAGAN: Wilson is performing at this weekend's Monterey jazz festival, along with Ramsey Lewis. The duo collaborated in the early '80s, and recently made music together again. But after four decades on the road, Wilson wants to tour less and spend more time with family.
Things for her are different. The business of performing has changed along with the era itself.
WILSON: Basically, what makes Nancy Wilson Nancy Wilson doesn't exist hardly anymore. I miss the great rooms. I miss the supper clubs, and that's who and what I am. And without them, it kind of takes a little of the what you feel away. KAGAN: A feel that Wilson says audience deserve from her, now just like then.
Daryn Kagan, CNN, Monterey, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
