Pat Suzuki born Chiyoko Suzuki(Japanese: 鈴木千代子,
September 22, 1930**, Cressey, California) is an American popular singer and
actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of
the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy
Being a Girl" in the show.
**According to birth records, Chiyoko was born September
22, 1930, not September 23, 1934 as it is often reported.
Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American.
She was nicknamed "Chibi", which is Japanese for 'short person' or
'small child', as the youngest sister. A few months after the United States
entered World War II, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt forced the Suzuki
family and more than 110,000 other Japanese American residents of the U.S.
Pacific coast states, to evacuate their homes and enter American concentration
or detention camps. The Suzukis were sent to the Granada War Relocation Center
in Colorado.
During the early 1950s, she attended college at San Jose
State University. After moving to New York, she obtained a part in a touring
production of the play, The Teahouse of the August Moon. She subsequently
secured a singing concert in a Seattle nightclub named The Colony. Bing Crosby
attended one of her shows at the club in 1957. Her singing so impressed Crosby
that he helped her obtain a recording contract with RCA Victor. She recorded
several albums for RCA Victor, including the 1958 album titled The Many Sides
of Pat Suzuki. She also appeared on several national network television
programs, including The Frank Sinatra Show on ABC.
Her recordings and television appearances helped her land
a lead role in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway production of the musical
Flower Drum Song in 1958. Suzuki's rendition of "I Enjoy Being a
Girl" is deemed to be the definitive recording. However, Suzuki did not
appear in the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song. Actress Nancy Kwan
performed the role in the film and singer B. J. Baker dubbed her singing voice.
In 1960 Suzuki was nominated for a Grammy Award in the
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category, for her album "Broadway
'59". Also in that year she married photographer Mark Shaw; they soon had
a son, David, but divorced two years later.
Suzuki's haunting studio rendition of "How High the
Moon" (music by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton) is featured in
the motion picture Biloxi Blues during the opening credits. The movie was set
in WWII but Pat's version of the song wasn't released until 1959. Her version
appeared on a RCA VICTOR reissue in the early '70's called THIS IS HITS of the
40's, which was probably the source for the movie. The recording first appeared
as part of her self-titled LP in 1959. The recording is also featured in the
film Eat a Bowl of Tea.
Throughout the 1970s, Suzuki appeared regularly on stage.
She played the role of Ma Eng in the off-Broadway production of Frank Chin's
The Year of the Dragon. She also appeared in Pat Morita's short-lived
television sitcom Mr. T and Tina, the first sitcom starring an Asian American
family.
In 1999, Taragon Records released The Very Best of Pat
Suzuki on compact disc. The compilation album contained some of her best
recordings for RCA Victor, including a performance of "Love, Look
Away" (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from
her 1959 album, Pat Suzuki's Broadway '59.
Suzuki continues to sing and act on stage in small and major venues such as Lincoln Centre. She has actively supported Asian American civil rights. (Info edited from Wikipedia)
1 comment:
For “ The Very Best of Pat Suzuki” go here:
http://www66.zippyshare.com/v/aiEIH1da/file.html
1. From This Moment On
2. I Enjoy Being A Girl
3. How High The Moon
4. The Lady Is A Tramp
5. Just In Time
6. I Had The Craziest Dream
7. Anything Goes
8. Poor Butterfly
9. Looking At You
10. Lazy Afternoon
11. Just For Once
12. Fine And Dandy
13. Medley: The Song From Moulin Rouge/Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
14. I See Your Face Before Me
15. Something's Gotta Give
16. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
17. Let Me Love You
18. Two Faces In The Dark
19. Cheek To Cheek
20. Love Look Away
A big Thank you to Dark mp3 for tracks.
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