Rosemary Clooney - Half As Much (1952)

US Pop Charts No. 1 (24.05.1952) 27 Weeks GB No. 3 (11.10.1952) 15 Weeks Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me", "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House". She also had success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1977, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, the daughter of Marie Frances (née Guilfoyle) and Andrew Joseph Clooney. She was one of five children. Her father was of Irish and German descent and her mother was of English and Irish ancestry. She was raised Catholic. When Clooney was 15, her mother and brother Nick moved to California. She and her sister Betty remained with their father.[2] The family resided in the John Brett Richeson House in the late 1940s. Rosemary and Betty became entertainers, whereas Nick became a newsman and television broadcaster (some of her children, including Miguel Ferrer and Rafael Ferrer, and her nephew, George Clooney, also became respected actors and entertainers). In 1945, the Clooney sisters won a spot on Cincinnati, Ohio's radio station WLW as singers. Her sister Betty sang in a duo with Rosemary for much of the latter's early career. Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946, were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor's big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia. In 1950–51, she was a regular on the radio and television versions of "Songs For Sale" on CBS. In 1951, her record of "Come On-a My House", produced by Mitch Miller, became a hit. It was her first of many singles to hit the charts—despite the fact that Clooney hated the song passionately. She had been told by Columbia Records to record the song, and that she would be in violation of her contract if she did not do so. Clooney recorded several duets with Marlene Dietrich and appeared in the early 1950s on Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town series on CBS. Clooney also did several guest appearances on the Arthur Godfrey radio show, when it was sponsored by Lipton Tea. They did duets as he played his ukulele, and other times she would sing one of her latest hits. Rosemary Clooney (* 23. Mai 1928 in Maysville, Kentucky; † 29. Juni 2002 in Beverly Hills, Kalifornien) war eine US-amerikanische Pop- und Jazzsängerin sowie Schauspielerin, die zu den populärsten Interpreten der 1950er Jahre zählte. Rosemary Clooney war die Tochter von Andrew Joseph Clooney und Marie Frances Guilfoyle (1909–1973). Ihre Großmutter väterlicherseits, Crescentia A. Koch (1874–1939), stammte aus Deutschland. Sowohl ihre Schwester Betty Clooney und ihr Bruder Nick Clooney als auch dessen Sohn George Clooney gingen ins Musik- oder Showgeschäft – die Geschwister mehr oder minder, um dem alkoholabhängigen Vater zu entfliehen, wie Rosemary Clooney bekannte. Am Anfang sangen die Schwestern als Duo, das 1945 einen der beliebten Radio-Talentwettbewerbe in Cincinnati gewann. Ende der 1940er Jahre trat sie als Sängerin in der Band von Tony Pastor auf. Anfang der 1950er Jahre begann Clooney ihre Karriere als Solistin. Den ersten Erfolg hatte sie jedoch im Duett mit Guy Mitchell mit dem Titel You’re Just In Love. In ihrer Karriere als Popsängerin, die bis 1957 andauerte, hatte sie folgende Top-Ten-Hits: Come On-a My House (7/51, US 1) Half As Much (5/52 US 1; 11/52 UK 3) Hey There (7/54 US 1; 9/55 UK 1) This Ole House (8/54 US 1; UK 1) Mambo Italiano (11/54 US 10; UK 1) Mangos (6/57 US 10) Später verlegte sich Clooney mehr auf das Jazz-Repertoire und das „Great American Songbook“, wo sie ihr großes Stimmvolumen und ihr Improvisationstalent nutzen konnte. Das zeigte sich bereits auf ihrem Album mit Duke Ellington (Blue Rose, 1956) oder ihren LPs mit Nelson Riddle, vor allem aber ab 1977 in ihren zahlreichen Aufnahmen (25 Alben) für Concord Jazz. Sie blieb dem Label bis zu ihrem Tod treu und arbeitete dort regelmäßig mit anderen Musikern wie Scott Hamilton zusammen. 1954 spielte sie die Hauptrolle in Western-Musical Red Garters und, an der Seite von Bing Crosby und Danny Kaye, die weibliche Hauptrolle in Weiße Weihnachten. Darüber hinaus hatte sie zeitweise auch ihre eigene Fernsehshow. 1968 wurde sie Augenzeugin der Ermordung Robert F. Kennedys, der zu ihrem engeren Freundeskreis zählte. Infolgedessen litt sie über Jahre an einem schweren Trauma und Drogenproblemen, die sie letztendlich bewältigen konnte.