Robert Waltrip Short (September 15, 1924 â€" March 21, 2005) was an
American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his
interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the
20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern,
Harold Arlen, Richard A. Whiting, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George
and Ira Gershwin.He also championed African-American composers of the
same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats
Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not
in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their
white contemporaries.His dedication to his great love â€" what he
called the "Great American Song" â€" left him equally adept at
performing the witty lyrics of Bessie Smith's "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a
Bottle of Beer)" or Gershwin and Duke's "I Can't Get Started". Short
stated his favorite songwriters were Ellington, Arlen and Kern, and he
was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington
Memorial in New York City. He was a personal friend of Tom Jobim and
was present during the composer's final days in New York City.He was
born in Danville, Illinois, where two of his school classmates were
Dick Van Dyke and Donald O'Connor. He began performing piano in dance
halls and saloons, and as a busker, after leaving home at the age of
eleven, for Chicago, with his mother's permission.
American cabaret singer and pianist, best known for his
interpretations of songs by popular composers of the first half of the
20th century such as Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern,
Harold Arlen, Richard A. Whiting, Vernon Duke, Noël Coward and George
and Ira Gershwin.He also championed African-American composers of the
same period such as Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson, Andy Razaf, Fats
Waller, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presenting their work not
in a polemical way, but as simply the obvious equal of that of their
white contemporaries.His dedication to his great love â€" what he
called the "Great American Song" â€" left him equally adept at
performing the witty lyrics of Bessie Smith's "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a
Bottle of Beer)" or Gershwin and Duke's "I Can't Get Started". Short
stated his favorite songwriters were Ellington, Arlen and Kern, and he
was instrumental in spearheading the construction of the Ellington
Memorial in New York City. He was a personal friend of Tom Jobim and
was present during the composer's final days in New York City.He was
born in Danville, Illinois, where two of his school classmates were
Dick Van Dyke and Donald O'Connor. He began performing piano in dance
halls and saloons, and as a busker, after leaving home at the age of
eleven, for Chicago, with his mother's permission.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.