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George Shearing

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Musician

The Resume

    (August 13, 1919-February 14, 2011)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Jazz pianist
    Recorded the albums 'Piano Solo' (1947), 'The George Shearing Quintet' (1949), 'An Evening with the George Shearing Quintet' (1951), 'Shearing in Hi-Fi' (1955), 'Black Satin' (1956), 'Velvet Carpet' (1956), 'Blue Chiffon' (1958), 'Burnished Brass' (1958), 'Latin Lace' (1958), 'Satin Brass' (1959), 'Satin Latin' (1959), 'The Shearing Touch' (1960), 'Mood Latino' (1961), 'Shearing Bossa Nova' (1962), 'Smooth & Swinging' (1963), 'That Fresh Feeling' (1966), 'Music to Hear' (1972), '500 Miles High' (1977), 'Blues Alley Jazz' (1979), 'On a Clear Day' (1980), 'Grand Piano' (1985) and 'Back to Birdland' (2001)
    With Mel Torme recorded the albums 'An Evening with George Shearing & Mel Torme' (1982), 'Top Drawer' (1983), 'An Elegant Evening' (1985), 'A Vintage Year' (1987) and 'Mel and George 'Do' World War II' (1990)
    Other collaborations include 'Beauty and the Beat!' (with Peggy Lee, 1959), 'Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays' (1961), 'The Swingin's Mutual!' (with Nancy Wilson, 1961), 'The Reunion' (with Stephane Grappelli, 1976), 'Two for the Road' (with Carmen McRae, 1980), 'The Spirit of 176' (with Hank Jones, 1988), 'The Rare Delight of You' (with John Pizzarelli, 2002) and 'Hopeless Romantics' (with Michael Feinstein, 2005)
    Wrote the jazz standard 'Lullaby of Birdland'
    Knighted for services to music (2007)

Why he might be annoying:

    He turned down offers of music scholarships to play piano and accordion in a local pub.
    He called his a band a quintet even after adding a sixth member.
    After breaking up the quintet in 1978 he said, 'The last five years I played on automatic pilot. I could do the whole show in my sleep.'
    He once introduced 'Lullaby of Birdland' with 'I have been credited with writing 300 songs. Two-hundred-ninety-nine enjoyed a bumpy ride from relative obscurity to total oblivion. Here is the other one.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was born blind.
    During the 1940s, he topped seven consecutive 'Melody Maker' polls as Britain's favorite pianist.
    After his first US tour, his quintet was voted the top combo in a 'Down Beat' readers' poll (1949).
    He performed for US Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
    When he was knighted, he was told that protocol forbade him from extending his hand until the Queen extended hers, to which he quipped, 'Either somebody's going to have to cue me or she'll have to wear a bell.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 21 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 25 Votes: 36.00% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 296 Votes: 71.62% Annoying