Episode 319. Leslie Uggams 1965–1975
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
Leslie Uggams’ long-standing place in American pop culture matches that of any pop diva of similar longevity, going back all the way to her days as a child star on 1950s television variety and game shows. She won a Tony in 1967 for her performance in the musical Hallelujah, Baby, and she was the first African American woman to host her own variety show, the short-lived Leslie Uggams Show, which I, as a little homo-in-training, soaked up like a sponge! These days she’s also celebrated for her participation in the Deadpool franchise and other high-profile projects. Today I’ve decided to shed some light on her status as a pop icon in the late 1960s, focusing on her three albums for Atlantic Records and subsequent releases in the 1970s on Dionne Warwick’s Sonday Records label and Motown Records, in other words, the period from Hallelujah, Baby leading up to her starring role in the earth-shattering 1977 miniseries Roots. Uggams reveals herself to be a versatile entertainer of the first order, performing songs by everyone from Holland-Dozier-Holland to Burt Bacharach, from Jimmy Webb to Waylon Jennings, from Jon Hendricks to Jackie DeShannon, including the very first official commercial release of the Leiber and Stoller song “Is That All There Is,” a year before it became a massive hit for Peggy Lee. The episode ends with a pair of protest songs recorded in 1968.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Fred Barovick, Richard Rose: The Fat, Fat Man (With the White, White Beard). Leslie Uggams, Orchestra conducted by Fred Nerman [1954]
All other tracks feature Leslie Uggams recorded in the period 1965-1975, including from these albums:
A Time to Love (Atlantic Records 1966)
What’s an Uggams? (Atlantic Records 1968)
Just to Satisfy You (Atlantic Records 1969)
Try to See It My Way (Sonday/Scepter Records 1972)
Leslie Uggams (Motown Records 1975)
Sal Mineo in two stills from the 1965 sexploitation film Who Killed Teddy Bear?
Al Kasha, Bob Gaudio: Who Killed Teddy Bear? Leslie Uggams, arranged by Bob Halley, produced by Bob Halley, Ted Cooper [1965 single]
Traditional Spiritual, arr. Leslie Uggams: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus, arranged Glen D. Hardin [1969]
Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, Brian Holland: I Hear a Symphony. Arranged and conducted by Peter Matz [1966]
Tony Hatch: Call Me. Orchestra arranged and conducted by Peter Matz [1966]
Jon Hendricks: I Want You To Be My Baby. Orchestra arranged and conducted by Peter Matz [1966]
Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green: My Own Morning; Hallelujah, Baby (Hallelujah, Baby). Leslie Uggams, arranged and conducted by Peter Matz [1967 single]
Ervin Drake: Just for Today (Her First Roman). Arranged by Peter Matz [1968]
Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller: Is That All There Is? Arranged by Pat Williams [1968]
Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller: Flying. Arranged by Pat Williams [1968]
Bart Howard: Fly Me to the Moon. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra, arranged by Glen D. Hardin [1969]
Jimmy Webb: Someone Is Standing Outside. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra, arranged by Glen D. Hardin [1969]
Joe Allison, Audrey Allison: She’ll Have to Go. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus, arranged Clark Gassman [1969]
Scott Davis: In the Ghetto. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus, arranged by Clark Gassman [1969]
Waylon Jennings, Don Bowman: Just to Satisfy You. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra, arranged by Glen D. Hardin [1969]
Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday, Randy Myers: Brighton Hill. Arranged by Don Sebesky; produced by Dionne Warwick [1972]
Iran Koster, Teddy Randazzo, Victoria Pike: Don’t You Know You Got Till You Lose It. Produced by Don Davis [1975]
Norma Toney: I Was the Life of the Party. Produced by Don Davis [1975]
Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson, Edward Kennedy: Je vous aime oui je fais [sic]. Arranged by Don Sebesky; produced by Dionne Warwick [1972]
Robbie Robertson, arranged by Don Sebesky, produced by Dionne Warwick: The Weight [1972]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: Try to See It My Way [Duet with Dionne Warwick]. Arranged by Don Sebesky, produced by Dionne Warwick [1972]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: Let the Music Play. Arranged by Jack Cortner [1968]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: In the Land of Make Believe. Arranged by Pat Williams [1968]
Burt Bacharach, Hal David: What the World Needs Now Is Love. Arranged by Pat Williams [1968]
Scott Davis, Larry Collins, arr. Jimmie Haskell: Home. Leslie Uggams, The Jimmie Bowen Orchestra and Chorus [1968]
Laura Nyro, arr. Jimmie Haskell: Save the Country. Leslie Uggams, The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus [1968]
