Jane Harvey (January 6, 1925 - August 15, 2013) was an American jazz singer whose career lasted nearly 70 years.
Born Phyllis Taff in Jersey City, NJ, she auditioned for nightclub owner Barney Josephson shortly after finishing high school, and was offered a gig at his celebrated Greenwich Village nightclub, Café Society. Before she took the stage, Josephson changed her name to Jane Harvey.
Soon Benny Goodman came to hear her and subsequently hired her to record "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" with his band, in December 1944 for Columbia Records. She stayed with the band for six months, cutting tracks for the best-selling "Close as Pages in a Book,""Up in Central Park,""Only Another Boy and Girl" and "He’s Funny That Way." Sometime between early April and mid-June 1945, she left to sing solo again. She appeared on several radio programs through the latter half of the year and landed a spot as secondary singer to Johnny Desmond on Teen Timers in November. She also recorded two sides on Columbia, backed by Mitchell Ayres, that same month.
In March 1946, Harvey subbed for an ailing Mildred Bailey at New York’s Blue Angel club which proved fruitful, finding her work recording with Dick Stabile’s orchestra in April. She made two soundies for Filmcraft soon after, He’s Funny That Way, which she’d sang with Goodman under the title She’s Funny That Way, and It’s a Pity to Say Goodnight.
Back on her own again, Harvey returned to the nightclub and radio
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circuit. She also starred as “tele queen” for a series of stunts by new Los Angeles television station KFI in March 1947. She later appeared on several other early West Coast television programs. Harvey recorded a few sides with Victor through mid-1947, including several with the Page Cavanaugh Trio, and then went without a recording contract until January 1949, when she signed with MGM, for whom she recorded through early 1951. Ms. Harvey entertained the troops in Europe on a 1948 USO tour with Bob Hope and Irving Berlin. Upon returning to the States, she made her Broadway debut in the 1950 Harold Rome musical Bless You All with Pearl Bailey which ran until February 1951. She made a second screen test in summer of that year, this time with Paramount. In 1953, she recorded on the Bell label.
She appeared on television several times, including on Arthur Murray’s dance program in 1959 and on The Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson, in 1962 and 1963. She also appeared on the Mike Douglas talk show in 1970 and later on the Today Show in 1988 promoting an album of Stephen Sondheim songs. She and Thiele divorced sometime before 1972, and she married William King. The couple remained together until her death from cancer i
Even at 88, Harvey had been active and just prior to her death, she recorded a complete new album of Ellington songs with pianist Mike Renzi and guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and Ron Eschete, It included Harvey's first recording of an Ellington song (for which she wrote the lyrics) called The Sky Fell Down.
Harvey died after a somewhat protracted battle with stomach cancer, in her home in Los Angeles, August 15, 2013.
(Edited from Playbill.com & bandchirps)