Dorothy Carless (December 30, 1916 – October 18, 2012) was an accomplished British pianist and band singer of the 40's. Between 1940 and 1944 Dorothy recorded over fifty sides with Geraldo & His Orchestra.
Husky voiced Dorothy Carless, the elder sister of fellow singer Carole Carr, was born Dorothy Mary Alice Carr in West Ham, London, England and became one of England’s top warblers of the 40s and 50s. Growing up, she studied classical music intensively and was an accomplished pianist by her teens. However, by the time she was 17, her passion was jazz, however her parents did not approve of that. So she surreptitiously auditioned as a pianist for the Ray Noble Band. Since Ray Noble had already filled the pianist position, Dorothy blithely stated that she could sing too, not knowing whether she actually could or not! The result was her first big hit song, "Oh You Nasty Man."
Although Noble didn`t ask Dorothy back to the recording studio again he did recommend her to a BBC producer and this resulted in her first broadcast. She then won a crooning contest where part of the prize was a provincial music hall tour and another broadcast. It wasn`t long before Dorothy was singing on radio quite regularly and in December 1937 she was back in the recording studio with two numbers 'Things are looking up' and 'Nice work if you can get it', both from the current Fred Astaire film 'A Damsel In Distress'.
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| Dorothy with Geraldo |
The next few years saw Dorothy freelancing with several top bands as well as a spell as one third of The Cavendish Three vocal trio. In August 1939 she married violinist Eugene Pini, honeymooning in France just before war was declared. In 1940 Dorothy joined the BBC variety department at their 'hideaway' in Bristol. She had a go at comedy as Tommy Handley`s secretary in some early I.T.M.A. shows, but more importantly she began singing with Geraldo`s orchestra. Between 1940 and 1944 Dorothy recorded over fifty sides with Geraldo.
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| Dorothy with Glenn Miller |
She had her own 'Dorothy Carless Programme' on forces radio and often received letters from people in remote parts of England expressing gratitude for her work and saying that as long as they could hear her voice, they knew England had not fallen. She also traveled across Europe and North Africa with the Glenn Miller Band entertaining troops during the War. A striking statuesque figure, she was a natural stage performer.
In 1946 she went to live in America with second husband US radio executive Henry Hull Jnr. They had met in England when, as an American pilot, he had flown many missions with the Royal Air Force. Whilst in New York Dorothy continued to work with many of the jazz greats of her time.
In April 1953 she was back in London and appeared, but didn`t sing, on the tv quiz show 'Down You Go'.. In July she replaced Alma Cogan (who had moved on to 'Take It From Here') in the second series of 'Gently Bentley' with Dick Bentley, that ran until September. 1954 found her in another series ''Once Over Lightly' with Joan Regan, Bonar Colleano and Nat Temple`s band. She also teamed up with that rolly-polly comedian Fred Emney, starring in his 'Emney Enterprises' television series and toured with him in a variety show that included organist Robin Richmond until mid-1955. She did some 'Variety Playhouse' and 'Midday Music Hall' broadcasts but by the end of 1955 had moved to California.
She appeared in top night-clubs and many radio and TV shows including the Edie Adams TV show where she was a musical arranger and coach for Ms. Adams. She also appeared in films such as Emney Enterprises (1954), Here's Edie (1963) and The Heart of Me (2002).
Dorothy’s voice and style were etched indelibly in her 1956 debut album “The Carless Torch,” in which good, suitable, unobtrusive backing by the Barney Kessel Trio serves as the backdrop for a number of time-tested torchers sung with intimate phrasing and feeling.
Dorothy's last appearance in London was as a surprise guest at the Geraldo tribute concert staged at the Royal Festival Hall in July 1975. Around 1980, Dorothy moved to Cambria, California, which was a perfect fit for her knowledge and love of nature. In addition to her great musical talent, during her last years in Cambria she continued with another lifelong artistic skill in a different area, creating wearable art hand-knit garments which she sold locally, and created for clients on commission. Her close friends also had the pleasure of her beautiful garden and fabulous cooking. She died on October 18, 2012.
(Edited from Legacy & Tapatalk)