Close Encounters of the Celebrity Kind...
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Barbara Cook - Legendary "Singer's Singer" - Sensational At Any Age
Expanded Edition of 7-2-08 Windy City Times Interview
by Richard Knight, Jr.
Expanded Edition of 7-2-08 Windy City Times Interview
by Richard Knight, Jr.
In London in April of 2008 (Mike Martin photo), with her son Adam LeGrant in 2006, with musical director Wally Harper in 2004
Legendary Broadway (“Candide,” “The Music Man,” “She Loves Me”) and cabaret performer Barbra Cook has beguiled audiences for
over half a century. Her crystalline soprano continues to astound and shows little sign of wear and tear. At 80, the dynamic singer
shows no sign of slowing down. A longtime favorite of gay audiences, Cook returns to Ravinia on Sunday, July 6 and Monday, July 7
for a program focusing on love songs. Cook had just returned from performance dates in London when she spoke with Windy City
Times. Highlights:
WINDY CITY TIMES (WCT): So much to cover here. Let’s start with your Ravinia concerts – what are you going to be performing?
BARBARA COOK (BC): I put together recently a show that is all love songs and that will be the core of the show. There will be some
Sondheim, of course, Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and a wonderful song that some people might not know by Peter
Allen called “Harbor.” Beautiful, sad song, and one by John Bucchino, a very talented writer called “If I Ever Say I’m Over You.” He
just his first Broadway show, “The Catered Affair.”
WCT: That sounds lovely. It’s probably hard to believe but is there a standard or a show tune that you haven’t gotten around to?
BC: (laughs) Yes! In the show that I just did with the ballet company in London. It was an all Gershwin show called “Strictly
Gershwin” and I had never sung “I’ve Got a Crush On You” for instance and that was my opening song with them.
WCT: Really?!
BC: Yes and I just might do it at Ravinia. It seemed to work very well.
WCT: I’m very surprised. That seems particularly suited to your voice.
BC: I just had never sung it and the other songs in “Strictly Gershwin” I haven’t sung in a long time and never in the act. “But Not
For Me” I remember auditioning for a Dick Rodgers show with it and he was quite taken with my way of doing it which is why I
remember but that and “Someone To Watch Over Me” I don’t remember if I’ve ever sung it publicly.
WCT: More surprises.
BC: Well this one I did do a long time ago in a different arrangement – “Foggy Day In London Town.” Three of them I don’t think
I've particularly done in public.
WCT: I suspect a new Gershwin CD on the horizon.
BC: (laughs) Well I did a show at the Carlyle this past spring and a lot of those things I’ll be doing in Chicago and that program’s
going to be recorded.
WCT: So there will be a new CD.
BC: That’s the plan and I’m still hoping to have the Philharmonic concert that I did in November and January released. I’m still
working on that.
WCT: That sounds exciting. I love to hear you with that big orchestra. As much as I love you with solo piano it’s thrilling to hear
those strings come in. Any idea when either of these CDs will appear?
BC: Well the Carlyle program one I hope will appear later in the year – maybe October or November. I don’t know for sure.
WCT: I know the gay community has a long standing connection to you that dates back decades. Your recording of “Love Don’t
Need a Reason” never fails to bring me to tears (the song was written by gay performer/songwriters Michael Callen and Peter Allen
along with Marsha Malamet).
BC: Thank you. It’s a wonderful song.
WCT: Can you talk about the importance of your gay fan base?
BC: Well, the “importance,” hmm, that’s an interesting word. Usually what people ask me is “Why do you think gays are attracted
to your work?” and they’ve been asking me that since Day One and frankly I don’t really know.
WCT: Well I can answer that for you.
BC: You can?
WCT: Oh yes because we have such discerning taste!
BC: (laughs) Well that’s what I should say – “they know I’m wonderful.” Maybe the same was true for Judy Garland and for Liza and
I guess, Barbra Streisand, too, huh?
WCT: Yes, I think there’s an identity with the individual; with the perception of a performer cutting their own path; remaining true to
their own destiny. For me personally, it had to do with your leaving the Broadway stage, overcoming some personal troubles, and
then all those concert triumphs.
BC: Well I think the personal troubles thing is part of it. They know that we’ve been through our wars. “They” – you know what I’m
trying to say. You can’t lump people together like that.
WCT: I tend to say “My People.”
BC: (laughs) Your team. Just like that “Seinfeld” episode – you must know it.
WCT: Of course. Now like many parents I know that when your own son came out that was different; that was tough and you had a
hard time with it.
BC: Yes I did for a few days and only for a few days, thank goodness.
WCT: Can you talk about your relationship with your son Adam LeGrant?
BC: Well I’ve always had a very easy, warm, good relationship with my son, thank goodness and we love each other very much and
I also like him which is not bad. I thought he was kidding when he told me he was gay because I had no idea. I mean I laughed; I
truly thought it was a joke. I remember that we had a long conversation as you can imagine. It was on Thanksgiving Day in 1990-
something – I don’t remember exactly. As he was leaving I said, “God Adam, what do I do when you bring somebody home to meet
mother?” and he got in his most gay mode and with a very limp wrist said, “Oh don’t worry – he’ll just say, ‘Oh Barbara, I just
loooooove your singing’.” (laughs) But I did have a few days there of really, really grieving. There’s no other word for it and then, I
don’t know, it occurred to me that it was all about me and not about him and it just hit me that I was expecting him to hook me into
the world. That doesn’t make much sense but there it is. I always felt kind of on the outside and then for some reason, when I had
a male child that felt to me like I was being hooked into life; to the world. Then when he told me he was gay, for some reason, I
felt unhooked, you know?
WCT: Yes.
BC: I cried for five days and then on the fifth day I said, “What the hell is going on here? What is this about? Why are you so
upset?” and that’s when all that “unhooked” stuff came to me and then the next thing I thought was, “This is ridiculous because he’s
not here to hook me into anything. I’m here as his mother to help him be the most full person he can be” and that was it. Honest
to God, it lifted just like that. After that, of course, his whole life has just blossomed. It was the healthiest thing on earth for him to
do.
WCT: That’s wonderful to hear and thank you for sharing that.
BC: Sure.
WCT: Now you stop lying – you are NOT 80 years old! (laughs)
BC: (laughs) I’ve never lied. I am 80 years old. The interesting thing to me is that number really, really gets people. When I was
79 ½ or 79 ¾ or 79 and 364 days people treated me one way and then the word “80” suddenly has great meaning. People are
surprised you can put one foot in front of the other and still breathe, much less have a big career. It’s nuts. If anybody else starts
any sentence with me again with, “I wonder if at your age…” if they use that phrase, I’ll kill them (laughs).
WCT: It’s probably just that.
BC: Well we have this idea of what “80” is and I don’t fit in. We need to change our idea of 80.
WCT: Well you’ve inspired this 50 year-old with your vitality. I also can’t help but wonder do you do anything to keep that exquisite
soprano intact? Any secrets?
BC: No not really. People ask me all the time how is it that I can still sing as well as I do. Look, I have a really good technique,
obviously. I had a wonderful teacher who was just perfect for me. I first started working with him, I think, in 1953 so that’s 55 years
of doing this technique so obviously it works for me. I don’t worry about scarves at night and hot tea and all that stuff. I had a
teacher who imbued all of his students with the idea that the voice is very strong; the vocal chords are strong. They’re not these
weak little, limp muscle things. He used to say, “You should be able to be hit by a bus and stand up and sing.”
WCT: Do you do a warm up everyday?
BC: For years I didn’t and then I guess maybe 10, 11 years ago I did a show at the Carlyle and the second song was a very quiet
song with long phrases and I was having trouble with it and I decided to do a warm up and the difference was astounding so now I
try to remember to warm up.
WCT: Bette Davis said, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” Was she right?
BC: Yes. I think so because what happens is all about loss. All kinds of loss. I am not what I was at 35 or 40 and there are
certain losses. The other thing is that people around you begin to die and I feel there’s a lot of death around me and that’s
unpleasant and loss is sometimes hard to take.
WCT: How do you deal with the loss?
BC: I think I am a strong person. I didn’t know that for years and I think I have a strong belief in my ability to overcome things.
I've done that and I have a really good core belief in myself. Even at my lowest points when I was drinking so much I didn’t know
how I was going to stop but I always felt that I would. I never, never felt that this was the end of me.
WCT: That innate optimism can save you.
BC: Well I am a very optimistic person and also, I’m curious. My house is just full of books and magazines because I have so
many interests and always want to know about something new.
WCT: I’ve also read that you like to stay right up to the minute tech-wise.
BC: I just don’t understand people who just ignore computers. It’s just crazy. I was just looking at CNN and there was a quote from
Bush, something like, “Just get on the internet and dial up this and dial up that.” (laughs) Oh my God! And there’s a whole thing
today about McCain not knowing how to work a computer; that he has to ask his wife to do things on the computer for him.
WCT: Oy! Everybody go vote. That’s the message of that. So, do you have an i-Pod?
BC: Yes and a Nano and an i-Phone.
WCT: I can’t work an i-Phone.
BC: What do you mean you can’t work an i-Phone? It’s the easiest thing in the world.
WCT: Well I could but there are certain things that I just say, “I don’t need the i-Phone. I’ve got a cell phone. I am the master of
the technology; not the opposite.” You’ve been called “the singer’s singer” myriad times. But I’m wondering, who do you like?
BC: Well Josh Groban for one. Josh and I have become good friends and it’s just the most beautiful, natural voice and you know
this most recent “American Idol” singer – David Archuleta?
WCT: I know of him.
BC: He’s sensational. He’s got gorgeous, gorgeous natural talent. He’s only 17. Have you heard him?
WCT: I haven’t. I have to be honest I don’t have much use for the show.
BC: Well I think that’s a mistake and I’ll tell you why: I understand that it’s all very kitschy and what’s his name yelling at people. I
get that but there have been some very, very talented people on that show. For instance, Fantasia. She went into “The Color
Purple” a year or so ago and I remember her from “American Idol” and I was impressed with her. Not just with her voice but with her
whole manner and I thought I wanted to see her first performance. Now this was not opening night; it was her first performance. I
went to the show, I’d heard bad thing about the show; that it was just kind of okay. I thought the show was kind of okay but she
was unbelievable. Here’s a young woman who had never been inside a theatre to see a play or a musical when she went to
rehearsal and she was replacing the star of the show who won the Tony the year before. She’d never been to a Broadway show. She
came onstage and she was like this island of truth. Then I came back for her closing performance and I brought several friends of
me. “Don’t expect much of the show,” I told them, “But you’ve got to see this woman.” Well, the show began and it wasn’t even the
same show. It was terrific with her. I spoke to someone else in the company afterwards and she said, “When Fantasia came in she
lifted the performances of everybody around her.” What happened was that she made that show a hit show. So that’s from
“American Idol” and you can’t totally dismiss it.
The point is – and I understand they have to do all that stupid melisma but that’s the style now and they have to do it if they want
to win. That’s the way the game is played right now. It’s possible for me to dismiss that and to see past that and see a person’s
innate talent if they have any. David Archuleta is an extraordinarily talented young man.
WCT: So when you teach one of your master classes with these young students now is that the approach that they expect? For you
to come in and be like Simon Cowell?
BC: I hope not. I don’t do that at all. I try to be honest but I also try to be kind and I certainly would never want to – for lack of a
better word – destroy somebody. Not at all. What I try to do is make a safe place so that they will be willing to set aside their
safety blankets which practically always get in the way of who they are. What we want is them, I try to explain. That’s what we
always want as an audience and if you can figure out who you are as a performer and if you can find out how to let us in to that; let
us in to your experience; then you can’t be wrong.
WCT: And that’s exactly what you do.
BC: Well, it’s certainly what I try to do.
www.BarbaraCook.com
over half a century. Her crystalline soprano continues to astound and shows little sign of wear and tear. At 80, the dynamic singer
shows no sign of slowing down. A longtime favorite of gay audiences, Cook returns to Ravinia on Sunday, July 6 and Monday, July 7
for a program focusing on love songs. Cook had just returned from performance dates in London when she spoke with Windy City
Times. Highlights:
WINDY CITY TIMES (WCT): So much to cover here. Let’s start with your Ravinia concerts – what are you going to be performing?
BARBARA COOK (BC): I put together recently a show that is all love songs and that will be the core of the show. There will be some
Sondheim, of course, Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and a wonderful song that some people might not know by Peter
Allen called “Harbor.” Beautiful, sad song, and one by John Bucchino, a very talented writer called “If I Ever Say I’m Over You.” He
just his first Broadway show, “The Catered Affair.”
WCT: That sounds lovely. It’s probably hard to believe but is there a standard or a show tune that you haven’t gotten around to?
BC: (laughs) Yes! In the show that I just did with the ballet company in London. It was an all Gershwin show called “Strictly
Gershwin” and I had never sung “I’ve Got a Crush On You” for instance and that was my opening song with them.
WCT: Really?!
BC: Yes and I just might do it at Ravinia. It seemed to work very well.
WCT: I’m very surprised. That seems particularly suited to your voice.
BC: I just had never sung it and the other songs in “Strictly Gershwin” I haven’t sung in a long time and never in the act. “But Not
For Me” I remember auditioning for a Dick Rodgers show with it and he was quite taken with my way of doing it which is why I
remember but that and “Someone To Watch Over Me” I don’t remember if I’ve ever sung it publicly.
WCT: More surprises.
BC: Well this one I did do a long time ago in a different arrangement – “Foggy Day In London Town.” Three of them I don’t think
I've particularly done in public.
WCT: I suspect a new Gershwin CD on the horizon.
BC: (laughs) Well I did a show at the Carlyle this past spring and a lot of those things I’ll be doing in Chicago and that program’s
going to be recorded.
WCT: So there will be a new CD.
BC: That’s the plan and I’m still hoping to have the Philharmonic concert that I did in November and January released. I’m still
working on that.
WCT: That sounds exciting. I love to hear you with that big orchestra. As much as I love you with solo piano it’s thrilling to hear
those strings come in. Any idea when either of these CDs will appear?
BC: Well the Carlyle program one I hope will appear later in the year – maybe October or November. I don’t know for sure.
WCT: I know the gay community has a long standing connection to you that dates back decades. Your recording of “Love Don’t
Need a Reason” never fails to bring me to tears (the song was written by gay performer/songwriters Michael Callen and Peter Allen
along with Marsha Malamet).
BC: Thank you. It’s a wonderful song.
WCT: Can you talk about the importance of your gay fan base?
BC: Well, the “importance,” hmm, that’s an interesting word. Usually what people ask me is “Why do you think gays are attracted
to your work?” and they’ve been asking me that since Day One and frankly I don’t really know.
WCT: Well I can answer that for you.
BC: You can?
WCT: Oh yes because we have such discerning taste!
BC: (laughs) Well that’s what I should say – “they know I’m wonderful.” Maybe the same was true for Judy Garland and for Liza and
I guess, Barbra Streisand, too, huh?
WCT: Yes, I think there’s an identity with the individual; with the perception of a performer cutting their own path; remaining true to
their own destiny. For me personally, it had to do with your leaving the Broadway stage, overcoming some personal troubles, and
then all those concert triumphs.
BC: Well I think the personal troubles thing is part of it. They know that we’ve been through our wars. “They” – you know what I’m
trying to say. You can’t lump people together like that.
WCT: I tend to say “My People.”
BC: (laughs) Your team. Just like that “Seinfeld” episode – you must know it.
WCT: Of course. Now like many parents I know that when your own son came out that was different; that was tough and you had a
hard time with it.
BC: Yes I did for a few days and only for a few days, thank goodness.
WCT: Can you talk about your relationship with your son Adam LeGrant?
BC: Well I’ve always had a very easy, warm, good relationship with my son, thank goodness and we love each other very much and
I also like him which is not bad. I thought he was kidding when he told me he was gay because I had no idea. I mean I laughed; I
truly thought it was a joke. I remember that we had a long conversation as you can imagine. It was on Thanksgiving Day in 1990-
something – I don’t remember exactly. As he was leaving I said, “God Adam, what do I do when you bring somebody home to meet
mother?” and he got in his most gay mode and with a very limp wrist said, “Oh don’t worry – he’ll just say, ‘Oh Barbara, I just
loooooove your singing’.” (laughs) But I did have a few days there of really, really grieving. There’s no other word for it and then, I
don’t know, it occurred to me that it was all about me and not about him and it just hit me that I was expecting him to hook me into
the world. That doesn’t make much sense but there it is. I always felt kind of on the outside and then for some reason, when I had
a male child that felt to me like I was being hooked into life; to the world. Then when he told me he was gay, for some reason, I
felt unhooked, you know?
WCT: Yes.
BC: I cried for five days and then on the fifth day I said, “What the hell is going on here? What is this about? Why are you so
upset?” and that’s when all that “unhooked” stuff came to me and then the next thing I thought was, “This is ridiculous because he’s
not here to hook me into anything. I’m here as his mother to help him be the most full person he can be” and that was it. Honest
to God, it lifted just like that. After that, of course, his whole life has just blossomed. It was the healthiest thing on earth for him to
do.
WCT: That’s wonderful to hear and thank you for sharing that.
BC: Sure.
WCT: Now you stop lying – you are NOT 80 years old! (laughs)
BC: (laughs) I’ve never lied. I am 80 years old. The interesting thing to me is that number really, really gets people. When I was
79 ½ or 79 ¾ or 79 and 364 days people treated me one way and then the word “80” suddenly has great meaning. People are
surprised you can put one foot in front of the other and still breathe, much less have a big career. It’s nuts. If anybody else starts
any sentence with me again with, “I wonder if at your age…” if they use that phrase, I’ll kill them (laughs).
WCT: It’s probably just that.
BC: Well we have this idea of what “80” is and I don’t fit in. We need to change our idea of 80.
WCT: Well you’ve inspired this 50 year-old with your vitality. I also can’t help but wonder do you do anything to keep that exquisite
soprano intact? Any secrets?
BC: No not really. People ask me all the time how is it that I can still sing as well as I do. Look, I have a really good technique,
obviously. I had a wonderful teacher who was just perfect for me. I first started working with him, I think, in 1953 so that’s 55 years
of doing this technique so obviously it works for me. I don’t worry about scarves at night and hot tea and all that stuff. I had a
teacher who imbued all of his students with the idea that the voice is very strong; the vocal chords are strong. They’re not these
weak little, limp muscle things. He used to say, “You should be able to be hit by a bus and stand up and sing.”
WCT: Do you do a warm up everyday?
BC: For years I didn’t and then I guess maybe 10, 11 years ago I did a show at the Carlyle and the second song was a very quiet
song with long phrases and I was having trouble with it and I decided to do a warm up and the difference was astounding so now I
try to remember to warm up.
WCT: Bette Davis said, “Getting old ain’t for sissies.” Was she right?
BC: Yes. I think so because what happens is all about loss. All kinds of loss. I am not what I was at 35 or 40 and there are
certain losses. The other thing is that people around you begin to die and I feel there’s a lot of death around me and that’s
unpleasant and loss is sometimes hard to take.
WCT: How do you deal with the loss?
BC: I think I am a strong person. I didn’t know that for years and I think I have a strong belief in my ability to overcome things.
I've done that and I have a really good core belief in myself. Even at my lowest points when I was drinking so much I didn’t know
how I was going to stop but I always felt that I would. I never, never felt that this was the end of me.
WCT: That innate optimism can save you.
BC: Well I am a very optimistic person and also, I’m curious. My house is just full of books and magazines because I have so
many interests and always want to know about something new.
WCT: I’ve also read that you like to stay right up to the minute tech-wise.
BC: I just don’t understand people who just ignore computers. It’s just crazy. I was just looking at CNN and there was a quote from
Bush, something like, “Just get on the internet and dial up this and dial up that.” (laughs) Oh my God! And there’s a whole thing
today about McCain not knowing how to work a computer; that he has to ask his wife to do things on the computer for him.
WCT: Oy! Everybody go vote. That’s the message of that. So, do you have an i-Pod?
BC: Yes and a Nano and an i-Phone.
WCT: I can’t work an i-Phone.
BC: What do you mean you can’t work an i-Phone? It’s the easiest thing in the world.
WCT: Well I could but there are certain things that I just say, “I don’t need the i-Phone. I’ve got a cell phone. I am the master of
the technology; not the opposite.” You’ve been called “the singer’s singer” myriad times. But I’m wondering, who do you like?
BC: Well Josh Groban for one. Josh and I have become good friends and it’s just the most beautiful, natural voice and you know
this most recent “American Idol” singer – David Archuleta?
WCT: I know of him.
BC: He’s sensational. He’s got gorgeous, gorgeous natural talent. He’s only 17. Have you heard him?
WCT: I haven’t. I have to be honest I don’t have much use for the show.
BC: Well I think that’s a mistake and I’ll tell you why: I understand that it’s all very kitschy and what’s his name yelling at people. I
get that but there have been some very, very talented people on that show. For instance, Fantasia. She went into “The Color
Purple” a year or so ago and I remember her from “American Idol” and I was impressed with her. Not just with her voice but with her
whole manner and I thought I wanted to see her first performance. Now this was not opening night; it was her first performance. I
went to the show, I’d heard bad thing about the show; that it was just kind of okay. I thought the show was kind of okay but she
was unbelievable. Here’s a young woman who had never been inside a theatre to see a play or a musical when she went to
rehearsal and she was replacing the star of the show who won the Tony the year before. She’d never been to a Broadway show. She
came onstage and she was like this island of truth. Then I came back for her closing performance and I brought several friends of
me. “Don’t expect much of the show,” I told them, “But you’ve got to see this woman.” Well, the show began and it wasn’t even the
same show. It was terrific with her. I spoke to someone else in the company afterwards and she said, “When Fantasia came in she
lifted the performances of everybody around her.” What happened was that she made that show a hit show. So that’s from
“American Idol” and you can’t totally dismiss it.
The point is – and I understand they have to do all that stupid melisma but that’s the style now and they have to do it if they want
to win. That’s the way the game is played right now. It’s possible for me to dismiss that and to see past that and see a person’s
innate talent if they have any. David Archuleta is an extraordinarily talented young man.
WCT: So when you teach one of your master classes with these young students now is that the approach that they expect? For you
to come in and be like Simon Cowell?
BC: I hope not. I don’t do that at all. I try to be honest but I also try to be kind and I certainly would never want to – for lack of a
better word – destroy somebody. Not at all. What I try to do is make a safe place so that they will be willing to set aside their
safety blankets which practically always get in the way of who they are. What we want is them, I try to explain. That’s what we
always want as an audience and if you can figure out who you are as a performer and if you can find out how to let us in to that; let
us in to your experience; then you can’t be wrong.
WCT: And that’s exactly what you do.
BC: Well, it’s certainly what I try to do.
www.BarbaraCook.com
