Herman, Bonnie

Multi-octave vocalist who was the daughter of the trumpeter Jules Herman and the Champagne Lady Lois Best who both worked on the Lawrence Show. She is also the niece of the band leader Woody Herman.

She began singing professionally when she was eighteen years old, recording commercial jingles for clients such as Oldsmobile, State Farm, and Wrigley’s chewing gum. By the time she was twenty-two years of age, she was already a millionaire.

In 1966, the pitchwoman with perfect pitch scored a hit in the U.K. with “Hush Don’t Cry”, backed with a cover of The Beatles’ “Here, There and Everywhere”.

She then joined The Singers Unlimited, famously singing all the women’s parts in the otherwise all-male quartet. Gene Puerling’s penchant for overdubs meant that sometimes she would record up to thirty voice tracks on one song. It did not hurt that she was equally adept at singing alto and soprano.

The Singers turned out fifteen albums in about ten years, leaving her little time to moonlight, but moonlight she did on LPs such as Moods and Grooves with the Ju-Par Universal Orchestra and Bruised Orange by John Prine. In 1979, she recorded with Steve Goodman on High and Outside, Ken Nordine on Stare with Your Ears, and Eberhard Weber on Fluid Rustle. She appeared on A Tribute to Steve Goodman in 1986 and Goodman’s posthumous release, Unfinished Business, in 1987. In 1988, she collaborated with Fred Simon on Usually/Always. She reunited with Simon on 1991’s Open Book.

In 1993, Bonnie, along with the rest of The Singers Unlimited, backed Gloria Estefan on the Yuletide album, Christmas Through Your Eyes. She closed out the decade with Bobby Lewis on Just Havin’ Some Fun and In the Forefront.

In the new millennium, she did a pair of Windham Hill albums, Peace of Mind and Windham Hill Chill: Ambient Acoustic. She was also a member of the choir on Mavis Staples’ 2004 effort, Have a Little Faith.

For a generous sampling of Bonnie’s voice, check out The Singers Unlimited boxed set, Magic Voices.

The Oscar Peterson Trio and The Singers Unlimited recordings
Sesame Street (Bruce Hart/Joe Raposo/Jon Stone)

The Singers Unlimited recordings
Michelle (John Lennon/Paul McCartney)

Sources:

Herman, Bonnie

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