Many commentators talk about Lena without knowing her true night club legacy. When Hollywood ignored her, she found her niche in clubs. Lena Horne was practically subversive in what she achieved as a black woman in clubs and boites around the world. Lena Horne dared you to come near her and then kicked you away with ice or fire. She single-handedly created the slightly removed, sexy, "you ain't gonna tell me how to do this," beautifully gowned and coiffed woman who stood at the microphone in front of a live audience. EVERYONE who saw her copied her from Polly Bergen to Jane Morgan to Diahnn Carroll. At one point she was the highest paid female, white or black, in clubs and in Vegas because of the sensation she created live. Lena Horne integrated Vegas by refusing to do what had been done before and walking through the front door of the Sands Hotel. We owe her a great debt and there should be little criticism of this absolutely free and astounding performance. She was breaking a mold even for television.

Miss Lena KICKED IT TO THE CURB in this performance!!!!

Lena is practically UNHINGED here-and I LOVE it!!!! WOW! Love will do that to you-lol. What a remarkable and risk taking performer!

She pretty much defines the term fierce.

When she first appeared on television she was unlike anything that had been before, she was electrifying. And besides her singing she just had amazing taste.

Just wow!

LEGEND! She gave it her all!

She's great here!

I just loved the way she performed the song==best I ever seen her do.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. She's the best!

This is from a 1963 Perry Como Kraft Music Hall show; Lena had lost a lot of weight, maybe too much weight in 1963. I'll upload more from the Perry Como shows soon.

gives me goosebumps every time. thanks so much for the upload.

👏🏾👏🏾

what a lady,this melodi belongs to here,so new, so god, so blue

The lady had swag!

@meritofapproval

5 жыл бұрын

Didn't she though?!

Im still waiting on the movie! I think Alica keys or Paula Patton would be great choices to play her

The song is Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You"

@Butterflyxoxo09 You are welcome... gotta hear the Cole Porter Songbook sometime. Frank did one and so did Ella..

I never realized how good she was When I was a child I wasn't interested in her music.

NO. This is a Kinescope made from a color video of the Kraft Music Hall program, this one taped in NYC. You're thinking of the UK television specials Lena did in 1964. Other than one or two Kinescope clips, they're lost! Lena's estranged husband conducted her music for the UK specials, she no longer worked or recorded with him in the US. In the USA, it wasn't that no one would produce a show with a black artist, it was a question of sponsors since our television is so commercially dependent.

@newstart2009 thanks :)

Great Marty Paich arrangement.

@anthonywills2252

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, it's normally sung as a ballad. The late David Jacobs (British DJ) loved this version.

@vincejelineo748

Жыл бұрын

Superb...and she was more than up to the task.

Fantastic Lena, shame the camera techique is so primitive, and this video recording quality so unclear***

That dress is Norman Norrell

Wonder Woman.

ben sinclair sent me here

@rjohnson175

4 жыл бұрын

Same

Also - send me a msg

Dinah Washington was much better.

I've just never been able to get into Lena, nor have I really understood her as a singer or her bizarre stage antics. She was a stunningly beautiful woman but made such aggressive, ugly faces when singing. With this particular song, I'd much rather hear Dinah Washington do it. She served up this Porter tune like no other.

Not a good arrangement for this great song and singer!