AND THEIR IS THE OTHER ETHEL.....ETHEL BEATTY

The world of music to me is sometimes as hard to figure out as a oft quoted scripture from the Bible. Music holds a mystery one that many of us long to master yet few are blessed to understand and even fewer are able to leave a mark.

Our series offfers a fun tribute to performers of modern times that share a first name with someone remarkable from quote another era. Yes, we who love and respect jazz know of the legendary Ethel waters and a few of us are fortunate to know of Ethel Beatty.

I became aware of Ethel Beatty the summer of 1984 when going through my mothers vast record collection I stumbled upon the Broadway album "Bubbling Brown Sugar" a revue which my parents had seen in 1976. I remember taking it out of its case. almost reverantly (in our home their were few African American soundtract albums and even fewer that intriqued me. I remember scanning the songlist and seeing titles like "God Bless The Child" and "Honey Suckle Rose" and a song I had just heard on another album...."I Got It Bad"

I quickly took the record from the basement to my second floor bedroom and put it on my stereo sysytem looking at the clock. It was little before 4:00PM I had one hour to hear it and get it out the room or hidden.

Of course at that young age I was about 10 or eleven this music was not suitable My mother bought me "Golden records" those mother goose shits with songs like "little Red Caboose" and the like. My father, who had found religion had denounced all of his records as worldly and strangly enough hadn't thrown them away but set them up by his prehistoric Hi-Fi which was in the basement.

After a first listen to "I got it bad" I figured Ethel Beatty was a old woman with a powerful set of lungs and loved her! I Imaginged she wore wigs and that brown powder and coral lipstick like my mother friends and maybe carried one of those pocketbooks they were always talking about that had 14 compartments and your first and last initial. But I dug her. I just thought she was old.

Over the years I admit I did absolutely no research on the woman. Until I started this blog series imagine my shock when I found out. She was a young good looking woman in the 80's! It nearly blew me away and I will be quite honest I just found this out two days ago.

I quickly listened once again to her moving rendition of the song and checked youtube for some of her other work. I was amazed!

Preassumptions are something are they not?

BIOGRAPHY



ETHEL BEATTY BARNES IS A GRADUATE OFC.W. POST COLLEGE OF LONG ISLAND
UNIVERSITY. SHE OBTAINED HER DEGREE IN MUSIC EDUCATION, SPECIALIZING IN VOCAL
PERFORMANCE, AND VOCAL PEDAGOGY. HER HONORARY DEGREE IN THEOLOGICAL
MUSIC IS A DIVINE GIFT FROM SHILOH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. ETHEL WAS AWARDED
WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF HER TRUTH IN THE USE OF HER WONDROUS
INSTRUMENT. ETHEL HAS SUNG IN DISTINGUISED PLACES SUCH AS THE OPERA HOUSES IN
GUANAJUATO AND GUADALAJARA, MEXICO, THE RENOUND ST. PETER’S BASILICA, THE
MEDICI PALACE AND VATICAN RADIO IN ROME, THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY IN ENGLAND, THE
“PALACE DE VERSAILLES”, THE “CATHEDRAL DE CHARTRES” IN FRANCE AND THE ROYAL
PALACE OF LUXEMBOURG. ETHEL WAS A SOLOIST IN THREE INTERNATIONAL TOURS OF
MADRIGAL AND CHAMBER SINGERS AND A PARTICIPANT IN A CARNEGIE HALL CHORAL
EVENT WITH THE NEW YORK ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY.

ETHEL MADE HER BROADWAY DEBUT AS “ELLA” IN BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR. HER OTHER
BROADWAY CREDITS AS A FEATURED PERFORMER INCLUDE EUBIE, DREAMGIRLS AND
SHOW BOAT. HER OFF BROADWAY CREDITS ARE THE PRODIGAL SISTER, BINGO LONG,
BLUES IN THE NIGHT AND SUGAR HILL. HER MOVIE CREDITS ARE “GARBO TALKS”,
DIRECTED BY SIDNEY LUMET AND FRANCIS FORD COPPOLLA’S “THE COTTON CLUB”.
(FEATURED VOCALIST SINGING, “BANDANA BABIES”.) ETHEL HAS RECORDED WITH THE
GREAT ROY AYERS AND THROUGH HIS DIRECTION OF VOCAL USE AND STYLE VARIATION;
SHE WAS CHOSEN TO SING HIS ARRANGEMENT OF “STAIRWAY TO THE STARS”. THERE
WAS A LENGTH OF TIME WHEN A WELL KNOWN NEW YORK RADIO STATION’S MOST
RENOUND “D.J.” CLOSED OUT EACH NIGHT WITH THAT SONG. THE GREAT PIANIST JOE
KURASZ CHOSE ETHEL TO RECORD A DUET WITH HIM ON HIS CD. THE SONG, “SOFT MUSIC”
IS ONE OF THE FEATURED SELECTIONS. WHENEVER CONTRACTED IN THE STUDIO AS A
BACKGROUND VOCALIST, ETHEL’S GREAT INSTRUMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN FEATURED.
(HER RESUME LISTS ALL OF THE CREDITS.)

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, ETHEL BEGAN A PERFORMING ENSEMBLE OF CHILDREN RANGING
FROM AGES FOUR THROUGH THIRTEEN. THIS WAS KNOWN AS “PERFORMING ARTS AFTER
SCHOOL”. THE STUDENTS WERE TRAINED TO PERFORM AND WERE FEATURED IN THREE
MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS PER YEAR. THIS HAS BEEN MAINTAINED THROUGH GROWTH AND
LOCATION CHANGES AND IS NOW KNOWN AS “MISS ETHEL’S KIDS!” THERE IS A GREAT CD
OF MESSAGE COMPLETED AND FOUR NEW SINGLES ARE IN PRODUCTION. ETHEL SEES
THE NEED FOR THE COMMITMENT OF PASSING THE ARTS ON TO OUR CHILDREN. SHE
ENCOURAGES OTHER ARTISTS TO DO THE SAME. SHE HAS WRITTEN A WONDERFUL
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION SHOW AND SEVERAL LIVE MUSICALS FOR ENTIRE FAMILIES.

HAVING BOTH THE ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE CREDENTIALS, ETHEL IS
HIRED BY ORGANIZATIONS, SCHOOLS AND CORPORATIONS AS A CONSULTANT FOR
FURTHERING THE ARTS AND ADHERING THEM TO THE STIPULATIONS OF GRANTS
RENDERED.

ETHEL HAS CONTINUOUSLY DONATED HER TIME AND HER TALENT TO HER CHURCH
THROUGH PROFESSIONALLY DEVELOPING A DRAMA TEAM, AND A CHILDREN’S CHOIR.
ETHEL IS HONORED AND REQUESTED BY MINISTRIES AS A SOLOIST AND IS REGULARLY
PRESENTED IN CONCERT.



COMPLETE PORTFOLIOS, VIDEOS, AUDIO TAPES AND CDs ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.



THE PERFORMING ARTS IS A DIVINING ROD!
HAVE YOU BEEN TOUCHED BY A DIVINING ROD? KNOW THIS… I HAVE