- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"30 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear feet"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"63 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- unitid
-
{"value"=>"JPB 06-3", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"20354", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1946-2001", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1946/2001"}
- date_inclusive_start
-
1946
- date_inclusive_end
-
2001
- keydate
-
1946
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Susannah McCorkle papers"}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</span> <span class=\"subarea\">Music Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">New York, New York</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Susannah McCorkle (1946-2001) was an important American jazz / pop singer as well as a talented writer. Her papers consist of her writings, correspondence, business and personal papers, scores, concert programs, clippings, publicity material, photographs and books."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>Susannah McCorkle Papers, JPB 06-03. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"McCorkle, Susannah", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Susannah McCorkle, an American jazz/pop singer and a writer of fiction and journalism, was born in Berkeley, California on January 1, 1946. The daughter of an anthropologist who often switched jobs, her family moved regularly. She graduated from high school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. After a break from school to travel to Mexico, she received her Bachelors degree in Italian literature in 1969. She then moved to Europe, first to Paris, then to Rome, where she worked as a translator.</p> <p>In Paris a friend played her a Billie Holiday record, and from that point on McCorkle committed to becoming a singer. (Her only previous singing experience had been performing in community theater while in high school.) She briefly studied voice in Rome and began sitting in with local musicians. She also took a job entertaining on a cruise ship, a memorable trip that inspired stories in her journals. McCorkle moved to London in 1973, where she immediately found work with musicians impressed by her knowledge of songs and her authentic Holiday-inspired sound.</p> <p>Some of her first gigs in the United States were with the trumpeter Richard Sudhalter's band (1975), although she didn't relocate permanently to New York until 1978. McCorkle's first recordings were made in London: 1975 demo sessions with the pianist Keith Ingham, followed by her first album, <span class=\"title\">The Music Of Harry Warren</span>, on EMI in 1976. In the United States she recorded several albums for the Inner City and Pausa labels until 1988, when she was signed by Concord, for whom she recorded ten albums.</p> <p>McCorkle eventually established a career based in the cabaret circuit, but her style was more jazz-based than most cabaret artists. She usually performed with a piano trio, but she engaged larger groups on her recordings, featuring arrangements by her musical director Allen Farnham and Rich De Rosa. She also occasionally performed with big bands or orchestras, such as the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, the Little Orchestra Society and the New York Pops. McCorkle toured the country performing and also conducted music workshops for students of all ages.</p> <p>McCorkle was a talented writer as well as a singer. Her short stories were published in <span class=\"title\">Mademoiselle</span> and other women's magazines in American and in Britain, and one, <span class=\"title\">Ramona by the Sea</span>, won the 1975 O. Henry Award for short fiction. She had an ongoing relationship with <span class=\"title\">American Heritage</span>, producing three profiles of musicians for the magazine in the 1990s, and for two years prior to her death she was at work on a memoir of her early singing career in Rome.</p> <p>McCorkle struggled with many personal issues in her life. She suffered from an overeating disorder as a teenager, was married and divorced twice, fought breast cancer in 1989-1990, and suffered from manic depression (several members of her family were also afflicted with depression or other mental illness). She committed suicide on May 19, 2001.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Susannah McCorkle Papers document the life and career of a great American singer and writer. They consist of 30 linear feet of material dating from 1946-2001, with the bulk dating from ca. 1970 - 2001. The Papers cover all aspects of McCorkle's professional singing and writing careers as well as her personal life. They include sheet music, scores, arrangements and lyrics for songs she performed and recorded throughout her career, including many of the octet arrangements for her albums on the Concord label; papers documenting her performing, touring and educational activities, as well as media clippings and concert programs; published and unpublished writings and journals, including unpublished novellas and a memoir of her early singing career; personal papers and correspondence; performance and publicity photographs and publicity literature from all stages of her career, and books owned by McCorkle. The separated material includes many unreleased sound and video recordings.</p> <p>Portions of the McCorkle Papers existed only in electronic form on floppy disks. These files were retrieved and printed; not all were fully salvageable. Documents in the collection printed from electronic files contain headers at the top of each page listing the file name, date of file creation when known, and page number. A CD-R containing all original electronic files is in Box 29, Folder 4.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Susannah McCorkle papers are arranged in twelve series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595006'>Series I: Writings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1957-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>7 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains McCorkle’s published and unpublished writings. These include fiction stories published in various magazines, non-fiction journalistic pieces and essays published in newspapers and magazines, and McCorkle’s personal journals and her unpublished writings based on them. There are also unfinished writings as well as works-in-progress, including two unpublished novellas and a book-length unpublished memoir. Major portions of this series were retrieved from floppy disks and printed; not all were fully salvageable. Documents printed from electronic files contain headers at the top of each page listing the file name, date of file creation when known, and page number.</p> <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Early Writings, 1957-1968</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Non-fiction, 1967-2001 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 3 – Fiction, 1971-1999 and undated</li></ul></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595132'>Series II: Correspondence</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1967-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Correspondence is divided into five categories: fan letters, publishing, song research, song suggestions and general correspondence to and from McCorkle. Most of the personal correspondence is to and from friends and colleagues; what little correspondence there is to McCorkle’s family is in Box 10, Folder 10.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595184'>Series III: Business Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1974-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>10 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series documents the logistical and financial aspects of McCorkle’s career. The bookings sub-series covers McCorkle’s performing and traveling life, while the other two sub-series consist mostly of financial statements.</p> <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Bookings, 1982-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Financial Papers, 1982-2000</li> <li>Sub-series 3 – Record Companies, 1974-2001</li></ul></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595243'>Series IV: Personal Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1946-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>In addition to Susannah McCorkle's personal papers, this series also contains papers pertaining to McCorkle's mother, Margery, for whom McCorkle was handling financial and medical issues. McCorkle’s papers contain documentation of her jury service, marriages and divorces, insurance and estate planning, documents such as birth certificate and passports, medical records and her high school yearbook. Papers for her mother (McCorkle usually referred to her as “Mimi”) contain information on the trust established for her, bank statements and letters to her mother’s physicians regarding her care. <span class=\"title\">By New York State Law all medical records in this series are sealed from public view</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595262'>Series V: Project Documentation</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1975-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3.5 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains notes, setlists, song lists and lyrics, lighting cues, scripts, correspondence and other documentation regarding McCorkle’s musical career in both performance and recording.</p> <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Performances, 1975-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Recordings, 1975-2001</li></ul></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595307'>Series VI: Concert Programs</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1963-2000 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>7 folders</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series does not constitute a definitive collection of programs, but it does provide documentation for every phase of McCorkle’s career, beginning in her high school years. It contains flyers and concert season schedules as well as programs.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595316'>Series VII: Clippings</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1972-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>25 folders</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains a very thorough collection of newspaper and magazine clippings about McCorkle, beginning with her earliest press notices in London, 1972, and ending with 2001 posthumous clippings (presumably inserted by the executor of the estate).</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595342'>Series VIII: Publicity Material</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1975-2001 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>18 folders</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The papers in this series consist of material designed for distribution and marketing, including press releases, biographies and resumes, itineraries, flyers and press quotes. McCorkle constantly updated her press package and the progress of her career can be tracked by the latest press releases her office issued. They typically listed upcoming gigs, projects and record releases and summed up recent events in McCorkle’s career. The series also contains correspondence relating to work done on McCorkle’s behalf by her publicist, Helene Greece, as well as letters she sent to her fan mailing list.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595361'>Series IX: Song Lyrics</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1971-2000 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of song lyrics, research and occasional correspondence about song history that McCorkle collected throughout her career, in different forms. For several years in the early 1970s she maintained a growing hand-written notebook of lyrics, attaching numbers to songs for reference. Later notebooks were typed or computer-printed. She also produced a set of index cards with lyrics.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595370'>Series X: Scores</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1975-2000 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>28 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p> The scores are divided into five sub-series: shows, special projects, recordings, general trio arrangements and song collections. The shows, special projects, and recordings often correspond to project documentation files in series V. Most of the scores McCorkle routinely used were for piano trio. The scores for her Concord recordings were usually for octets, and her collaborations with Rayburn Wright were for either jazz big band or full orchestra.</p> <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 – Shows, 1984-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 – Special Projects, 1981-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 3 – Recordings, 1986-2000</li> <li>Sub-series 4 – General Trio Arrangements, 1975-1999 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 5 – Song Collections, ca. 1975-1999 and undated</li></ul></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595615'>Series XI: Iconography</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1972-2000 and undated</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains photographs of McCorkle and sketches by McCorkle and others. The photographs are in four divisions: publicity, performance, candid and oversized. Publicity photos are mostly 8”x10” and include proof sheets and negatives. Performance and candid photos are in varying sizes. There are three divisions of sketches: drawings produced by McCorkle (some as part of her therapy during her bout with breast cancer), drawings of McCorkle by others, and drawings by Lee Davis.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/mus/20354#c595643'>Series XII: Books</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1949-1995</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>1 box</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>The books in this series contain inscriptions or markings by either McCorkle or the book’s author.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is organized into 12 series and 13 sub-series. The series and sub-series are: <ul> <li>Series I: Writings, 1957-2001 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Early Writings, 1957-1968</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Non-fiction, 1967-2001 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Fiction, 1971-1999 and undated</li></ul></li> <li>Series II: Correspondence, 1967-2001 and undated</li> <li>Series III: Business Papers, 1974-2001 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Bookings, 1982-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Financial Papers, 1982-2000</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Record Companies, 1974-2001</li></ul></li> <li>Series IV: Personal Papers, 1946-2001 and undated</li> <li>Series V: Project Documentation, 1975-2001 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Performances, 1975-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Recordings, 1975-2001</li></ul></li> <li>Series VI: Concert Programs, 1963-2000 and undated</li> <li>Series VII: Clippings, 1972-2001 and undated</li> <li>Series VIII: Publicity Material, 1975-2001 and undated</li> <li>Series IX: Song Lyrics, 1971-2000 and undated</li> <li>Series X: Scores, 1975-2000 and undated <ul> <li>Sub-series 1 - Shows, 1984-2000 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 2 - Special Projects, 1981-2000</li> <li>Sub-series 3 - Recordings, 1986-2000</li> <li>Sub-series 4 - General Trio Arrangements, 1975-1999 and undated</li> <li>Sub-series 5 - Song Collections, ca. 1975-1999 and undated</li></ul></li> <li>Series XI: Iconography, 1972-2000 and undated</li> <li>Series XII: Books, 1949-1995</li></ul></p>", "supress_display"=>true}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Thea Lurie, executor of the McCorkle Estate, donated the Susannah McCorkle Papers to the Music Division in 2005.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p> <ul> <li>Sound Recordings <ul> <li>Commercially-Released Recordings <ul> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Music Of Harry Warren</span>. (Cassette insert only for 1983 Inner City reissue.)</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Songs Of Johnny Mercer</span>. Cassette (Inner City 1983 reissue) and CD (Jazz Alliance 1996 reissue).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Over The Rainbow: The Songs of E.Y. \"Yip\" Harburg</span>. CD (Jazz Alliance 1996 reissue). (Also, insert but no cassette for Inner City 1983 issue).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The People That You Never Get To Love</span>. Cassette (Inner City 1981 release) and CD (Jazz Alliance 1997 reissue).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Thanks For The Memory: Songs Of Leo Robin</span>. Cassette (Pausa 1985 release) and CD (Jazz Alliance 1998 reissue).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">How Do You Keep The Music Playing?</span> Two CDs (Pausa 1986 issue and Jazz Alliance 2000 reissue).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Dream</span>. Cassette (Pausa, 1987).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">No More Blues</span>. Cassette (Concord Jazz 4370, 1989).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Sabia</span>. Cassette (Concord Jazz 4418, 1990).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">I'll Take Romance</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4491, 1992)</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">From Bessie To Brazil</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4547, 1993). (Signed by McCorkle.)</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Easy To Love: The Songs Of Cole Porter</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4696, 1996). (Signed by McCorkle.)</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Let's Face The Music: The Songs Of Irving Berlin</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4759-2, 1997).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Someone To Watch Over Me</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4798-2, 1998).</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Hearts And Minds</span>. CD (Concord Jazz 4897-2, 2000).</li></ul></li> <li>Commercial Releases-In-Progress (34 cassettes of rough mixes and test masterings of McCorkle's albums.)</li> <li>Non-Commercial Recordings <ul> <li>Radio Broadcasts (69 cassettes and 3 CDs of radio broadcasts from throughout McCorkle's career. Includes NPR, BBC and local radio programs containing interviews with and performances by McCorkle.)</li> <li>Live Performances (28 cassettes and 2 DATs of live performances from throughout McCorkle's career).</li> <li>Work/Rehearsal Tapes (37 cassettes of recordings of McCorkle working with accompanists (most often Allen Farnham) on material for performances or recordings.)</li> <li>Music Demos (19 cassettes labeled \"demo\" recordings. Some are duets with Keith Ingham.)</li> <li>Voiceover Demos (5 cassettes, 2 DATs and 3 reels.)</li> <li>Answering Machine Messages (3 cassettes and 8 mini-cassettes.)</li></ul></li></ul></li> <li>Video Recordings <ul> <li> <span class=\"title\">A Tribute To Alec Wilder: 1907-1980.</span> August 1981 performance at Eastman Theater, Rochester, NY. WXXI production. With Marian McPartland and orchestra, Rayburn Wright conducting. VHS.</li> <li>Live performance ca. 1982, WTVD, Durham, NC. U-matic.</li> <li>TV News feature. July 1983 performance at Penn State University. VHS.</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Jonathan Schwartz Show</span>. MSG Cable Network, Oct. 19, 1983. VHS and U-matic.</li> <li>TV studio performance ca. 1986. VHS (has content listing on box) and U-matic.</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">Jazz Meets Pop: Susannah McCorkle and Friends</span>. April 18, 1988 performance at Proctor's Theatre, Schenectady, NY. WMHT Schenectady Production. With Ray Wright and Eastman Jazz Ensemble, Mark Murphy, Gerry Mulligan, Gene Bertoncini, Michael Moore. VHS (full show), VHS (excerpts) U-matic (full show), U-matic (3 tapes of excerpts).</li> <li>CBS News <span class=\"title\">Nightwatch</span>, May 29, 1990. Interview by Charlie Rose. VHS. Sony U-matic (may have other content on it, labeled 7/90).</li> <li>NBC TV4 <span class=\"title\">Live at Five</span>, December 1990. Interview with McCorkle. VHS.</li> <li>CBS <span class=\"title\">This Morning</span>, Dec. 1990. VHS.</li> <li>CBS <span class=\"title\">Sunday Morning</span> with Charles Kuralt, July 14, 1991. VHS (3 copies).</li> <li>Clint Holmes Show, 1991. VHS</li> <li>Compilation video: Japanese tv interview and performance (1991), CBS <span class=\"title\">This Morning</span> and CBS <span class=\"title\">Sunday Morning</span>. VHS (2 copies) and U-matic.</li> <li>Excerpt of Dec. 1990 appearance on CBS <span class=\"title\">This Morning</span>, and 1994 performance at Rainbow and Stars, NY. U-matic.</li> <li>Live at Jazz Alley, Seattle, Jan. 1997. Betacam SP 12:44 (2 copies), Betacam SP (excerpt) 8:00, VHS 12:44, VHS (excerpt) 7:00</li> <li>Brazilian TV news segment, May 28, 1997. VHS.</li> <li>1998 live performance with Al Gafa, guitar: <span class=\"title\">They Can't Take That Away From Me</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Waters of March</span>. VHS (2 copies).</li></ul></li> <li>Books and Scores <ul> <li>Alexander, Shana. <span class=\"title\">Happy Days: My Mother, My Father, My Sister & Me</span>. New York: Doubleday, 1995.</li> <li>Bartok, Bela. <span class=\"title\">Mikrokosmos</span>. London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1940.</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">A College Book of Modern Verse</span>. Edited by James K. Robinson and Walter B. Rideout. New York: Harper and Row, 1958.</li> <li>Da Fonseca, Duduka and Bob Weiner. <span class=\"title\">Brazilian Rhythms For Drumset</span>. New York: Manhattan Music, Inc., 1991.</li> <li> <span class=\"title\">The Gramaphone Jazz Good CD Guide</span>. Edited by Keith Shadwick. Middlesex, England: Gramaphone, 1995.</li> <li>Holroyd, Michael. <span class=\"title\">Bernard Shaw Vol. I: 1856-1898: The Search for Love</span>. New York: Random House, 1988.</li> <li>Holroyd, Michael. <span class=\"title\">Bernard Shaw Vol. II: 1898-1918: The Pursuit of Power</span>. New York: Random House, 1989.</li> <li>Jones, Judy and William Wilson. <span class=\"title\">An Incomplete Education</span>. New York: Ballantine Books, 1987.</li> <li>Landesman, Fran. <span class=\"title\">Rhymes At Midnight</span>. London: Golden Handshake, 1996.</li> <li>Milne, A. Forbes. <span class=\"title\">An Introduction to Sight-Singing</span>. London: Stainer & Bell, 1947.</li> <li>Milne, A. Forbes. <span class=\"title\">An Introduction to Sight-Singing Part II</span>. London: Stainer & Bell, 1949.</li> <li>Papworth, Keith. <span class=\"title\">500 Chord Shapes for the Guitar</span>. London: B. Feldman, 1960.</li> <li>Savage, Flora L. <span class=\"title\">Phillip Savage - A California Saga: 1850 - 1914</span>. San Francisco: self-published, 1950. (Photocopied manuscript.)</li> <li>Scotti, S.R. and R.S. Goodwin. <span class=\"title\">Blue Vagabond: A Song Revue</span>. Boston: Urban Press, 2000.</li> <li>Shostakovich, D. <span class=\"title\">Six Children's Pieces</span>. London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1946.</li> <li>Thompson, John. <span class=\"title\">The Adult Preparatory Piano Book</span>. London: Chappell, 1961.</li> <li>Thompson, John. <span class=\"title\">Chord-Speller: A Music Writing Book</span>. London: Chappell, 1947.</li></ul></li> <li>Award <ul> <li>Manhattan Cabaret Association award to McCorkle for Best Jazz/Swing Recording of the Year 1999 for <span class=\"title\">Someone To Watch Over Me</span>.</li></ul></li></ul></p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>For permission to publish, contact the Chief, Music Division.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Matthew Snyder; Machine-readable finding aid created by Matthew Snyder.</p>"}
- extent_statement
-
30 linear feet (63 boxes)
- date_start
-
1946
- date_end
-
2001