Pearl Bailey is virtually forgotten today, but in her prime in the 1950s and ’60s, she was a comedian, a stage and movie actress, a charismatic nightclub performer and a formidable pop and gospel singer.
She married drummer Louis Bellson in London in 1952, and they were probably the most highly visible integrated couple in the entertainment industry at a dangerous time for such unions.
Bailey’s charm was so potent and Bellson was such a talented drummer that TV advertisers and audiences tended to overlook their marriage—if they were even aware of it. Feeling good was simply a more desired emotion than feeling hate.
Bailey began her recording career in 1944, singing Now I Know in the Cootie Williams Orchestra. The recording…
Bailey on The Nat King Cole Show in July 1957…
Bailey on the Dinah Shore Show in 1960…
Bailey in 1967 on I’ve Got a Secret hosted by Steve Allen…
Bailey with Dinah Shore singing Mack the Knife…
Bailey with Ethel Waters in the 1960s on Bailey’s syndicated TV show, Pearl…
Bailey in 1971 with Andy Williams…
Bailey with Bing Crosby in 1977…
Bailey with the Boston Pops in the mid-1970s with husband Louis Bellson on drums…
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