THE singer Eydie Gorme has passed away in the United States. She was 84.
Ms. Gorme will be best remembered for her 1963 hit, Blame It On The Bossa Nova (see below). The song, which was about a dance craze of the time, became a massive hit and was nominated for a Grammy.
As well as having a successful solo career, she also recorded with her husband Steve Lawrence. The couple, who married in 1957, had met while working on a New York TV show which was to become the Tonight Show.
Ms. Gorme had been born in New York and was brought up speaking both English and Spanish. She put her language skills to good used in 1964 when she recorded Amor in Spanish with the Mexican combo Trio Los Panchos. The song became a hit across Latin America.
She followed up this success with a series of recordings in Spanish with her husband. They became well known in Latin America and toured extensively together.
The couple also continued to record and perform in England and enjoyed a long-lasting career.
Ms. Gorme passed away in Las Vagas after a short illness. Her husband Steve Lawrence and their son David were with her when she died.
In a statement Mr. Lawrence said: “Eydie has been my partner on stage and in life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time.”
To listen to an excerpt from Blame It On The Bossa Nova, click here.
To see Ms. Gorme perform If He Walked Into My Life, click here.
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