I can't believe it's come to this...
Steve Lawrence--the man who wasn't in The Rat Pack: Born Stephen Leibowitz in Brooklyn on July 8, 1935. Steve quickly found the glee club and the rest is history. Steve also studied piano, saxophone as well as composing and arranging and made his recording debut at 16 with the King Records single "Mine and Mine Alone". He began appearing on Steve Allen's Tonight Show where he met and performed with Eydie Gorme. Steve and Eydie were married in 1957 and have been together ever since, each keeping a solo career alive as well. Steve released his first LP in 1958: "Here's Steve Lawrence"
Steve scored 21 top 100 hits between '57 and '64 and in 1962 hit Broadway in a production of What Makes Sammy Run?. Steve began making cameo appearances on several TV series and you may remember him as the gangster Maury Sline in The Blues Brothers (hairy chest, medallions, steam room--that's all Steve!).
Nothing for awhile there and then 1984 saw the release of "We Got Us" and let the touring begin! Steve and Eydie busted out the old tux and gown and began doing club acts all over the United States and Europe. Las Vegas became their home away from home and they opened for Frank Sinatra on several of his world tours.
On a personal note...I had the
twisted pleasure of touring with
Steve and Eydie as the #2 soundman for a few dates from
Chicago to
New Jersey. Wow. A different world. It was my duty, nay
privilege, to
mic the
orchestra and make sure there weren't any cables for
Eydie (who was nearing 75) to trip over backstage. My clearest memory is one of Steve, nursing a
brandy before going onstage, looking over at me as the
applause of hundreds of extremely fragile citizens rippled through the
auditorium...Steve gives me that $100,000 smile, puts two fingers in his mouth lets out a piercing
whistle "Let's go get 'em, tiger!", he screams. I just stood there, smiling disbelievingly at the turn my life had taken...two weeks ago I'd been
DJ'ing for
strippers in a "fully nude exotic dancing" type of place in
Muskegon. Now I'm holding Steve Lawrence's brandy and he's howling something about tigers...
Go get 'em, Steve!