Dorothy Carless
Husky voiced Dorothy Carless (1916-2012), the elder sister of fellow singers Pearl Carr and Carole Carr, was one of England’s top warblers of the 40s and 50s. She studied classical music intensively and was an accomplished pianist in her teens. However, at 17 she became passionate about jazz. In 1937 she auditioned for bandleader Ray Noble, who asked her to sing instead of playing piano. Later she moved on to other bands such as Ambrose and Harry Roy then The Geraldo Orchestra from 1940 to 1947.
Within a few years, she became a national celebrity while working as a pianist and singer for the BBC during World War II. In 1953 she moved to California, where she appeared in top night-clubs and many radio and TV shows. In 1956 she recorded 'The Carless Torch,' an album for the HiFi Record inprint on which she sings with intimate phrasing and considerable feeling on a number of time-tested...
