Jane Olivor

Olivor was born as Linda CohenLiner notes for CD "The Best of Jane Olivor" by Kristopher Spencer, 2004. in Brooklyn, New York{{cite web|last1=Ruhlmann|first1=William|title=Jane Olivor {{!}} Biography & History|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jane-olivor-mn0000219287/biography|website=AllMusic|accessdate=December 4, 2016}} and reportedly grew up with a background in folk music, although her particular influences, she has said, were Johnny Mathis and Gene Pitney; the latter appeared on her 2000 album, Love Decides.[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r505213|pure_url=yes}} Love Decides], allmusic.com. Retrieved February 27, 2008.

In her early days as a performer, Olivor played such venues as Brothers & Sisters and The Ballroom. She became known, notably among the gay community, for her interpretations of songs such as "Some Enchanted Evening" from the Broadway musical South Pacific and "Come Softly to Me", by The Fleetwoods. Early in her career she performed on several occasions as a guest artist on the BBC "jazz ship", the SS Rotterdam, sailing out of New York.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Credited as "Janie Olivor, stage performer", an early performance is captured in the 1975 film Saturday Night at the Baths, an independent film shot at the Continental Baths where, among others, Bette Midler got her start.{{cite web|title=Saturday Night at The Baths - Cast and Crew|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257099/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm|work=IMDB|accessdate=1 September 2013}} In the film, historically important for its footage both of the bathhouse and of Olivor herself, Olivor sings an early version of "Pretty Girl". Written by Olivor with Kathy Wakefield, "Pretty Girl" later appeared on Olivor's In Concert and Safe Return albums.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Olivor also eased her way into the burgeoning New York City cabaret scene of the early 1970s. She appeared at Reno Sweeney (cabaret), owned and operated by Lewis Friedman and Eliot Hubbard, which Vito Russo described as "the center of the universe during the now-legendary cabaret revival of the early 1970s".[http://www.artistswithaids.org/artforms/music/catalogue/friedman.html Lewis M. Friedman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211172821/http://www.artistswithaids.org/artforms/music/catalogue/friedman.html |date=2007-12-11 }}, The Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, www.artistswithaids.org. Retrieved January 20, 2008. Working steadily in the New York City cabaret scene, Olivor became noticeable enough for the Columbia Records label and the William Morris Agency to sign her.Jonathan Frank, [http://www.talkinbroadway.com/cabaret/olivor.html Interview with Jane Olivor at Talkin' Broadway Cabaret]. Retrieved January 20, 2008. Her debut album, First Night, released in 1976, was named Stereo Review{{'}}s Album of the Year.[http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/concerts/janeolivor_article.shtml 2008 Jane Olivor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514040541/http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/concerts/janeolivor_article.shtml |date=2009-05-14 }} on Coast to Coast Tickets. Retrieved January 20, 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.corporateartists.com/jane_olivor.html |title=Jane Olivor at corporateartists.com |accessdate=2013-09-01 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517154422/http://www.corporateartists.com/jane_olivor.html |archivedate=May 17, 2008 }}, The Bazel Group. Retrieved January 20, 2008.

In September 1977, her second album, Chasing Rainbows, was released to coincide with Olivor's debut at Carnegie Hall. The first pressing of the album contained a one-sided insert 45 RPM single of "Some Enchanted Evening", re-recorded by Olivor and produced by Charles Calello. Chasing Rainbows was produced by Tom Catalano, the longtime producer of many of Neil Diamond's hit singles and albums;{{cite web|title=Tom Catalano - Credits|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-catalano-mn0000602999/credits|work=All Music Guide|accessdate=September 1, 2013}} Diamond was another influence and favorite of Olivor's. This album reached the Top 100 bestsellers, remaining in the charts for three months, and peaked at number 87 on the Billboard charts.

In 1978, Olivor released the album Stay the Night, with a title track, "Stay the Night" by composer Susan Casazza (previously called Maxie Green) and lyricist Norman Dolph. Olivor's slowed-down version from this album of The Chiffons' "He's So Fine", with its sinewy saxophone and multi-tracked Olivor vocals, became the biggest-selling single of her career and charted into Billboard's Top 100, peaking at number 77.[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jane-olivor-mn0000219287/awards Jane Olivor Billboard Chartings] at allmusic.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.

In between Stay the Night and the release of The Best Side of Goodbye, Olivor found herself busy with concerts and also toured as a special guest of Johnny Mathis. Their duet, "The Last Time I Felt Like This", was the theme for the 1978 film Same Time, Next Year. The song, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078199/awards Awards for Same Time, Next Year], IMDb.com. Retrieved January 20, 2008.

The 51st Academy Awards ceremony in April 1979 marked the first time that all five of the nominated songs were performed by the artists who recorded them for the films themselves; Olivor and Mathis performed their "The Last Time I Felt Like This" duet live at the televised event.[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1979 Academy Awards - 1979], IMDb.com. Retrieved January 20, 2008. Olivor continued to headline at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall in New York, and other venues. Her fourth album, The Best Side of Goodbye, produced by Louie Shelton, Michael Masser, and Jason Darrow, was released in 1980 and climbed to number 58 on the Billboard charts. Columbia released the song "Don't Let Go of Me" as the album's only single.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Jane Olivor in Concert, her first live album, was recorded in December 1981 at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and released in 1982. It included "Race to the End", a vocal version of Vangelis's instrumental theme from the film Chariots of Fire, and again "Stay the Night", as its singles.

In 1983, her own stage fright, nervousness at the sudden onrush of fame, and numerous unfavorable experiences with the music industry led Olivor to schedule a six-month hiatus from both performing and the heavy pressures of her too-fast fame. That hiatus stretched to a ten-year break from recording when, in addition to her other challenges, her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer six months after they married.Steven M. Housman, [http://stevenhousman.com/Interviews/JaneOlivor.html "Hardly a Plain Jane — Up Close and Very Personal With Jane Olivor"] Olivor put her career on hold to care for him until his death in 1986. In the meantime, she had disputes with Columbia Records over money.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}

After having sought and received treatment for depression in 1989, Olivor returned to performing in 1990 and discovered that her fan base had remained loyal to her throughout her absence.

In 1991, she sang "The Last Time I Felt Like This" with Johnny Mathis on the Oprah Winfrey Show, in support of the Columbia release Better Together, a compilation album featuring Johnny's most memorable duets. Gradually, she became more active, and in 2000 her first album in eighteen years, Love Decides, featuring Gene Pitney singing harmony on a remake of "Half Heaven, Half Heartache", was released,{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-decides-mw0000103755 |title= Love Decides - Jane Olivor|publisher= AllMusic|accessdate=June 18, 2016}} followed in 2001 by Songs of the Season.

On November 11, 2003, Olivor appeared at the Berklee Performance Center at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where she taped Safe Return, a live album of music spanning her entire career. She had recorded her first live album, Jane Olivor in Concert, in the same venue in 1982, but except for a Christmas concert in 1999 had not performed there since.Liane Hansen, [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1979664 Jane Olivor Sings Again on 'Safe Return'], Weekend Edition (audio), National Public Radio, June 27, 2004. Retrieved January 20, 2008. The concert was recorded as both an album and a DVD, and both were released in 2004.

In June 2004, Columbia Records released her greatest-hits collection, titled The Best of Jane Olivor. It is a compilation of her best-known songs, including the Academy Award–nominated song "The Last Time I Felt Like This" with Johnny Mathis. This is the first time that the duet has been issued on a Jane Olivor album.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

After having toured extensively for about five years, Olivor once again took some time off. Her last concert was in December 2008.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Jane Olivor is a staunch supporter of animal rights, and she has taken an interest in the efforts of the Marin Humane Society.

{{Reflist}}

• {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3136}}
• [http://janeolivortribute.com Jane Olivor Tribute]
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050205230801/http://www.janeolivor.com/bio.htm |date=February 5, 2005 |title=Jane Olivor – Official Biography from JaneOlivor.com }}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220004629/http://janeolivor.net/biography/index.html |date=February 20, 2012 |title=Official Biography from JaneOlivor.net }}
• [http://www.jerrykravat.com/pdf/j_olivor.pdf Online profile]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/12/16/life_is_a_cabaret "Life Is a Cabaret"] – Boston Globe interview (2008)
• {{IMDb name|1166763}}

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Category:1947 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women singers

Category:American cabaret singers

Category:Jewish American musicians

Category:Singers from Brooklyn

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:21st-century American women