Queen Latifah is arrestingly
well-endowed physically and vocally. A Presence on stage with
curves in all directions, she can sing slow and mean and she can
sing fast and dirty. In short, a reincarnation of the late, great,
Pearl Bailey. The late lamented Pearly Mae, who left us in August,
1990, when the Queen was 20 and two years after the release of
Her Queenness’ first single recording, Wrath Of My Madness.
Her square handle is
Dana Owens. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father, from
whom her mother was separated when Dana was eight, was a cop.
As was her brother. She acquired the name Latifah about that time,
Arabic for "delicate and sensitive," which is about as miss as
a misnomer can get. "Indelicate" (in an engaging way) is closer
to the impression Queen Latifah makes when she hits full stride.
And she is sensitive as a lioness.
After an eventful youth
she went into law enforcement in later years, in a movie. She’s
the prison matron in Chicago, an Oscar-nominated role in
which she is magnificent, downright Queenly you could say.
Queen Latifah has done
a load of TV and more than a dozen movies, including Brown
Sugar and The Bone Collector, but it was her performance
as "Mama" Morton in Chicago that propelled her into national
prominence among many folks whom under ordinary circumstances
never would have visited her musical realm. They will be visiting
in droves now. And she may be seen in full glory in a non-singing
role in a movie just recently released, Bringing Down the House,
costarring with Steve Martin.
Pearl Bailey, who blazed
the trail for the Queen, was born Pearly Mae Bailey in Virginia
in 1918 to a minister and his wife, 52 years before Dana Owens
was born in Newark to transmogrify into a modern version of the
Pearly one. (Not exactly Pearl Bailey because Queen Latifah is
an original but close enough to remind you of her.) Pearl Bailey
began her show business career as a dancer before she became a
singer. She made many TV appearances, including a role in Carson
McCullers’ Member of the Wedding in 1982. In 1958 she appeared
in the movie St. Louis Blues, with Nat "King" Cole. Her
best known role was in the all black stage version of Hello,
Dolly! She played Dolly from 1967 until 1969.
As a Senior Woman she
went to Georgetown University and earned a bachelor’s degree in
theology at the age of 67. She wrote four nonfiction books and
in 1975 was a special ambassador to the UN. In 1988 she received
the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was married three times.
The last one took. She stayed married to Louis Bellson, a dance-band
drummer, for the last 40 years of her colorful life. They had
two adopted children.
Some of the songs on
which she worked her magic and stamped with her matchless style
are That’s Good Enough For Me, Tired, Row Row
Row, Frankie and Johnny, Bill Bailey (no relation),
Mac the Knife and St. Louis Blues, As far as I could
discover in a cursory search of Queen Latifah’s CDs, none of which
are in the Queen’s repertoire. They should be. What a collection
that would be.
Queen Latifah Sings
Pearl Bailey.
And Pearly Mae could
sing harmony with Queen Latifah from Heaven if management thought
it seemly for two such free spirits to join voices in irreverent
song.
David Westheimer,
SeniorWomenWeb's resident male, lives with his wife of 57 years,
Dody, in the same Los Angeles apartment they moved into from Houston,
Texas 41 years ago. Their son, Fred, is a Senior Vice-President
at the William Morris Agency and his younger brother, Eric, is
a veterinarian. Succeeding generations include five grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren. As a journalist, David worked for
Oveta Culp Hobby.
At 85, David Westheimer
continues to write, and not just for Senior Women. The Great
Wounded Bird, his recollections of World War II, is winner
of the Texas Review 1999 poetry prize, was published by Texas
Review Press and may be ordered from Amazon Books, where it has
surged to 821,374th on their sales list. It is also listed with
Barnes & Noble and Borders Books. David's latest novel, Delay
En Route, is hovering at 1,485,676th on Amazon's list.
Poet and novelist,
David is a retired Air Force Officer. He can be reached for a
repertoire of feigned curmudgeonly remarks at: DWestheime@aol.com.
