Died On This Date (February 12, 2017) Al Jarreau / American Jazz Singer
themusicsover Al Jarreau
March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017
Al Jarreau was an internationally renowned jazz vocalist who, over the course of his career, earned seven Grammy’s while garnering over a dozen more nominations. To this day, he’s the only vocalist to win a Grammy in three different categories – in his case, jazz, pop and R&B. Born in Milwaukee, Jarreau spent much of youth singing at local church and school events. He continued singing through high school and college where he performed with jazz trio which included George Duke. By the early ’70s, Jarreau was performing at top clubs in Los Angeles as well as on TV shows like The Dinah Shore Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1975 and went on to release 16 studio albums and several more live and compilation albums. His debut, 1975’s We Got By was released to critical acclaim, and introduced him to new fans the world over. 1981 found Jarreau releasing what would become his best-selling album, Breakin’ Away. Jarreau continued to record and tour through much of the rest of his life. On February 8th, 2017, he cancelled his current tour and was hospitalized for exhaustion. Four days later, February 12th, Al Jarreau, passed away at the hospital surrounded by this family and friends. He was 76. Cause of death was not immediately released.
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