Jackie and Roy
Jackie and Roy was a jazz vocal team consisting of husband and wife singer Jackie Cain (born May 22, 1928 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and singer/pianist Roy Kral (born October 10, 1921 in Cicero, Illinois; died August 2, 2002 in Montclair, New Jersey).[1]
They first joined forces in 1946, and in 1996 they celebrated their 50th anniversary as a vocal duo. Jackie and Roy's stint with Charlie Ventura's band in 1948 and 1949 brought them a great deal of recognition; Lou Stein's "East of Suez" was an unusual feature for their voices. Shortly after leaving Ventura in June 1949, they were married and worked together on a regular basis thereafter. Jackie and Roy had their own television show in Chicago in the early 1950s, worked in Las Vegas from 1957 to 1960, settled in New York in 1963, and appeared on some television commercials. They recorded many spirited jazz performances for a variety of labels through the decades, and performed until Roy Kral's death in August 2002. Fairly early in their career, Jackie and Roy were befriended by composer Alec Wilder, who wrote the liner notes for one of their earliest albums, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral (1955). They had always favored Wilder's songs and, ten years after his death, paid tribute by recording an entire album of them, An Alec Wilder Collection.
Discography
- Jackie and Roy: Jazz Classics by Charlie Ventura's Band (1948; reissue on CD, 2005, of earlier 78s)
- Jackie Cain and Roy Kral (Trio Records, 1955 [PA-6128]; reissued by Storyville, then by Black Lion as Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most, 1987) (with Barney Kessel, Red Mitchell, Shelly Manne)
- Sing Baby Sing! (Storyville, 1956)
- The Glory of Love (MCA, 1956)
- Jackie and Roy (Brunswick, 1957)
- Bits and Pieces (ABC-Paramount, 1957)
- Free and Easy (ABC-Paramount, 1957) (with Bill Holman's Orchestra)
- In the Spotlight (ABC-Paramount, 1958)
- Sweet and Low Down (CBS Mastersound, 1960)
- Double Take (Columbia Records, 1961)
- Like Sing (Columbia, 1963)
- By Jupiter & Girl Crazy (Roulette, 1964; reissued by Fresh Sound)
- Changes: Jackie & Roy (Verve, 1966)
- Lovesick (Verve, 1966)
- Grass (Capitol, 1969)
- Time & Love (CTI, 1972)
- A Wilder Alias (CTI, 1974)
- Concerts by the Sea (Studio 7, 1976) (live)
- Echoes (1976, not issued until 2007 on Jazzed Media) (live; more material from Howard Rumsey's Concerts by the Sea)
- Star Sounds (Concord, 1979) (with Joe Beck)
- East of Suez (Concord, 1980)
- Sondheim (Red Baron Records JK-57338, 1982)
- High Standards (Concord, 1982)
- We've Got It: The Music Of Cy Coleman (Discovery, 1984)
- Bogie (Fantasy Records, 1986)
- One More Rose: A Tribute to Alan Jay Lerner (Audiophile, 1987)
- Full Circle (Contemporary CL-14046, 1988; reissued by Fantasy, 1992)
- An Alec Wilder Collection (Audiophile, 1990)
- Forever (MusicMasters 01612-65128-2, 1995)
- The ABC Paramount Years (1997; compilation of earlier material)
- The Beautiful Sea: Songs of Sun, Sand & Sea (DRG 8474, 1999)