Timi Yuro

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Timi Yuro


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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Rosemary Timotea Yuro
Alias =
Born = birth date|1940|8|4
Died = death date and age|2004|3|30|1940|8|4
Origin = flagicon|USA Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Instrument =
Genre = Soul, R&B
Occupation = Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1961 – early 1980s
Label = Liberty, Mercury
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Timi Yuro (born Rosemary Timotea Yuro, August 4, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois - died March 30, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American soul and R&B singer. She is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul stylists of the rock era.

Early years

According to her record label, Liberty Records, Yuro moved with her family to Los Angeles. There, she sang in her parents' Italian restaurant and in local clubs before catching the eye and ear of record executives. Signed to Liberty, she had a U.S. Billboard No. 4 single in 1961 with "Hurt", an R&B ballad that had been an early success for Roy Hamilton. On "Hurt" and on her Billboard No. 12 follow-up in 1962, "What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?)", Yuro showed an emotional but elegant vocal style that owed a debt to Dinah Washington and other black jazz singers. Many listeners in the early 1960s thought Yuro was black. She opened for Frank Sinatra on his 1961 tour of Australia.

In 1963, Liberty released "Make the World Go Away", an album of country and blues standards. The singer at her vocal peak, this recording includes a powerful title track of the same name, a beautifully understated version of Willie Nelson's "Permanently Lonely", and two different blues takes of "I'm Movin' On". Yuro was also known for soulful reworkings of popular American standards, such as "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", "Smile", and "I Apologize".

In the 1960s, Yuro made two TV appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and was a guest on "American Bandstand", "Where the Action Is", and "The Lloyd Thaxton Show". In 1967, Yuro appeared in a black-and-white film in the Philippines as a guest star alongside Filipino comedians Dolphy and Panchito in a comedy titled "Buhay Marino" (Life of a Sailor). At that time, the singer was very popular in the Philippines.

Later career

By the late 1960s, Yuro had performed in venues from London to Las Vegas. However, her career soon lost its early momentum, and she quit the music business altogether after her marriage in 1969. When Yuro began to sing again in the 1980s, her doctors detected throat cancer. Her larynx was eventually removed and in 2004 she died of cancer. Her last recording was the 1984 CD "Timi Yuro Sings Willie Nelson", produced by her old friend Nelson.

Influence

Yuro's work is admired in the United States as well as in Great Britain and the Netherlands. According to the obituary in the "Las Vegas Sun", her hometown paper, Yuro's most famous fan was probably Elvis Presley, who commanded his own table at the casino where Yuro headlined in the late 1960s. (Presley had a Top 10 country hit with his 1976 version of "Hurt".) In April 2004, Morrissey announced Yuro's death on his official website, describing her as his "favorite singer". (Morrissey also recorded a version of Yuro's "Interlude" with Siouxsie Sioux in 1994.) P.J.Proby knew Timi Yuro from their time in Hollywood, and often mentions it during his performances of "Hurt".

Elkie Brooks recorded a version of Yuro's classic "What's a Matter Baby" on her 1988 album "Bookbinder's Kid". Yuro was so impressed with the version, she contacted Brooks while she was on a UK tour, and the two kept in contact.

Yuro found success on the dance floors of northern England in the 1970s and 1980s when Northern Soul DJs championed her up-tempo tracks of "It'll Never Be Over for Me" and "What's a Matter Baby". The latter was re-released on Kent Records in the 1980s.

Website

In 2008, a website managed by the Official Timi Yuro Association was up and running: http://www.timi-yuro.com/

The Official Timi Yuro Association was founded by Timi Yuro and Andy Lensen in September 1981 for her fans worldwide. Its current goals are to promote Yuro's music and legacy by sharing memories, stories, articles and photos, and exchanging information about her biography, discography, rare recordings, and live and recorded performances.

Discography

ingles

"Hurt", "Billboard"'s highest position (U.S.): #4 (July 1961)

"What's a Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?)", highest position (U.S.): #12 (August 1962)

"Make the World Go Away", highest position (U.S.): #24 (August 1963) "The Love of a Boy", highest position (U.S.): below #40 (1964)

Albums

"Hurt!" (Liberty, 1961)

"What's a Matter Baby" (Liberty, 1962)

"Timi Yuro" (Liberty, 1962)

"Soul!" (Liberty, 1962)

"Let Me Call You Sweetheart" (Liberty, 1962)

"Make the World Go Away" (Liberty, 1963)

"In the Beginning" (Liberty, 1968) "The Very Best of Timi Yuro" (United Artists, 1975)

"Today" (Ariola, 1982)

"For Sentimental Reasons" (Arcade, 1983)

"Collection" (Masters, 1986?)

CD collection

"Hurt! The Best of Timi Yuro" (Liberty, 1963 /EMI Records, 1992)