Printable Biography of Tom Wopat

Tom Wopat introduces a new dimension of his talent on his Angel Records debut, the STILL OF THE NIGHT, an album which is going to surprise a lot of people. The star of TV and Broadway effortlessly reinvents a set of beautiful standards in a smooth, intimate and sexy, style reminiscent of the crooners of the 40's and 50's. The surprise is that he waited until now to reveal a talent for singing some of the best-loved songs of the last century in a romantic style that belies his husky voice and ruggedly handsome appearance. "We found things in my voice that we knew were there, but had never really been highlighted before," explains Wopat. "This has been a real process of discovery of what's there and what sounds kind of cool."

The idea for the STILL OF THE NIGHT began when Wopat was recording the original cast album for "Annie Get Your Gun", in which he starred with Bernadette Peters. Before long, producer Russ Titelman had joined the project. Titelman's credits read like a who's who of modern music, including his Grammy-winning records for Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood, the critically acclaimed, early recordings of Randy Newman, and hits by George Harrison, Rickie Lee Jones, George Benson, Chaka Khan and James Taylor.

The idea was to keep it simple and romantic with vocal performances that are intimate and conversational. They set the bar high: create a concept record in the tradition of Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours," "Where Are You," or "Only the Lonely," choosing songs of mystery and question, rather than straight-ahead love songs. Go for the greatest songwriters-Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Loesser, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hart, Jimmy Webb-and subtly reinvent them to make them more contemporary. The songs weren't dramatically changed or substantially overhauled from the original versions but rather re-harmonized as in "For All We Know" to make them a little more unusual than the traditional versions. They also brought in arranger Jonathan Tunick, famous for his long association with Stephen Sondheim, to add his touch to Jim Webb's "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress" and the title song from Sondheim's 1964 musical, "Anyone Can Whistle". Famed Grammy award-winning Arif Mardin did the beautiful string arrangement on "Ruby" while Rob Mounsey, whose wide-ranging credits include working with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello and Madonna, did the arrangements for five tracks.

Songs were chosen by trial and error during rehearsal from a long list compiled by both Wopat and Titelman. "For All We Know" was the first choice, it was the breakthrough that set the tone of the record. Jimmy Webb's "If These Walls Could Speak" became one of the recording's most haunting pieces with simple piano and strings while just piano and voice on Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" is one of the work's most direct performances. With Wopat's brilliantly emotive voice, "Where Is Love" from Lionel Bart's "Oliver!" was transformed from the hit song in a musical about children to a soul-searching, grown-up, deeply emotional lament. But the big surprises are "Let's Fall In Love" and "In The Still Of The Night": the first with its big band arrangement, and the second, a bossa nova in the style of Getz/Gilberto. Adding a touch of humor are "Making Whoopee" and "Baby It's Cold Outside," which features Antonia Bennett, the 26-year old daughter of Tony Bennett who makes her recording debut.

Much of THE STILL OF THE NIGHT was recorded live with a trio featuring some of the world's top jazz musicians, including Larry Goldings on piano, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Steve Jordan and Rob Mounsey. Guitarist John Pizzarelli plays on five tracks. His father, jazz superstar Bucky Pizzarelli, (who has played with Benny Goodman, Stephane Grappelli, Lionel Hampton, Dion DiMucci and Lionel Hampton) performs on "Let's Fall In Love."

Titelman said, "We wanted to make an emotional album people can listen to over and over again, something that could stand the test of time like the great Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra records. Besides, Tom is one of the greatest singers I've ever heard, so it was a real pleasure doing this record and a real experience for all of us. He doesn't make a big deal of it, he just shows up and does it. When we were doing 'Anyone Can Whistle,' he walked into the studio with his crash helmet on (he rides a bike). I introduced him to the musicians, he went in, sang this astounding performance, then said 'okay, gotta go.' No big fanfare around it. He just kind of does it."