The singing Coronet lady

White Christmas; Rosemary Clooney

“Extra value is what you get when you buy Coronet.”

Well, now, that’s strange, I thought. Usually the person who sings the jingle stays outside the purview of the camera. Yet, here’s this woman, singing this one line, and it’s packed with character, style and consumer confidence. And she wants me to purchase Coronet paper products. Well, I’m sold. Dad, who’s that singing on TV? “Why, that’s Rosie Clooney. I haven’t seen her in years.” Did she sing anything famous? “I think she was the one who sang ‘This Old House’.” Dad provided the first of a variety of answers to similar queries about this mystery woman. “I think she sang ‘Come On-A My House’.” “Wasn’t she in ‘White Christmas’?” “She sang a bunch of Italian songs.” Oh, was she Italian? “No.” “I think he’s Nick Clooney’s sister.” Who’s Nick Clooney? “I don’t know.” “She’s married to Jose Feliciano.” The blind guy who sings “Feliz Navidad”? “Oh, uh, no. No, I guess not.” So, I wrote down her name to look up later when the world wide interweb was invented.

In 1982, one of the major TV networks broadcast a television movie called “Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story”. Finally, I could find out more about this woman with the velvet voice. Oddly enough, I don’t remember too much from the movie. However, I could see that she came from old Hollywood, her career had started in a promising way, but, that she had suffered from some stumbling blocks along the way; namely, a bipolar disorder which led to a nervous breakdown while she was on stage in Reno, Nevada. Her recuperation process took eight years to complete. In 1974, her “White Christmas” co-star, Bing Crosby, invited her to appear on a show with him marking his 50^th anniversary in show business. She accepted, and a comeback began.

Over the years, I saw her many times on TV, most notably on Larry King as she was a favorite of his. During the last twenty years of her career, she recorded for the Concord Jazz label. My sister K. remembers when she guest-starred on an episode of “E.R.”, a show which included her nephew George as a member of its cast. She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for that role.

One day, while strolling through the mall around Christmas time in 1996, I saw that Ms. Clooney had put out a Christmas album and I had to get it. Her voice had lost a little of the luster that she enjoyed in her younger days, but whatever qualities she missed she more than made up for with style, interpretation, warmth, compassion, credibility and sincerity.

I have to tell you about the cover. The first pressing of this CD included a clear plastic packet in front of the picture on the cover. Inside the packet was some type of clear liquid, maybe water, I don’t know, and glitter, supposedly giving you the sense that it was actually snowing on the cover of her CD. It didn’t really work too well, but you could see what the producers of the album were trying to accomplish. That made it special.

All of those novelty tunes that Ms. Clooney’s management had her sing at the start of her career cost her a little bit. She never received a fair shake at singing something a little more legitimate. Time, though, has proven her more than equal to the task. My favorite part of this CD comes when she sings “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”. On the last pass through the tune, she sings the following:

When we finally say “Bonne Nuit”,

How I’ll hate going out in the sleet.

But if you really care for me,

Come On-A My House and warm up my feet.

Credits: To Rosemary Clooney, for overcoming humongous obstacles and, after pushing away excess emotional baggage, finding a voice and a song to go with it. Thank you. We miss you.