The incredible voice of Nancy LaMott on one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
"Listen to my heart" was Nancy La Mott's last album. She recorded it on March of 1995, six months later she lost the battle with cancer.
music and lyrics by :David Friedman
orchestrated and conducted by: Peter Matz
Recorded at Master Sound Astoria, Astoria, NY
Recording engineer: Ben Rizzi
Assistant Engineer: David Merrill
second assistant: Roger Scheepers
Mixed by David Friedman & Randy Hansen at Audible Difference, NY
Mastered by: Randy Hansen
Nancy LaMott (December 30, 1951 in Midland, Michigan–December 13, 1995 in New York City) was a singer,[1] popular on the New York City cabaret circuit in the 1980s and breaking out into radio and the national and international scene in the 1990s. Along with Karen Mason, she was the first singer to do a continuous long run at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. She went on to play all of the smaller clubs in New York, and began to record in the early 1990s.
In 1991, song writer/producer David Friedman formed a record label for LaMott, MIDDER Music Records, Inc, and, with Christopher Marlowe at the piano, recorded her first CD. It was an instant success in the cabaret world, and each year, Friedman would use the profits from the previous CD to record another one. The release and popularity of LaMott's CD's led her to become a regular at New York's more prestigious clubs, such as Tavern on the Green and The Oak Room at the Algonquin, where she broke house records for attendance. In 1993, Jonathan Schwartz discovered LaMott and she became a staple on his internationally broadcast radio shows. To this day, Schwartz ends every show with a performance by LaMott. Friedman wrote many of his songs for LaMott, including We Can Be Kind, We Live on Borrowed Time, and Just in Time For Christmas (lyrics by David Zippel). Friedman's songs Listen To My Heart, I'll Be Here With You and Your Love also became signature tunes for LaMott.[citation needed]
In 1994, arranger Peter Matz, tapped LaMott to sing in a concert honoring Alan and Marilyn Bergman in Los Angeles, and her success at this concert catapulted her to the national scene. Matz signed on to orchestrate LaMott's 5th album, Listen To My Heart and this CD brought her large national attention. LaMott performed twice at the White House for President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.[2] and also sang at Carnegie Hall, the annual Cabaret Conventions at Town Hall and always sang the closing song at John Znidarsic's In Celebration of Life Concert. She also participated in numerous benefits to raise money for causes related to AIDS and human rights, and performed major concerts in her home town of Midland Michigan, and her "second home town" San Francisco.[citation needed]
In 2008, her posthumously-released album Ask Me Again, featuring songs she recorded between 1988 and 1995, reached #12 on Billboard magazine's Top Jazz Albums chart.[3] She sang with a "sweet-voiced cabaret-style singing" described as "gentle" with a "1940s style" which won a tight circle of admirers and almost a "cult following".[4] Her life was tragically cut short by uterine cancer in 1995 when she began to achieve commercial and critical success.[4]
