Steve Tyrell makes tour stop in Whitefish

Steve Tyrell knows a good song when he hears it, and how to bring out its charm. He should since he’s had a very successful career producing hits for other people. Tyrell scored a hit with Dionne Warwick’s version of the movie title track “Alfie.” He co-produced “Somewhere Out There” for the movie “An American Tail” sung by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram. And he co-produced “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” for the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which went on to win the 1969 Oscar for best original song.

But it wasn’t until he sang in the movies himself that Steve Tyrell was recognized for his own singing. It was his voice you heard romantically crooning “The Way You Look Tonight” on the soundtrack for the 1991 movie “Father of the Bride,” starring Steve Martin, which catapulted his singing career. President Bill Clinton danced with his daughter Chelsea to a recording of Tyrell singing that song at her wedding.

Tyrell’s rapid rise as a singer is a Cinderella story, but he worked for many years building a strong foundation as a producer collaborating with luminaries like Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, Bette Midler and Stevie Wonder. He even produced an album with the late Andy Griffith that won the Grammy in 1995 for gospel album of the year. 

Onstage, Steve loves to tell personal stories about the Great American Songbook’s fascinating history while he sings a new chapter of his own, like the story about how George Gershwin inspired Jimmy Van Heusen and Dorothy Fields to write “I’m in the Mood for Love.”

The giants in the music industry trust Tyrell’s ear and love his voice, which is why Quincy Jones and the Sinatra family selected him as the featured performer with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at their season opening concert in which Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. It was one of the rare times the Sinatra family shared original Sinatra arrangements with another artist.

In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Tyrell was asked by New York City’s Café Carlyle to take over their Holiday Season of November and December, which Short had not missed for 36 years. Regis Philbin said, "My favorite place to go in New York is to see Steve Tyrell at the Cafe Carlyle."

All nine of Tyrell’s American Standards albums have achieved top 10 status on Billboard’s jazz charts — seven of which have reached the top five — and his first album, “A New Standard,” was among the best selling jazz albums for more than five years.

Tyrell sings jazz standards with the heart that made them standards in the first place, infusing them with the stylings they call for, be it pop, rhythm and blues or soul. Though the songs are familiar, he makes you feel like you're hearing them for the first time.

“He wins over the room the old-fashioned way, by taking a solid song and doing it justice,” according to the Jazz Times. Tyrell honors the music and the composers by choosing the best songs and making them better by being true to himself and the diverse musical culture that influenced him.

“Nothing makes me happier than to see this music coming back,” Tyrell said. “It’s the greatest contribution America has made to the arts.”

Tyrell is playing his part in keeping it alive. He will appear with his five piece band, including musical director and pianist Quinn Johnson, at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets range from $29 to $37, and are available now at www.SingerandSimpson.com, www.Tix.com, or by calling 730-2817.

Tyrell’s concert appearance is sponsored by Don “K” Subaru and brought to you by Singer and Simpson Productions.

Much thanks to the Daily Inter Lake, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake and Joel Pemberton at Edward Jones in Whitefish for your support.

For more information, visit www.SingerandSimpson.com or www.stevetyrell.com.