Leon Redbone
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| Leon Redbone | |
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 Leon Redbone in 2007 at Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dickran Gobalian[1] |
| Also known as | Leon Redbone |
| Born | August 1949 (age 60)[2] |
| Origin | Toronto, Canada |
| Genres | Vaudevillian, Ragtime, Jazz, Blues |
| Occupations | musician, songwriter, arranger, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, Harmonica, Banjo, Piano, Throat Tromnet |
| Years active | 197?-Present |
| Labels | Warner Bros. Records, Emerald City, Rounder, August, Blue Thumb Records |
| Website | www.leonredbone.com |
Leon Redbone (August 26, 1949)[2] is an American singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics.
Recognized for his trademark Panama hat, dark sunglasses, and bow tie, Redbone first appeared on stage in Toronto, Canada in the mid-1970s. Virtually nothing is known for certain about his background or true identity.
Redbone has released approximately fifteen albums and earned a sizable cult following. His concerts blend performance, comedy, and skilled instrumentals. Recurrent gags involve the influence of alcohol and claiming to have written works originating well before his time (as part of the mystery of his true age).
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[edit] Early life
Redbone's origins are shrouded in mystery. According to the Toronto Star in the 1980s, his birth name is Dickran Gobalian, who came to Canada from Cyprus in the mid-1960s and changed his name via Ontario,Canada's Change of Name Act.[1] He has cited his date of birth as October 29, 1929; this wildly inaccurate date was the day of the U.S. stock market crash that sparked the Great Depression. He also claimed to have been born in Bombay during a monsoon to parents Niccolò Paganini (a composer and violinist who died in 1840) and Jenny Lind (a singer who died in 1887).[3]
[edit] Career
While living in Canada in the early 1970s, Redbone began performing in public at Toronto area nightclubs and folk music festivals. At one point, it was rumored that he was actually comedian Andy Kaufman, who sometimes took on other identities, or singer/guitarist Frank Zappa, who somewhat resembled Redbone. However, Redbone has performed since the deaths of Kaufman and Zappa, and the rumors have subsided.
In 1974, Rolling Stone magazine ran a feature article on Redbone, a year before he had a recording contract. The article described his performances as "so authentic you can hear the surface noise [of an old 78 rpm]." His first album, On the Track, was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975.
He was introduced to a larger public as a semi-regular musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s. In a late-'70s appearance on the The Merv Griffin Show, he was introduced as "Andy Kaufman ...maybe or maybe not".
During the 1980s-'90s Redbone was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Redbone usually dresses in attire reminiscent of the Vaudeville era, performing in a Panama hat with a black band and dark sunglasses, often while sitting at attention on a stool, with a white coat and trousers with a black string tie.
Redbone survived the crash of a small plane in Clarksburg, West Virginia on February 12, 1979.[1] He travels to engagements exclusively by car, saying, "I carry around many unusual items and devices. They make life difficult for airport security personnel and flying impossible for me."[1]
[edit] Appearances in other media
Redbone has appeared in a number of areas outside of his music recording/performance career. He has made appearances in the comic strips Mister Boffo[citation needed] and The Far Side.[citation needed] He performed the theme song for the 1980s sitcom Mr. Belvedere[citation needed], as well as Your Feet's Too Big,[citation needed] the theme from the syndicated sitcom Harry and the Hendersons.[citation needed] He appears regularly on the PBS children's show Between the Lions.[citation needed] He did a cover of Frank Loesser's romantic Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Zooey Deschanel for the closing credits of the 2003 film Elf.[4] He also voiced the character of Leon the Snowman in the same film. On his 1987 album Christmas Island he performed a version of "Frosty the Snowman," with Dr. John.[5]
He has also produced music for and appeared in television commercials, including an advertisement for Budweiser beer, in which he flies over a beach on a flying carpet, singing "This Bud's for You",[6] and a commercial for InterCity (British Rail) service in the late 1980s.[7]
[edit] Solo discography
[edit] Albums
- On the Track (1975)
- Double Time (1977)
- Champagne Charlie (1978)
- From Branch to Branch (1981)
- Leon Redbone Live (1985)
- Red to Blue (1985)
- Christmas Island (1987)
- No Regrets (1988)
- Sugar (1990)
- Up a Lazy River (1992)
- Live! (1994)
- Whistling in the Wind (1994)
- Live & Kickin' (1999)
- Any Time (2001)
- Live - October 26, 1992: The Olympia Theater, Paris France (2005)
