Loretta Cormier

Vocalist Loretta Cormier showcased the full range of her abilities on her first release, Sing! Went the Strings of My Heart, which was issued in 1998. Whether ballads or more swinging tunes, all of which were culled from the years between 1920 and 1950, she infused them all with solid emotion, strength, and zest. Her debut strikes a balance between fondly remembered favorites like "I'll Remember April," "The Man I Love," "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby," and "But Not for Me," and less frequently played gems like "The Moon Was Yellow" and "Why Try to Change Me Now?" The vocalist, who resides in the area of San Antonio, TX, was a voice student in Baltimore, MD, with Ethel Ennis, and in Washington, D.C., with Ronnie Wells. Her musical inspirations include Billie Holiday, Lee Wiley, Frank Sinatra, and Chris Connor. Critics have compared her sophisticated phrasing and timing to those of Tony Bennett.