Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli's been the grande dame of stage, screen, and record long enough to be a household name, but believe it or not, there was a time when she used a tongue-in-cheek tune to teach people how to "Say Liza (Liza With a 'Z')." The daughter of Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli, Liza was the original showbiz baby, so when she rocketed to renown in the film version of Kander & Ebb's Cabaret, injecting her natural joie de vivre into the title tune, it seemed like manifest destiny. And by the time she beat even Frank Sinatra to the punch with the "Theme from New York, New York," nobody needed any assistance spelling her name.

Let Liza take you on a musical trip to France, in Next Steps.

Liza could belt out a big, brassy tune like nobody's business, but there's an undeniable elegance that seems to be part of her birthright. Maybe that's why she's always shown a soft spot for the French. When she was just a 20-year-old newcomer, she was a step ahead of the '60s Jacques Brel revival, tearing boldly into the heart-rending loss of "Ay Marieke" and the dizzying "Days of the Waltz" two years before they went mainstream as part of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. And years later, Liza still showed a passion for Gallic sounds, slipping into a sultry duet with France's master songsmith Charles Aznavour on the slow-burning "Quiet Love."

In Deep Cuts, Liza moves beyond show tunes, branching out into blues and pop.

Even though Liza made her name as the premier torchbearer of the show-tune tradition in the '60s and '70s, she had plenty more strings to her bow. The blues meets Broadway when she brings new life to "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," a Bessie Smith smash back in the '20s. Liza could also turn around and tackle the slightly psychedelic musings of legendary '60s pop prince Jimmy Webb, with a medley maximizing every ounce of drama in his "MacArthur Park" and "Didn't We." But then she could turn expectations upside down on a standard like "Blue Moon," transforming its late-night lope into a fierce, frisky swing feel.

Liza Minnelli is the kind of performer for whom the simple term singer somehow just doesn't quite cut it. She's an all-around entertainer of the first caliber, the kind who has racked up GRAMMY® Awards, Emmys®, Tonys®, Oscars®, and Golden Globes® like some people pile up magazines on a coffee table. From her breakthrough Broadway role in Kander & Ebb's very first show, Flora the Red Menace, to her star turn in the film version of Cabaret and beyond, we've pounded the planks of the Great White Way, the annals of classic films, and a daunting discography, to bring you the most brightly spot-lit moments of Liza with a "Z." Remember, life is a cabaret, old chum, so sit back and let her entertain you.