Look up the term ‘Unsung Heroine’ and you’ll probably find a definition which resembles something to the effect of - A woman who has made a positive impact on a community through her work or words. She is someone who has dedicated her time; energy and enthusiasm to helping others thrive and inspires the people around her because of it. In many ways, it is also a definition which perfectly encapsulates everything about the enormously talented and delightful Sally Stevens.
It was a great pleasure to recently share a little time with Sally Stevens. A native of L.A., Sally began her work as a vocalist for film back in the Sixties with the epic western; How the West was won (1962). Since then, her credits have been both plentiful and prolific. During the late Sixties and early Seventies things really started to take off for Sally. She found herself working with Elvis Presley providing backing vocals for the film Charro! (1968), on his album Almost in Love (1970) and on instantly recognisable hits such as ‘Edge of Reality’ and ‘A Little Less Conversation’. She even found time for a certain NBC 1968 Comeback Special!
Sally has also worked and sang vocals under the composer Burt Bacharach on his score for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). In 1971, Sally worked with composer Dominic Frontiere for the Steve McQueen / Bruce Brown produced (and Academy Award nominated) documentary film On Any Sunday – a superb insight into McQueen’s passion sport of motorcycling. Sally also wrote and performed the film’s title track.
In amongst these varied projects, Sally teamed up with composer Lalo Schifrin to provide some ‘dreamy’ vocals for James Coburn’s satirical black comedy The President’s Analyst (1967). Whilst perhaps a little insignificant to Sally at the time, those haunting, wordless vocals were about to cement one of her most defining trademarks - and a highly memorable signature sound.
It isn't too hard to see why this period is often defined as the Golden years.
“When I worked on those early films, it was really at the beginning of my career”, said Sally. “Somehow that breathy ‘AHHH’ stuff caught on, and I did it for a number of films. In ensemble/ choral situations, I was always the high soprano, but I LOVED doing that breathy, close-up solo stuff.”
So you found yourself working with Lalo Schifrin in 1967, a memorable experience?
“Oh yes, I remember Lalo’s score for the film The President’s Analyst, it was probably recorded in 1966 or 1967 and very early in my career. I did some solo cues on that for Lalo. I also remember there was a group of 6 or so singers, Ron Hicklin contracted and we did group vocals and then there were some solo cues they wanted me to do. So I stayed, just me on the scoring stage and a bunch of guys in the control booth.
They decided they wanted some ‘love making’ sounds in one of the scenes along with the vocals (and I was obviously not a professional in that area of performance!) I was very embarrassed, and I could see them all being very amused by my predicament in the booth, through the glass! So yes, it was certainly memorable!
But some of it made it into the sound track so I guess it worked!”
All in the name of entertainment and getting the job done!
(Laughs) Yes, exactly!
The Seventies began with some really incredible projects including the Academy Award nominated documentary On Any Sunday (1971). How did you come to work with Dominic Frontiere?
"Well, I had already worked with Dom on a number of projects as a singer, usually with the Ron Hicklin Singers, but I had finally gotten brave enough to share some of my own song writing with him, hoping perhaps he might sometime need a lyricist. He approached me about the On Any Sunday project, and I was excited to have a chance to try a lyric for him. I think the opportunity presented itself because it was somewhat of an independent project."
It’s a really enduring song, so was the world of motorcycling something that you were familiar with - the lyrics seem to illustrate perfectly the ‘freedom’ and ‘spirit’ of biking?
"Oh no, I had only ridden motorcycles twice in my life – once, when I was engaged to a vice cop early in my college years, and then when my brother Charles took me for a ride on the back of his. Yes, many people have conveyed their love for that song. I remember trying to find the right words for the title song and words that captured the essence of the sport. When I finally finished the lyric, Dom presented our song to Bruce Brown, the creator of the film, and they also loved it. So I received a writing credit, but not a screen credit for the singing."
Let's take a listen
It’s a film that has really attained a cult status in the passing years, no doubt helped by Steve McQueen’s involvement and appearance.
"It’s incredible, the film became rather iconic among the biker community, and they have had many gatherings over the years to honour the film and the music. I’ve even received notes and letters in recent years from writers and enthusiasts from that whole community who have re-discovered the music and talk about how the words and visuals captured the emotions of the motorcycling experience."
And you continued to collaborate with Dominic Frontiere on other projects including Hammersmith is Out (1972) - another particular favourite of mine.
"That’s right, I worked on several other projects with Dom as lyricist, and over the years his family all became dear friends. Yes, we also wrote songs for Hammersmith Is Out, it’s a shame it’s such a little-known and seldom seen film considering it starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. We collaborated on several other little theatrical musical projects."
Did your song writing extend to other composers?
“Yes, the lyric writing continued to grow into projects with other composers – for Don Ellis, on Ruby, for Dave Grusin on Absence of Malice - which included a little Christmas song written for children to sing as a source cue, ;Who Comes This Night?’ that some years later James Taylor recorded on his first Christmas album!”
Also in 1971 you found yourself working on arguably two of the finest thrillers of the decade, starting with Alan J. Pakula’s Klute and then Don Siegel's Dirty Harry . Was you feeling more confident working within film?
“In those days, even if doing solos, I never assumed I was on the level of actually being able to speak to people in the control booth,. Back then I was just working as a free-lance singer, I was shy, I almost never knew who I was working for in terms of who was producing or directing. I just showed up, read and sang the notes, said thank you and trotted off. What I do remember in regards to Klute, when I did the vocal solos for composer Michael Small, it was the first time I had worked with Michael, and I was so nervous because we did those vocals ‘Live’ with the orchestra, and I knew if I screwed up or made a mistake, they would all have to start the cue over again.”
Sally circa 1971
And from Klute, you went straight back to working with Lalo again on Dirty Harry. You mentioned the technique of working with Michael Small; did this differ from working with Lalo?
“Well I remember several occasions of working with Lalo and they were mostly always vocals done after the orchestra was recorded, so it would be just the singers or me if it was solo, in the studio communicating with the booth.”
Let’s talk about Dirty Harry and those wonderful vocals which signified Scorpio’s presence? For me and many others, they are practically part of the film’s life blood and DNA.
“When Lalo was scoring this movie, he told producer and director Don Siegel that he wanted to use female vocals for the scenes with the Scorpio Killer in them. When Siegel naturally asked him why, Schifrin replied that he believed Scorpio was a conflicted character, on the one hand he wore a peace symbol as a belt buckle, yet he was a cold-blooded murderer. Schifrin believed that Scorpio also heard voices in his head and the female vocals would represent that”
Lalo Schifrin 1971
*Schifrin has also alluded to this, quoting in an interview that, “these were the days of a lot of upheaval and turmoil in American society”, and that Scorpio was, "in a way, exploiting that - wearing a peace symbol on his belt while murdering random innocents. That gave me the idea to use some kind of acid-rock music for him. Then, he was very disturbed, deranged. He was hearing voices."
Is it still a cherished memory?
“Oh yes, I just wish I could remember more details about the actual recording session. I just know I was thrilled to be there, I think I recall Clint being present in the booth, but I don’t remember having any interaction with him, sadly.”
Well, how much do you remember about that fabulous outtake?
(Laughing) “That was so embarrassing! There was this one cue with a vocal entrance that had no lead-in orchestral track, and I went straight in and started on the wrong note - I was so embarrassed, and I laughed and apologised, and we started the cue over. But that wrong note, and the laugh, my apology, and the start-over were included on the CD of the score that I ran across a few years ago! I had totally forgotten about it until then, I never realised they had it and included it in the release of the score!”
Let's have a listen to the wonderful 'Scorpio's View'
I think it’s a score that has really endured the test of time and successfully transcended into the modern age, would you agree?
“Absolutely, I know Lalo’s score and my vocals were later sampled, effectively and powerfully, by the rap group NWA in 1991 for their track ‘Approach to Danger’, and I’m sure there were a couple of other examples too.”
So with Dirty Harry celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, how do you reflect back at it now and in particular, your involvement?
“It’s actually so much more meaningful to me now in these later days, when I realise what iconic projects those films turned out to be, and how blessed I was to work on them. Both Klute and Dirty Harry remain two of my most very special projects.”
(Left, Sally and Clint at The Society of Composers and Lyricists Christmas event 2011)
You were certainly blessed to work on a number of Clint’s movies. I was checking again just recently - Coogan's Bluff, Kelly's Heroes, Dirty Harry, High Plains Drifter, Magnum Force, Bronco Billy, Pale Rider and most recently J. Edgar where you served as both singer and vocal contractor – it’s a quite extraordinary list of credits, do you ever consider slowing down?
(Laughs) “Yes, I think I spoke to you just recently about working on the score of Clint’s film J. Edgar. I also did a photo shoot during one of the orchestra sessions with Clint in the booth. It was delightful, of course, to be in the studio with him. I don’t think though, that we ever talked about the fact that I had done the vocals for Dirty Harry. As for slowing down, about 25 years after I started singing professionally, I started also to do vocal contracting, and in those years I became much more ‘plugged in’ to the projects - I would confer with the composer ahead of time, I came to know more of the people in charge and I accepted that it was my job to communicate with them. I was blessed to be Chorale Director for the Oscars for about 22 years, in addition to contracting choirs for composers such as John Williams, Alan Silvestri, James Horner, James Newton Howard, and so many others…and I’ve continued singing in that time. But my activity is rightfully and understandably winding down - there are so many other talented young people here in town and they also need their time at bat.”
Sally thank you so much for your time, it’s been a complete pleasure.
‘Thank YOU Darren, I’m really honoured to be part of the celebration!”
Below, Sally's photo of Clint during the scoring sessions for J. Edgar at The Eastwood Scoring Stage on the Warner Bros lot, 2011
*Dirty Harry Recorded at Burbank, California: October 4, 1971
*Reviews:
Time, Jay Cocks cited the "excellent, eerie jazz score by Lalo Schifrin."
Variety, A.D. Murphy wrote "Lalo Schifrin's modernistic score is very effective."
The New Yorker, Pauline Kael wrote: "Lalo Schifrin's pulsating; jazzy electronic trickery drives the picture forward”
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