I began in the recording studios as a studio singer singing many hours each day for more than twenty-five years. It is a wonderful and lucrative career. Before that time, I was a "live" performer headlining in resorts, supper clubs, showrooms all over the U.S. I was opening act for Tony Bennett and others. I had a showgroup of my own that I traveled with consisting of piano, bass, drums. It was jazz-bassed and a really great musical unit. I contined live performance and still appear in concerts and special programs. But the studio became my livlihood and my life. I no longer had to live life "on the road" and could work in my home area of Dallas. Of course, I contined to teach (several university positions and workshops and my private studio in Dallas which I still maintain for singers and actors). My career changed when I became too busy to serve full time on a faculty in 2005.

Now, I accept guest professor positions by invitation worldwide. Your organization or educational institution may be interested in hiring me as a workshop presenter in studio singing or in voiceovers. I also teach the mass media singer aiming for a career in recording, TV, concerts, etc. In my private teaching studio in Dallas, I train singers for a variety of needs. Some are actors and dancers who need singing skills to win more roles. Others want to investigate jingles and record backup. Still others need to build an act or prepare for auditions or a pageant performance. I also work with songwriters. I was an RCA songwriter singer many years and have had hits all over the world.

Now, I do not sing in the recording studios daily singing jingles or station I.D.s, because here where I'm based, in Dallas, Texas, the studios have changed. Voiceovers continue to thrive (on the internet and in local studios). About four years after beginning in the studios, going 'on staff' at various jingle production houses and becoming Creative Director of two of them, I also began voiceover work, a blessing which I still continue today. This is because the career of a studio singer tends to be short. My activities as a studio singer lasted longer than most people! I continue as a studio singer but not full time. Those days are gone in Dallas. Recently, I sang a title song for the Disney Company for a new release. I still enjoy singing background vocals on CDs. It's fun.

My greatest joy in the studios was singing with the precision singers in five to seven voice groups...like a machine, so wonderful, so accurate. Few groups are used anymore. They are cost-prohibitive. Singer friends in NYC and LA tell me there are few groups even on the coasts today. Maybe they will become used more often in the future. I also enjoyed singing record backup. I sang backgrounds for many major stars including Willie Nelson. I also sang shows for Disney on Ice, Ice Capades, Las Vegas productions. These were recorded and played during the shows. The audiences usually thought the dancers or actors on stage were singing, but it was really us...we anonymous studio singers.

Producers tend to favor younger singers under about age thirty. This is partially because jingles and record backup follow the music industry model. One singer made oodles of money because she could sing in the manner of Beyonce. Another singer launched a substantial studio career sounding similar to many soul and Rhythm and Blues stars. That career lasted several years but then, the girl began to get fewer and fewer studio dates because while she had the "sound" she could not read music and was not capable of singing in a group in the studios. For many years, the "sweet voice" in both males and females has been out of favor for the most part. The 'gravel-voice' and the Bruce Springsteen voice types and the gruff-voiced female rock singers have been popular. Ethnic approaches are always in demand. Soul and R and B and gospel and rap...very popular. Just like the music business in all of its phases, producers and advertisers tend to favor "young, hip voices," those that echo top music videos and charts.

Most studio singers blossom and bloom and then fade out with the passing years. Like dancers and models, a studio singer had best "take the money and run," because the gravy train won't be in the station forever! You had best develop skills to keep you in a paycheck such as writing jingles or songs, being a staff office worker in a recording studio or radio station, teaching. So, that said, "How do I break into the world of studio singing and what is required," you continue to ask ... Well...read on!