Al Jarreau

Alwin Lopez Jarreau was born on March 12, 1940, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the fifth of six children. His father, Emile Alphonse Jarreau, served as a Seventh-day Adventist Church minister and singer, while his mother, Pearl (Walker) Jarreau, played piano for the church. The family performed together in church concerts and benefit events, and Jarreau and his mother gave performances at PTA meetings. At Lincoln High School, he served as student council president and represented the school as a Badger Boys State delegate, where he was elected governor. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Ripon College in 1962, singing with a campus group called the Indigos during his time there. In 1964, he completed a master's degree in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa.

Before committing fully to music, Jarreau worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco, performing on the side with a jazz trio led by George Duke. In 1967, he partnered with acoustic guitarist Julio Martinez, and the duo became the featured attraction at a Sausalito nightclub called Gatsby's. That success led Jarreau to pursue professional singing as his full-time career, and by 1968 he had made jazz his primary occupation. He and Martinez moved south in 1969, where Jarreau performed at venues including Dino's, The Troubadour, and Bitter End West. Television appearances followed on programs hosted by Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, and David Frost. He also performed at The Improv alongside rising acts such as Bette Midler, Jimmie Walker, and John Belushi.

Warner Bros. Records signed Jarreau in 1975 after spotting him performing with pianist Tom Canning. His debut album, We Got By, earned him international recognition and won an Echo Award, the German equivalent of the Grammy. A second Echo Award followed with his next album, Glow. On February 14, 1976, he appeared on the thirteenth episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, hosted that week by Peter Boyle, performing tracks from both albums. In 1978, he won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album Look to the Rainbow.

Jarreau's 1981 album Breakin' Away became one of his most commercially successful releases, spending two years on the Billboard 200 and earning him the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The album included the hit single "We're in This Love Together" and has been recognized as a notable example of the Los Angeles pop and R&B sound. His 1983 self-titled album reached number one on the Billboard Jazz charts for the third consecutive time, placed at number four on the R&B albums chart, and number thirteen on the Billboard 200. It produced three charting singles: "Mornin'," "Boogie Down," and "Trouble in Paradise," and received four Grammy nominations in 1984, including a nod for producer Jay Graydon in the Producer of the Year category. In 1984, his single "After All" reached number 69 on the US Hot 100 and number 26 on the R&B chart. Over the course of his career, Jarreau won ten Grammy Awards and received nineteen additional nominations.

Jarreau sang the theme song for the 1980s television series Moonlighting, for which he also wrote the lyrics, and the song received a Grammy nomination. He was among the performers on the 1985 charity recording "We Are the World," contributing the line "and so we all must lend a helping hand." He also appeared in a duet with Natalie Cole on HBO's Comic Relief, performing "Mr. President," a song written by Joe Sterling, Mike Loveless, and Ray Reach. Jarreau was widely recognized for his use of scat singing, a technique that earned him the nickname "Acrobat of Scat," as well as for his vocal percussion.

During the 1990s, Jarreau took an extended break from recording while continuing to tour extensively. It was during this period that he appeared on Broadway in the 1994 production of Grease, and he later performed the role of the Teen Angel in a 1996 Broadway production of the same show. He also developed a symphony program during this time, performing his own music alongside that of other artists. In 2003, he collaborated with conductor Larry Baird on symphony shows across the United States, with Baird contributing additional orchestral arrangements to the performances.

Throughout his career, Jarreau performed alongside musicians including Joe Sample, Chick Corea, Kathleen Battle, Miles Davis, George Duke, David Sanborn, Rick Braun, and George Benson. On March 6, 2001, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2006, he appeared in a duet with American Idol finalist Paris Bennett during the Season 5 finale and performed with actor Cheech Marin on Celebrity Duets. In 2010, he contributed the song "Double Face" to an album by Eumir Deodato, co-writing the track with Deodato and Nicolosi; the song was produced by the Italian company Nicolosi Productions. On February 16, 2012, he performed at the Italian Festival di Sanremo with the group Matia Bazar.

Jarreau married Phyllis Hall in 1964; the couple divorced in 1968. He married his second wife, Susan Elaine Player, in 1977. The couple had a son, Ryan Jarreau, who appears alongside Susan as a background vocalist on the album Tomorrow Today. Susan also provided photography for several of Jarreau's albums, including Glow, All Fly Home, This Time, and Breakin' Away, and is the subject of "Susan's Song," the third track on We Got By.

Jarreau died of respiratory failure on February 12, 2017, at the age of 76, two days after announcing his retirement. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. His headstone bears lyrics from his song "Mornin'": "Like any man / I can reach out my hand / And touch the face of God."