Love Is The Sweetest Thing - Music

Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg September 20 1924 – March 10 2016 Known As Gogi Grant Was An American Popular Singer. She Is Best Known For Her No. 1 Hit In 1956 "The Wayward Wind". Grant Was Born As Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg In Philadelphia Pennsylvania The Eldest Of Six Children Of Russian Jewish Parents Rose Née Jacobson And Alexander Arinsberg. At The Age Of 12 She Moved To Los Angeles Where She Attended Venice High School. In California She Won A Teenage Singing Contest And Appeared On Television Talent Shows. She Worked As A Car Salesperson In The Early 1950s.In 1952 She Began To Record Using First The Name "Audrey Brown" And Later "Audrey Grant." She Was Given The Name "Gogi" By Dave Kapp The Head Of Artists And Repertory At RCA Victor Who Liked To Patronize A Restaurant Called "Gogi's LaRue." Another Source Says That Grant Asked Kapp "What Is A Gogi?" She Continued "His Answer Was 'Darned If I Know I Dreamed It Last Night.'" In 1955 Grant Signed With A Small Record Company Era Records And Had Her First Top Ten Hit With "Suddenly There's A Valley." The Next Year She Had An Even Bigger Hit Reaching Number 1 On Billboard 's Top 100 Chart With "The Wayward Wind" And Holding There For Six Weeks. The Song Sold Over One Million Copies In The United States Alone And Peaked At No. 9 In The UK Singles Chart. She Was Voted The Most Popular Female Vocalist By Billboard Magazine. This Single Returned To The Billboard Hot 100 In 1961. In 1957 She Supplied The Vocals For Ann Blyth's Portrayal Of Helen Morgan In The Biographical Film The Helen Morgan Story. The Soundtrack Occasioned Her Return To RCA Victor The Soundtrack Album Climbed To No. 25 In The Billboard Album Chart Where She Had A Minor Hit The Following Year With "Strange Are The Ways Of Love." Moreover She Was Signed To Star In The Big Beat In The Spring Of 1957. The Film Which Featured Musical Performances By The Cal Tjader Quintet George Shearing And The Del Vikings Was Produced And Directed By William Cowan And Released In February 1958. In 1958 Grant Was One Of The Three Solo Singers Featured In The First Stereo LP Of The Classic Musical Show Boat. The Other Solo Singers Were Howard Keel Who Had Appeared In The 1951 Film Version Of The Show And Anne Jeffreys. Although She Made Albums And Appeared On Television Into The 1960s Her Popularity Declined And She Initially Retired From Singing In 1967 After A Final US Chart Single "The Sea" Top 20 On Billboard's Easy Listening Chart . An Album Of Hers Was Released In UK Some 20 Years Later. Grant Survived Cancer Surgery And Was In Remission. In 2004 Aged 80 She Made An Appearance On The PBS 1950s Pop Music Special Magic Moments And Sang "The Wayward Wind." Grant Headlined With The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies In Palm Springs California. One Of Her More Notable Appearances Of Her Later Years Was With The Follies On December 31 2006. She Was Still Performing As Late As 2013 At The Age Of 89. In 1959 Grant Married Attorney Robert Rifkind. The Couple Had Two Children. Grant Died On March 10 2016 Aged 91. Her Death Was Announced By Her Son Joshua Beckett. She Also Had A Daughter Jeri Brown. read less