# Nancy Wilson has died
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [December 14, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120 "2018-12-14T15:19:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/1 "2018-12-14T15:19:20Z")
[Article.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/obituaries/nancy-wilson-dead-jazz-singer.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage) Another jazz icon is gone. Ms. Wilson really had a way with phrasing that made songs special.
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### Author:  [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/2 "2018-12-14T15:21:31Z")
A great singer, and probably the most famous native of my adopted home town, Chillicothe, Ohio.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/3 "2018-12-14T15:33:36Z")
I thought you meant Nancy Wilson of Heart, I was thinking she’s only in her mid-60s.
Can you please recommend any good songs to listen to of this Nancy Wilson?
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### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/4 "2018-12-14T15:53:08Z")
Yup, heard about in the news last night. But I’m with **What Exit?** , can someone recommend some of her choice songs?
ETA — never mind, I just searched it.
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### Author:  [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/5 "2018-12-14T15:57:51Z")
I’ve been watching this news ripple through the DC jazz community on Facebook. Many people are very sad. ☹
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> Can you please recommend any good songs to listen to of this Nancy Wilson?
She was one of the last living greats, and recorded a lot of material. You can’t go wrong with anything from the _**[Very Best of](https://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-NANCY-WILSON/dp/B000PMLIKY/)**_ album. “Guess Who I Saw Today” was one of her signature tunes.
I have a showcase coming up next month, and have been working on a set list. I’d already been planning to include “[Never Will I Marry](https://youtu.be/DTFEtPXxo0k)” – which I learned years ago from her version – and now it’s a definite.
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### Author:  [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/6 "2018-12-14T16:07:46Z")
My mom really liked her.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/7 "2018-12-14T16:52:50Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> Can you please recommend any good songs to listen to of this Nancy Wilson?
> [@Bullitt](#):
>
> Yup, heard about in the news last night. But I’m with **What Exit?** , can someone recommend some of her choice songs?
[“Guess Who I Saw Today”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnxyIMTwqIM) - probably her signature song
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/8 "2018-12-14T17:11:27Z")
> [@Misnomer](#):
>
> …
> She was one of the last living greats, and recorded a lot of material. You can’t go wrong with anything from the _**[Very Best of](https://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-NANCY-WILSON/dp/B000PMLIKY/)**_ album. “Guess Who I Saw Today” was one of her signature tunes.
>
> I have a showcase coming up next month, and have been working on a set list. I’d already been planning to include “[Never Will I Marry](https://youtu.be/DTFEtPXxo0k)” – which I learned years ago from her version – and now it’s a definite.
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> [“Guess Who I Saw Today”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnxyIMTwqIM) - probably her signature song
Thank you both.
She had a great voice.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/9 "2018-12-14T20:27:27Z")
[Moderating]
I’m willing to change the title, but not sure what to change it to. Would [jazz singer] be enough of a disambiguation?
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/10 "2018-12-14T20:50:36Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> [Moderating]
> I’m willing to change the title, but not sure what to change it to. Would [jazz singer] be enough of a disambiguation?
That would do, but on the other hand, this potentially title exposes the classic rock fans to this Nancy Wilson. Maybe you should leave it. It is fairly obvious from just the hover.
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/11 "2018-12-14T21:38:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> [Moderating]
> I’m willing to change the title, but not sure what to change it to. Would [jazz singer] be enough of a disambiguation?
I hear that Twitter initially had some tweets assuming that it was Ann’s sister. I’m sure a LOT of people were relieved to learn that it wasn’t the Nancy Wilson they knew about.
A suggestion for an amended thread title: _[Chanteuse] Nancy Wilson has died._
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### Author:  [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/12 "2018-12-14T22:12:14Z")
My favorite Nancy Wilson was **[How Glad I Am](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHVZ51o6ZNE)**.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/13 "2018-12-14T22:29:10Z")
I was listening to a nice Christmas tune she was singing last night. ☹
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 14, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/14 "2018-12-14T22:50:39Z")
No doubt there were some people who thought Nancy Wilson the basketball player and coach had died.
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### Author:  [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/15 "2018-12-15T08:21:16Z")
My favorite Nancy Wilson song: (In a Long White Room) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcOb\_tn-nKs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcOb_tn-nKs)
I first heard it when the 45 came out (in 1969?) and was happy to find it as an Mp3. I could literally listen to it
all day.
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### Author:  [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/16 "2018-12-15T10:56:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> [“Guess Who I Saw Today”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnxyIMTwqIM) - probably her signature song
Cool, thanks for that. Yes she did have an amazing voice.
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### Author:  [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/17 "2018-12-15T15:22:35Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> A suggestion for an amended thread title: _[Chanteuse] Nancy Wilson has died._
Ugh. Jazz has enough of a snobby image problem. 😉 If the thread title needs to be changed, I suggest sticking with simply “jazz singer.”
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### Author:  [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/18 "2018-12-15T22:54:27Z")
Years ago, I about wore out a copy of _Capital Sings Duke Ellington_, which had three Nancy Wilson offerings: “Satin Doll,” “In a Sentimental Mood,” and “Sophisticated Lady.” What I love about her voice is that it’s deeply _personal,_ yet free from ego and narcissism and self-absorption. (It might not strike others that way, but that’s how it seemed to me.)
Condolences to her family and friends. She gave a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nancy-wilson-has-died/826120/19 "2018-12-20T03:57:58Z")
This news has been kinda devastating to **kaylasmom** , who looked upon Nancy as one of her vocal role models (especially during the period when she [**kaylasmom**] was actively working as a nightclub singer).
She asked me to look up Nancy’s cause of death, so I went to Wikipedia, and found that she lost a battle to kidney cancer at her home in [Pioneertown, California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneertown,_California).
Kidney cancer aside, it’s kinda nice to think of ending out your days mere steps away from the (former) bowling alley where Gene Autry filmed his cowboy shows.
_Vaya con Dios_, Nancy. May you find yourself back in the (Heavenly) saddle again.