SoCal-based acclaimed vocalist, pilot, and best-selling author Judy Whitmore recently released her third album Come Fly With Me. Today sees the premiere of her enchanting music video for the album’s track “I Thought About You”. “I Thought About You” is a sweetly nostalgic update of Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer’s classic about the power of the memory of love. “I Thought About You” follows release of the music video for title track “Come Fly With Me,” an enchanting take on the Sinatra classic.
Whitmore gave some insights into her 3rd album Come Fly With Me, as well as the track “I Thought About You” below:
You just released your stunning music video for “I Thought About You.” What drew you to recording this song initially?
Years ago, I was a production assistant at The St. Louis MUNY. They were doing a musical version of Breakfast at Tiffanys, and the song “I Thought About You” was part of that production. I had never heard it before, and I absolutely loved it. Because the theme of my new album is travel, a song about a train trip was a perfect fit.
Your third album Come Fly With Me is described as a musical travelogue. Where is one destination or place that has impacted you musically?
That would have to be Italy. “On an Evening in Roma” is the only song about Italy on this album, but I could have made the whole album about it. In my free time I love to sit down at the piano and play old Italian songs…“Quando, Quando, Quando,” “Meglio Stasera,” ( English version is “It Had Better Be Tonight”), “Volare.”
Collaborating with renowned producer Chris Walden must have been an incredible experience. Can you tell us about the creative process behind bringing your vision to life for this album?
What an honor it was to work with Chris Walden. His arrangements are gorgeous, and he knows everything there is to know about making music. When we were discussing possible themes for this album, we got sidetracked and started talking about all the different places we had traveled to. Then Chris said, “Why not make this album about traveling?” And voila…our album was born.
From jazz standards to traditional-pop classics, your album covers a diverse range of genres from The Great American songbook. How long did it take to pick the songs for Come Fly With Me?
It takes a while to get the song list right. I start with a few favorites and then begin adding and subtracting from there. Just because you like a song doesn’t necessarily mean it fits well with the others. All in all, I’d say it took about 10 weeks to get the song list right.
With your eclectic background as a live singer ranging from concerts on celebrated stages across the country, how do you approach translating the elegance and warmth of your live performances into your studio recordings?
When I’m recording, I always imagine a time, or incident, or person in my life that relates to the lyrics I’m singing. That way, the words and the song convey real feelings.
Come Fly With Me fully unites two of Judy’s greatest passions: traveling the world and continuing the legacy of the Great American Songbook. Recorded with a full orchestra at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles, the album ultimately embodies a lavish elegance, immediately enveloping the listener in its lush and soaring sound. Over the course of 12 gorgeously orchestrated tracks, the Southern California-based vocalist’s third LP offers up something of a musical travelogue, bringing her beguiling voice to timeless songs set in far-flung places all across the globe. Not only informed by the lifelong wanderlust that’s found her climbing the Great Wall of China and taking in the running of the bulls in Spain (among countless other adventures), the album draws from Whitmore’s decades of experience as a jet pilot—a journey that began thanks in part to her former neighbor, famed folk singer John Denver. The result: a body of work as transportive, illuminating, and endlessly enchanting as travel itself. Produced, arranged, and conducted by seven-time Grammy®-nominated compose Chris Walden (Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Wonder,) Come Fly With Me serves as a stunning showcase for the sophisticated yet ineffably warm vocal work Whitmore has brought to the stage at such historic venues as Carnegie Hall. In creating the album, Whitmore also worked in close collaboration with her longtime vocal coach/mentor Peisha McPhee and pianist Josh Nelson (a musician/composer known for his work with Michael Bublé and jazz greats like John Pizzarelli), curating an eclectic track list encompassing everything from jazz standards to traditional-pop classics to early-R&B ballads.
On April 14th Judy will be celebrating the release of the new album with her escapist live show “Let’s Get Away From It All” at Campus JAX in Newport Beach accompanied by acclaimed pianist Michael Orland! You can find tickets HERE. You can follow Judy Whitmore via the following links. Photo credit: Amy Cantrell.
