Saturday, May 15, 2010

Alicia Keys Honors Lena Horne in EW Magazine


Alicia Keys wrote a moving tribute to the late Lena Horne for Entertainment Weekly magazine. She recently started researching Lena’s life and became an overnight fan! Keys admits that she often listens to her songs on Sunday mornings, in particular “Stormy Weather”. 

"I've never been able to ask her directly, but I've read that she was very insecure about her voice. She didn't feel that she had a beautiful voice. I feel totally differently: she had a very special and unique voice and style and quality. "I hear a lot of sadness in her voice. I just love that melancholy tone that she has." Says Keys.

She also admires what Horne was able to do as an African-American woman living when "the options and opportunities for black women were very limited."

She notes, "Lena Horne opened doors for all of us. That's a major legacy she's leaving behind." 

Lena Horne passed away this week, on May 10th.