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All Music Guide:
While his gravelly baritone and omnipresent fedora, dark glasses, and Groucho Marx mustache made him one of the more distinct and recognizable characters in popular music, little is known about the neo-vaudeville crooner Leon Redbone. Throughout his career, he steadfastly refused to divulge any information about his background or personal life; according to legend, Redbone's desire to protect his privacy was so intense that when he was approached by the famed producer John Hammond, the contact number he gave was not his own phone, but that of a dial-a-joke service.
Because Redbone first emerged as a performer in Toronto during the 1970s, he was believed to be Canadian; his work, a revival of pre-World War II ragtime, jazz, and blues sounds, recalled the work of performers ranging from Jelly Roll Morton and Bing Crosby to blackface star Emmett Miller. He made his recording debut in 1976 with On the Track, which featured legendary jazz violinist Joe Venuti as well as singer/songwriter Don McLean; his 1977 follow-up Double Time even reached the U.S. Top 40 charts, largely on the strength of his frequent appearances on television's Saturday Night Live.
After 1978's Champagne Charlie, Redbone began recording only sporadically; following 1981's Branch to Branch, he waited four years before reentering the studio to cut Red to Blue. Invariably, his albums featured guest appearances from an eclectic cast of luminaries: while 1987's Christmas Island included a cameo by Dr. John, 1994's Whistling in the Wind included duets with Ringo Starr and Merle Haggard and 2001's Any Time featured contributions from such jazz luminaries as guitarist Frank Vignola, reedman Ken Peplowski, and bassist Jay Leonhart. Despite his low profile, Redbone has also earned a certain measure of fame as a fixture in various television advertising campaigns.
Wikipedia:
Leon Redbone (born Dickran Gobalian, August 26, 1949) is a singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics.
Recognized for his trademark Panama hat, dark sunglasses, and bow tie, Redbone first appeared on stage in Toronto, Canada in the mid-1970s.
Redbone has released approximately fifteen albums and earned a sizable cult following. His concerts blend performance, comedy, and skilled instrumentals. Recurrent gags involve the influence of alcohol and claiming to have written works originating well before his time. He sang the theme to the television series Mr. Belvedere.
Early life
According to the Toronto Star report in the 1980s, his birth name is Dickran Gobalian, he came to Canada from Cyprus in the mid-1960s and changed his name via Ontario, Change of Name Act. However, a reference from 1973 states that he was a native of Philadelphia who moved to Toronto.
Career
Leon Redbone in 2007 at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaWhile living in Canada in the early 1970s, Redbone began performing in public at Toronto area nightclubs and folk music festivals. He met Bob Dylan at the Mariposa Folk Festival. Dylan was so impressed by Redbone's performance that he mentioned it in a Rolling Stone interview, leading that magazine to do a feature article on Redbone a year before he had a recording contract. The article described his performances as "so authentic you can hear the surface noise [of an old 78 rpm]." His first album, On the Track, was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1975.
He was introduced to a larger public as a semi-regular musical guest on NBC's Saturday Night Live throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s. During the 1980s and '90s Redbone was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Due to his reluctance to discuss his past, there has been speculation that "Leon Redbone" was an alternative identity for another performer. The two most commonly mentioned are Andy Kaufman and Frank Zappa, both of whom Redbone has outlived.
Redbone usually dresses in attire reminiscent of the Vaudeville era, performing in a Panama hat with a black band and dark sunglasses, often while sitting at attention on a stool, with a white coat and trousers with a black string tie.
Redbone survived the crash of a small plane in Clarksburg, West Virginia on February 12, 1979. He travels to engagements exclusively by car, saying, "I carry around many unusual items and devices. They make life difficult for airport security personnel and flying impossible for me."
Appearances in other media
Redbone has appeared in a number of areas outside of his music recording/performance career. He has made appearances in the comic strips Mister Boffo and The Far Side. He performed the theme song for the 1980s sitcom Mr. Belvedere, as well as the theme from the syndicated sitcom Harry and the Hendersons. He appears regularly on the PBS children's show Between the Lions. He performed Frank Loesser's romantic Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Zooey Deschanel for the closing credits of the 2003 film Elf. He also voiced the character of Leon the Snowman in the same film. On his 1987 album Christmas Island he performed a version of "Frosty the Snowman" with Dr. John.
Redbone has produced music for and appeared in television commercials, including an advertisement for Budweiser beer in which he flies over a beach on a surfboard, singing "This Bud's for You", the US automobile brand Chevrolet, All brand laundry detergent, and a commercial for InterCity (British Rail) service in the late 1980s in which he sang the song "Relax". He also lent his voice to an animated caricature of himself in a commercial for Ken-L Ration Burger 'n Bones.
