Teri Thornton, a jazz singer, was a favourite of critics in 1960s. She returned to performing in 1990s after a three-decade-long hiatus. Her best-known song is “Somewhere in the Night”, which was the theme of the detective series The Naked City starring Paul Burke. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and began her career in jazz clubs in the 1950s. In the 1960s, she moved to New York and began singing in national ad-jingles. She also recorded for various record labels. The impressive lineup of musicians on her Devil May Care LP included Clark Terry, trumpeter, Seldon Powell, Freddie Green, Sam Herman, saxophonists Earl Warren and Seldon, Freddie Green, and trombonist Brittwoodman. Also, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, drummer Jimmy Cobb, and Norman Simmons, who was the arranger. Thornton traveled to Los Angeles in order to find work. Thornton returned to New York in 1983 and found steady work at jazz clubs. Thorton won the 1998 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition Vocal Category with her rendition “I’ll Be Easy To Find”. In 1998, Thorton was diagnosed with breast cancer. The competition won her a boost in career, which led to I’ll be Easy To Find, her third studio album after more than 30 years. Thornton, 65, died from complications of bladder cancer at Englewood Hospital, Englewood, NJ, on May 2, 2000.
