Valarie
Pettiford is
that rare breed, a triple threat. From the stages of Broadway to the
sound stages of Hollywood, she has charmed audiences with her
performances. A Fosse-trained dancer, Pettiford was Tony nominated
for her work in the musical revue, “Fosse”,
which paid homage to her mentor.
As
an actor, she is most recognized as Big Dee Dee Thorne on the hit
sitcom, “Half and Half”, and Aunt Geneva, whose rehearsal
dinner musical number in “Jumping the Broom” pretty
much stole the show from her Co-Stars.
Valarie
has released her second solo album, “Velvet Sky”, a collection of
original lullabies.. This new album, all of which were written
especially for her by two legendary writing teams – Ron
Abel (music)/Chuck Steffan (lyrics) and Michael
Orland (music)/Jamie Wooten (lyrics).
Here
to sing you a soothing lullaby as only she can is Ms. Valarie
Pettiford...!
VP:
Hey, it's Valarie Pettiford.
MS:
Hey, how are you?
VP:
I'm awesome how are you?
MS:
Great! I was giving “Velvet Sky” a listen before you called, it's
very nice, did your Mom sing you lullabies when you were a kid?
VP:
She did. She has a beautiful voice, it's so nice to see her now with
singing to her Great Grandchildren, she has always sang, and so does
my sister. Lullabies have always been a part of my life.
MS:
I always wondered if people really sang lullabies to their kids.
(laughs)
VP:
They do, they actually do. (laughs)
MS:
There was something I read that stated you thought your voice was
well suited to them, I agree with that.
VP:
Thank you, thank you. People always ask me: “Valarie what do you
usually sing”? Of course I do Jazz and Musical Theatre, but my
heart is in Rock-N-Roll. But I just don't have a Rock-N-Roll voice,
so I have thought about where my vocal sensibilities lie. I think
they do lie in this particular vein.
MS:
Interesting, because I wouldn't know by hearing you sing that you
didn't have a Rock-N-Roll voice. Because as we all know Pat Benatar
was trained as an opera singer and she has a Rock-N-Roll voice...so
someone listening to you would not necessarily know you didn't have
that type of voice.
VP:
You're right, I mean I could do it, but it's not the way I want to do
it. I would want to sound like Pat Benatar or Tina Turner, but I
don't.
VP:
(laughs) Somebody said that, not me. My role was very delicious, it
was amazing to, I was surrounded by the best cast and had the best
director. It was a wonderful experience.
MS:
I heard you had an off color musical number in it.
VP:
I did. (laughs) The movie is about a wedding and I did a song during
the rehearsal dinner, that was inappropriate but, funny as Hell.
MS:
Since I haven't seen it, can you tell me what it was?
VP:
Well....the movie has been out for a while so it won't spoil it for
anyone. But sometimes I hate saying it, because it will spoil it for
people who have not seen the movie and still want to see it.
MS:
Valarie you are a tease. (laughs)
VP:
It's inappropriate, but funny as Hell.
MS:
Now you are going to have to make me rent it.
VP:
You can find it on DVD and on On Demand.
MS:Gee,
thanks a lot Valarie! (laughs)
VP:
You're welcome. (laughs)
Let
Valarie sing you a lullaby at:
http://www.officialvalariepettiford.com/
