LENA HORNE Sings Love Me or Leave Me and The Eagle & Me 1965

[starstuff]

What a beauty!

[mrspatrickcampbell]

Lena was ugly, icky and boring!

[envymeforgood]

she was really beautiful!

[HERBLANDZ]

here she look like white woman

[MrSluggo666]

Hell I can never remember are jewish women like her considered white?

[Bouah01]

@MrSluggo666 Lena Horne was a (African American - as they like to call themselves) coloured women.

[MrSluggo666]

@Bouah01 She was as african american as mary tyler moore who you kidding? maybe a partof her, but which part?

[babistsotsos]

sorry guys...no guitar riff....

[sexycush1]

Beautiful love it Classic Fiyah and can relate

[siairesoulreign]

She is beautiful

[J77147]

Love It

[brownshood]

her mouth

[cjprentiss1]

"The Eagle and Me" was written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen for the1943 Broadway musical, "Bloomer Girl", which starred Celeste Holm as Dolly Bloomer. The song was introduced by Dooley Wilson who, the same year, played the role of "Sam" in the movie "Casablanca", playing and singing "As Time Goes By" whenever Bogie requested it. In "Bloomer Girl", Dooley Wilson was a black slave and introduced this great Yip Harburg song of freedom and liberation. Lena knocks this song through the roof.

[taddyd1]

I aways knew she could sing but wasn't a fan(atic) until I saw her live. Every song was of the quality displayed in this clip. Probably the best concert presentation I have ever seen in my 57 years. Every detail was flawless.

Johnny Mathis is such an obvious talent too, but again, as with Lena, I didn't really fall flat on my face in awe, until I saw him in person.

[NYCguys2007]

@taddyd1 The biography from last year said that Johnny Mathis used IMITATE Lena and she hated it. LOL.

[taddyd1]

@NYCguys2007

you are shi**in me?!

I'm going to have to order this book. I remember reading the reviews quite a while ago, but it still seems to have stirred up everybody on this site.

I have never seen in traits of Lena in Johnny's style even though we've all seen him on Tv a gazillion times. How about you? He never seemed feminine to me either, even though he was the first person I heard "queer" rumors about, way back in the early 60s when I was only 8 and didn't even know what it meant.

[NYCguys2007]

@taddyd1 I never saw any similarities, but it goes way back to the beginning of his career. He's out by the way, no need for rumors anymore.

I don't recommend buying the book. You can read sections of it online, at Amazon if you have an account. Look Mathis up in the index. It can all be done online.

[DrunkenMasterSin78]

Fantastic voice.

[tremeluzir]

Pure Fire!

[BeyonceSoloStar]

SANG Lena.....May You Rest In Peace......You Were Such An Inspiration To All African Americans, Singers, Actors, Well....Everyone......

[higgybaby1]

OUCH!! I'M BURNED BABY!!

[Pentagonshark666]

She was a singing genius.what a loss.RIP.

[6153calme]

One of the best of the past greats RIP Ms Horne.

[ciscokid1970]

Lena Horne...pure diamonds

She could sing, she was beautiful and classy.

Had a smile so brilliant that even broke race barriers.

Go buy one of her geatest cds...you will hear and fall in love.

Lena Horne: The Lady and her music (has 34 of her best songs)

[qwisp]

Rest in peace you beautiful and talented angel. You were a brave and outspoken pioneer for the rights of people of ALL color.

[anziotiamo]

this isthe LenaI love most..cooking as you say..powerrrrrrrrrr

[lunadagirl]

You tube: home of iDIOTIC COMMENTS

[rainewater85]

Why single out Americans for your attack? Plenty of other countries are interested in the lives of their icons like the English, Japanese, and even *Bulgarians*, I'm sure. Being hateful and intolerant is no way to be at all.

[shonomad]

@Deptstate799 OMFG!! are you actually so petty and foolish? First off her father Edwin Horne was black as was her mother Edna Scottron. You seem awfull uncomfortable in your own lack of blackness, You might want to try reading a little history before you have mouth dihrea again. It is sad to see people like u cry about 100 years of slavery 150 years ago my peopy had 1000 years and now we are monitary giants. Pull yourself up and quit being a whinny bitch

[Basinstreetfollies]

Miss Lena Horne is Hollywood royalty. I recently befriended a relative of hers. I wish I could have met her. Yes she bore white like features.. So did my late grandmother who was Creole. She has a unique sound that no other singer could be compared to. May she rest in peace..and no that she laid a body of work to be remembered for generations..amen!

[TheRealOnyxBlackman]

A Beautiful Siren Returned Back Into The UnFolding And Expanding Universe

[LegrandnjClassicSoul]

I am melancholy for this time when singers REALLY sang.

[952406lin]

rip dear dear LENA!

[SSTACINATOR]

I will miss you....Lena Horne you were a great person and were loved by so many

[kassdiamond]

R.I.P Ms Horne! Your legacy will live on and hopefully encourage young girls to sing for real instead of being like these fake singers on the radio now.

[BWAY62]

O M G. I was just got a 3 degree burn!

[lporiginalg]

RIP Lena

[Dondj55]

Boy, she was smokin' that night. RIP Lena and thank you for the legacy you have left us. A classy lady all the way.

[ssballs]

THAT voice.She will be missed,RIP Miss Horne.

[eluvre]

Ms. Horne, thank you.  God bless. RIP.

[peskypesky]

RIP

[mobilegirl01]

RIP Lena Horne

[mobilegirl01]

RIP Lena Horne

[nunicorng]

Lena really got into it in the Eagle and Me.

RIP Lena. We will miss you but you left your mark in your music and, work in the Civil Rights Movement.

[TeachESL]

R.I.P. great lady. Thank you for your talent and class.

[muscleboi4use]

THANK you for uploading. What a voice, what class! RIP Lena Horne. My parents introduced me to Lena Horne and wow, I am grateful!!

[GhostFactor1]

I had the pleasure of meeting Lena In San Francisco some years ago. She was very warm and down to earth. We will miss you Lena!

[cemeterydude]

RIP wonderful Lena.

[IYAMNI]

R.I.P.

[keithiepoo]

What are we going to do without her? We miss you darlin'!

[troopersjp]

RIP Lena, you were awesome.

[damone77]

Thanks! I'm doing an Arlen playlist and this is the only "Eagle and Me" I could find. Granted Lena is positively dynamite with a capitol TNT SIZZLE!

[luizcarlos1943]

Oh my God, she pronounces each little letter. She is fantastic.

[jasonito23]

I laugh when I think about how Sanford reacted when Lena appeared on that show and how Bill Cosby acted when she appeared on his show. Those shows brought many icons of the Black community on to their shows. More on the Cosby show than Sanford and Son. Though Redd Foxx used to wash dishes as Chicago Redd next to Detroit Redd (Malcolm X) before they were famous. ALL ICONS.

[NYCguys2007]

These black stars were household names way before Redd Foxx or Bill Cosby.

[jcextra]

well despite what anyone says about her personal life, her voice rises over the pitfalls of even the harshest crtics.

[yashjinagar]

Who sang this first?

[bobby8168]

wow this is Lena at her best god i love it.

[Herzweh]

thank you!

[ausar02]

love her version, classic

[buffgirleditor]

you MUST read the latest biography on this complicated and very talented lady. "stormy weather" by james gavin will knock you out! it's a brilliant book intensely detailing with a fine tooth comb her difficult upbringing and all the baggage that followed her throughout her life because of it. you'll also see how hollywood due to the overt racism of the day kicked her around. suprisingly, you'll find yourself both admiring her and admonishing her at the same time. fascinating!

[NYCguys2007]

I DESPISE that book! Poorly written, very biased, shows Lena as a complete bitch. There so much missing...someone should wait until she passes and write the true story, in 2020?

[defundthewar]

I think it showed her bitchy side, yes. What female who made it to the top didn't have claws? When men make it big, it is because they are strong and have good management. But how is that different from bitchy? I think that bio, which I just finished, is neither an indictment of Horne, nor a fan's love letter either. I think it is balanced, but yes, there are probably things missing from a long life and career.

[NYCguys2007]

I don't care that she's a bitch. Read what i wrote. He takes what others say as gospel - he even blames her for the fate of her estranged husband whom she supported! It's not a balanced picture.

[defundthewar]

Read what you wrote. If you didn't care that she was presented as a bitch, you wouldn't have written that it shows her as "a complete bitch." Bios, I think, are especially hard to get right. For one thing, not everyone wants to talk. And then those who do talk may be inaccurate and/or have their own agenda. Of course, a lot of misinformation about Horne is from Horne herself. No, I wouldn't take the Gavin book as 100% gospel, but it gives us a good clue as to what she was like.

[SilverCord45]

@defundthewar it wasn't just because she was a woman it was also because she was black and was playing in mostly jim crow clubs

[defundthewar]

@SilverCord45 After becoming an MGM star, even with casting problems, Lena played top-of-the line venues. I have searched my memory for any great pop singer, male or female, who didn't have claws, and come up short.  It just goes with the territory.

[umxoxo17]

I agree, that book is trash.

[fkd1963]

james gavin is a pompous queen

[NYCguys2007]

I wonder if she's going to sue.

[mrgbennet]

This singer was in a class of her own.

[heartsong4u]

People can sometimes over-focus on Lena's famed beauty, and/or what she 'represented' as a cultural icon who broke many barriers. What can sometimes be overlooked is that Lena had one of the biggest and best voices in the business. Ever. Period. This lady could either kick a song clear up into the stratosphere, or find a way to touch the heart of an audience in a profoundly personal way that few other entertainers could match. Whatever her mood, Lena was never anything less than mesmerizing.

[millsbrothers]

you said it!!

[lenahorneclub]

Um, no, her fans know this - it's the under 40s who don't.

[heartsong4u]

Of course, what was I thinking. Strike my last comment...

[dia33386]

@heartsong4u: While I'm so *TOTALLY* in agreement with your

comments after your 1st sentence - please allow those of us who

who may be shallow - still & *always* be amazed & revere Lena Horne's

exceptional beauty for all ages!

Save for Sophia Loren - I've yet to see anyone retain their beauty so well

into their 80's as Lena Horne!

Yep! Nothing less than mesmerizing!

[leplaq]

@heartsong4u i soo agree with u she was more than a face and despite what some ppl may say i think she had a amazing voice and she was a verrry great live performer she was funny on stage too. i have to say vocally and all she was at her peak when she was in her 60s

[jillianryan]

Amen to that! @heartsong4u

[Heat160]

Her versions of this song are my favorites.

[wildberries08]

Oh darling darling Lena.........

[bh5606]

..she is hypnotic....

[78timothy]

Thanks for the update. Ever hear Sarah Vaughan's performance. Pretty tasty too. The Horne is great don't get me wrong. But she does seem to be pretty intense w/a certain amount of anger portrayed in her performance. she doesn't even wait for the audience to stop applauding her when she appears. Such is live television.

[78timothy]

I think taht Lennie Hayton at this time is still her music director (as well as her Husbandj and at the Piano. Hayton became noticed when he was w/Whiteman's Orchestra in 1928. This is a tasty performance!! Yeah...

[NYCguys2007]

Lena fired Hayton years earlier - he was a screw up.

[beeshor1]

I dig Lena. Always have, always will. Thanks for sharing this.

[motoroskurva]

Come on. Nina Simone rules this song.

[MuEpsilonGamma]

she's dangerously thin.  good singer though.

[NYCguys2007]

Funny that you mention this. She had just lost a ton of weight. Gained it back a couple of year later never to return to this state.

[lisamann]

Extraordinary, so few singers can do what this woman is doing here. What a rare talent!

[johnbunny135]

Love me or Leave me is an odd little song with a bouncy rythm and sad lyrics about tossing out her heel man. Lena spits out the lyrics mad, and Billie H sings Sad, and Ruth Etting gets a sob in her voice like she tossed the guy out backstage just before going on stage to sing. I think Lena nails the music, and the lyrics. What Patsy Cline could have done with this song.

[NYCguys2007]

In case you didn't know, Lena spits out ALL lyrics to every song MAD!

[LuizPagan]

I bet in her life she has walked on both sides of the road. She came of age in a time when folks mostly were NOT out. We may never know the truth of it, but Ms. Horne has been very supportive of and respectful to gay and lesbian people. This is a very intelligent, fierce and creative woman. Maybe that is all we need to know.

[ashleyjuddstwin]

wow.

I know of this song only because of Anita O'Days upbeat rendition.

This sultry version is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

[theshadow1932]

Funny, but I can't remember The Spirit ever sauring OR playing. When he wasn't gettin his toucas pounded by The Octopus, he was either hitting on Ellen or mixing it up with her dad, the commish! And all of this about forty years before Frank Miller was even a gleam in his daddys' eye!

Norm

[paul51]

I love her LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME performance!!

[lenahorneclub]

There have been rumors about that, that's where it comes from. Don't fret and don't be homophobic!

FYI, there's a book biography of Lena being published next year by music critic-writer James Gavin. It's supposed to be "in-depth" and should answer a lot of these questions.

[ecapital46]

The Eagle and Me is one of Yip Harburg's best lyrics. Written with Harold Arlen for the 1944 show "Bloomer Girl," its from a score that Stephen Sondheim proclaims his favorite. Premiered in the show by Dooley Wilson (Casablanca), this wartime song references the Eagle, America's symbol of freedom, vis a vis Black Americans fight for civil rights: River it likes to flow; Eagle it likes to fly; Ivy likes to climb; bird and bumblebee like freedom in summertime. We gotta be free, the Eagle AND me.

[less01]

Wait, is Lena Horne a lesbian???? or something can someone answer this please

[wendyleeYT]

what a totally classy dame. she is one incredible singer!

[Luxardo27]

I don't care a Whitney whether Lena likes men, women or sock puppets! She is eternally Marvelous. thank you NYC guys for bringing this wonderful video back! Keep them coming.

[Luxardo27]

What a great performer! I fell for her when I was 17 and she was 48 (as in this video)! But I think she liked older men. Well she is 91 now and I'm 60. Maybe she likes younger men now??? Joking aside, I saw Lena perform in Seattle and Vancouver in the 1980's. What a thrill! I only wish I could have seen her at the Cave in Vancouver during the 1950's when she was the highest paid nightclub performer in the world. They say that noisy old joint went silent when she came on stage. Awesome

[Luxardo27]

Does anyone know how to find old black and white or colour video of Lena? I am mostly interested in her 1960's shows. Very interested.

RJ

[spitfireJEJ]

I reckon that Lena knew by both talent and experience that a song doesn't just require singing - it requires "selling" to the audience. So she projects herself accordingly. It's also obvious that she loves both songs and is having a lot of fun performing them. A magical, mesmeric lady indeed.

[acouengineer]

:-) ...pharmasteve, like me you maybe didn't blink, she however blinked a lot.

;-)

[acouengineer]

One week ago I never heard of Lena Horne; yes, embaresing. Quality, power, crisp clear tones I do however understand beeing an acoustics engineer. Sounds like a joke, right?

Lena Horne's apperance, her hair rising singing...that's a fact for me. Thank you Lena Horne.

[acouengineer]

Wow...what power! She is something more than special. Impressed!!!

[pharmasteve]

How starey is she?! Does she actually blink her eyes?? Is she in a trance? lol

[Gioblu]

Hey, I just noticed something. Celine Dion reminds me of Lena Horne! She kinda acts similar to her while she is performing. Does anyone else see this?

[leesterg]

yardleyaloe: what you are perceving as haughtiness is actually Lena's signature 'cool & aloofness' she displayed while performing up to the early seventies. There is a historical reason for this: Check out her tony award show "The Lady and Her Music, Live" for which she won a Tony. BTW, get over it . . .

[yardleyaloe]

Adorable earrings!!! A great talent but I can't get past her haughtiness.

[Nikbug3]

yea, its not haughtiness, its confidence baby. Its also the spirit of the song. I want what I want kinda thing.

[yardleyaloe]

I stand by my comments. I have my viewpoint, and you have yours.

[lifeforce1986]

Lena def. has a haughty quality to her delivery...That's what i love about her the most. The audacity to stand and delivery with fire hell and brimstone

[blkchk]

I think people today have no idea what style is. Everything is so 'in your face' that restrained, understated performances (which were not the only kind she did...try watching/listening to her Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered from her Broadway show) are misunderstood. Not criticizing you...just making a point.

[yardleyaloe]

Understood. Great comments!

[jezboe]

ofcourse, but music has always been about whats in demand and the problem today is that people have lower standards for style and real musicians are not needed with so much commercial media to replace it

[blkchk]

I don't think music is about what's in demand (as proof, when is the last time Lena has performed and yet here we are listening to her). I think Commercialism is about what's in demand. But I agree 100% with your statement that people have lower standards for music today.

[Diamondsrfvr]

That was fierce!....Lena has got her groove on.

[90trinity]

Long live LENA LEGEND! She has awesome class,beauty,smarts,endurance,­fire and talent!She is rightfully one of America's greatest living legends.

[spitfireJEJ]

A phenomenal artist at the height of her powers. If there is a better performance on the whole of You Tube I have yet to see it.

[fxjma34]

She will be 91 on 6/30/08 and there will never be another. I saw her live when i was 14 in 1984 and she was 67 then and tore down the house for 2 hours. No, we don't have that today because its about something else and not the craft or art of singing. Its about something totally different with artist today. I am just glad to say that i had a mom that exposed me to such artist and many of them i saw live and it was surreal.

[NYCguys2007]

Hey, man, don't rush her into 91, she'd only 90!

[JonathanLGardner]

OOOO LENA DUN BURN ME WOOOOO WHAT A LEGEND!

I'm 13 and NO J-Lo could EVER be mentioned in the same sentence as this woman!!

[fromthesidelines]

This, I believe, is from "PERRY COMO'S KRAFT MUSIC HALL" of March 4, 1965 (originally telecast in color)- during that telecast, she and Perry sang an eight minute tribute to Nat Cole, who had passed away two weeks before.

[a567and8]

No deep secret. Dinah is Dinah Washington, one of the great blues singers but also able to make a ballad live. Ruth is Ruth Brown. Atlantic records was known among musicians as "The House That Ruth Built" because they made such money from her R& B classics. "Give Me 5, 10 15 Minutes", "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean", "You Got A FIne Brown Frame". Sarah, Carmen, Nina, Anita, Dakota, and Peggy are also in the pantheon. Let's keep listening!

[paulostroff99]

a567and8-Ecuse my ignorance but who and why are Dinah and Ruth?I know a Sarah,a Carmen,a Nina,an Anita,a Dakota,a Peggy etc..Could you share this deep secret with me.

[ppeak2007]

There is no one like Lena.She had her own classy unique way with a song.Tops in her own way with a melody.A joy to watch her.

[a567and8]

What was it? What shaped these women--Lena, Billie, Ella,

Dinah, Ruth? These are great artists--singers, yes, but individuals who devoted their lives to creating the most effective and moving performance possible for them in order to give us a gem to hold in our ears and heart as we move through life. Somone mentioned Britany. Don't. The poor child has no chance to grow her talent, her soul, and her mind so she'll never be able to approach this level even stone sober. Thanx for this vid.

[JonathanLGardner]

WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THIS NOW!

I 13 AND CAN'T BELIEVE SUCH GREAT ARTISTS, Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Lena Horne ever walked the face of the earth!

This is SUPERB much better than the jumping up and down of female flesh about the tv screen!

[fairies47]

Simply great!

[nightrain49]

Happy birthday Lena. She still as pretty as a picture at 90 years old!!!

[paul51]

Just fabulous.

[damone77]

Was the "Eagle and Me" written by Arlen?

[NYCguys2007]

Yes, written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. For? I don't know what show / movie.

[lifeforce1986]

Bloomer Girl was the show it came from

[jerofl]

Beyonce, Brittney, Madonna WHO??!?!?!?

THIS is talent.

[paul51]

You got that right!

[cleoharvey]

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

[millsbrothers]

RARE VERY RARE

[angesept]

Thank you who ever placed this video on YouTube...I have a recording of her singing "The Eagle and Me" and I intend to sing it in my act ... and you sweet angel have given me the gift of this video. Thank you. Thank you Ms. Lena and Happy 90th Birthday Week. I Love You!!!

[Jonih75]

IloveitIloveitIloveit!!! 'Love me or leave me' studio version was THE song that got me hooked on Lena Horne in the first place! You gotta hear it! Thanks for this fab clip!:=)

AND Happy 90th birthday tomorrow Lena the Legend!!