Denise Brigham’s Journey to Hotel Lafayette

Denise Brigham's album Hotel Lafayette is getting Grammy consideration.

Denise Brigham began singing at age 7, but few people heard her sing until she was in her 40s. Brigham hid her voice from others for years due to shyness, a lack of self esteem, and all of those feelings that prevent people from sharing their gifts and talents with others.

A few years back, Brigham’s husband Adrian Brigham arranged for a restaurant owner who serenaded his customers to invite Denise to sing with him. This event marked a turning point in Brigham’s life. Today, Denise Brigham is getting Grammy consideration for her recently released album Hotel Lafayette. Backed by a lush, 70-piece orchestra, Brigham sings American standards and other popular songs. Carey Deadman arranged the pieces, and Colin Telford conducted.

Music After 50 asked Denise Brigham to talk about her journey from “closet singer” to recording artist.

LRG: Your story (From Salt Shaker ‘Mic’ to Sinatra’s Mic) really does read like a fairy tale. However, much hard work must have gone on over many years for the fairy tale to have come true. Did you study voice along the way?

DB: I started to sing when I was around 7 years old. My mom went back to work so when I came home from school I had the house to myself for around 2 hours. During those hours I would put on Barbra Streisand and sing along. I kept watching for my mom to come home out the front window though, and when I saw her I quickly took the record off. I did take choir in high school, which helped a lot with my breathing, but I never sang alone in public until that day in the restaurant when they dragged me up. All the years in between I just sang around the house when no one was home. After I started singing in karaoke bars I finally made up my mind I was going to start to get serious about it and that’s when I started taking some vocal lessons.I studied with Randy Buescher for approximately 2 years. He increased my vocal range and helped me to control my voice.

LRG: How did you keep your dream to sing from your family for so long? 

DB: I was busy keeping the house intact, raising my daughter, working, and supporting my husband’s career. I sort of put my dreams on the side. As I look back now, I wonder sometimes myself how I kept it inside for so long. I guess all I can say is I like to see others happy in pursuing their dreams and put mine on hold to support others.

LRG: Did you accompany yourself on piano or another instrument when growing up?

DB: I play piano and clarinet, but I never liked to accompany myself. I always sang with the radio or along with the great albums my parents had: Bennett, Streisand, Sinatra, musicals, etc. I always liked the idea of a full orchestra backing me.

LRG: How has your voice, and your interpretation of songs, changed over the years?

DB: My voice really hadn’t changed until the past two years when I was working on the album. Carey Deadman, my arranger and producer, also worked as a vocal coach with me. He taught me several ways to use my voice in a recording studio that you probably wouldn’t be able to get away with on stage. For instance, like softening your voice to a whisper to get the effect of a song.

LRG: What advice would you give to “closet singers?”

DB: I guess it’s what you feel comfortable with, and also what your goals are. You don’t need a teacher to have fun in a karaoke bar. We met a lot of great people and had a lot of fun. If you want to actually become a performer then training is important. All I can say about closet singing is that if you continue to entertain yourself by singing only to yourself, no one else will be able to hear you and others will never know how gifted you are.

LRG: What vocalists have influenced you?

DB: Cher, Streisand, Garland, Sinatra, Bennett, Steve and Eydie, and the list goes on.

LRG: Do you consider yourself a big band singer or a jazz singer? 

DB: Oooh, that’s the proverbial can of worms. There are so many ways people interpret jazz that some would include me and others wouldn’t.  The general perception of big band is an older style of music, and a big band singer is one who is a member of the band. I have big bands back me up on occasion, but I am not one of their members. I guess the best category to put me in is what the Grammys list as “orchestral pop vocalist,” or “adult standards singer.”

LRG: I understand that Hotel Lafayette is going on first-round Grammy ballots in several categories. Do they notify you of this, or is this something you hear “on the street?”

DB: It’s something you have to be accepted for. There are rules you have to comply with in the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in order to even be considered for a Grammy nomination. There is a submission process and if done correctly, and they help you through it, you know in August which categories you are in. From there it gets a little more complicated as some nominations are earned strictly by voting while others have to go through a committee process. The final nominees aren’t announced until the end of January so we will have to wait until then to see if we got any. The five categories that Hotel Lafayette is entered in are: Engineering, Producer, Arrangements Supporting a Vocalist, Best Traditional Pop Album, and Best New Artist.

LRG: Who shot the footage of the making of Hotel Lafayette? Did you do this specifically for YouTube?

DB: My husband, Adrian, shot the footage. We were originally shooting just for our own experience, but my husband just happened to put one of them up on YouTube since we didn’t have anything else to put up at the time.  The reaction was so great that we decided to add more so that others could see what it is really like being in a big professional recording studio. We have gotten letters from all over the world from other aspiring singers, many who are just teenagers, who were amazed to see the process and they all say it is so inspiring to them. I think it also introduces them to a kind of music they might not listen to otherwise and earns their respect for the talent required to do modern adult standards.