Ellen Foley

Infobox musical artist


Name = Ellen Foley
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Ellen Foley
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1951|6|5
Died =
Origin = St. Louis, Missouri
Instrument = Vocals
Genre =
Occupation = Singer, actress
Years_active = 1977 – present
Label =
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Associated_acts = The Clash

Meat Loaf
Current_members =
Past_members =
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Ellen Foley (born June 5, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and on television, where she co-starred on the sitcom "Night Court". In music, she has released three solo albums but is best known for her collaborations with the singer Meat Loaf.

Early career

Foley's debut album, "Nightout" (1979), was produced by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. Her subsequent two solo albums were "Spirit of St. Louis" and "Another Breath".

She gained high public recognition singing the duet with Meat Loaf on the hit single "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" " from the 1977 album "Bat out of Hell". Although Karla DeVito is featured on the music video, DeVito is lip synching to Foley's vocals.

Foley can be heard on The Clash album "Sandinista!" in the song "Hitsville UK" and on the unreleased track "Blonde Rock 'n' Roll". All four members of The Clash appeared on her 1981 album "The Spirit of St. Louis" and Mick Jones and Joe Strummer co-wrote a number of songs for the album. The Clash's hit song "Should I Stay or Should I Go", written and sung by Mick Jones, from the "Combat Rock" album, was about the turbulent relationship he shared with Foley at the time.

Foley also recorded a memorable duet in 1980 with Ian Hunter, "We Gotta Get Outta Here". Her creative relationship with Hunter also led her to singing backing vocals on the Iron City Houserockers' 1980 album "Have A Good Time (But Get Out Alive)", produced by Hunter, Ronson, and The E Street Band's Steve Van Zandt. She later sang backing vocals on Joe Jackson's 1984 album "Body and Soul".

Foley also had a large role in the Utopia Video "Crybaby". She fronted the band Pandora's Box, formed by Jim Steinman in 1989. Their album "Original Sin" was the first to feature the song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", with which both Meat Loaf and Celine Dion had chart success.

Broadway, film and television

Foley lives in the Upper West Side of Manhattan and continues an active career in music and has appeared on Broadway in such shows as "Me and My Girl" and the revival of Hair and off-Broadway in "Beehive". She originated the role of The Witch in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego but was replaced by Bernadette Peters before the play reached New York. She eventually reprised the role by appearing on Broadway herself.

Her best known television acting role is the role of Billie Young on "Night Court" for one season (1984-85), after which she was succeeded by Markie Post as Christine Sullivan. She had parts in Miloš Forman's 1979 film adaptation of the stage musical "Hair", as well as the films "Cocktail", "Fatal Attraction" and "Married to the Mob".

She was also in the short-lived 1977 show "3 Girls 3", co-starring with Debbie Allen and Mimi Kennedy.

Personal life

Foley is married to the writer Doug Bernstein. The couple live in Manhattan with their two sons, Timothy and Henry. As of the mid-2000s, she teaches vocal lessons at The Paul Green School of Rock Music in Manhattan, New York City, New York.

External links

*imdb name|id=0284129|name=Ellen Foley
*ibdb name|id=12691|name=Ellen Foley
* [http://www.users.bigpond.com/ptybisla/index2.html Information page and discography]

Persondata
NAME=Foley, Ellen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American singer
DATE OF BIRTH=June 5, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH=St. Louis, Missouri, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=