Certain vocalists have the innate ability to serenade their listeners in such a way that they are able to transcend time. Through pristine vocals and stunning arrangements, the ever-elegant vocalist [Judy Whitmore](https://www.instagram.com/judithwhitmore/) does just that. Whitmore has served a varied career as a cabaret performer, author, working parent, pilot, and clinical psychologist. Though she’s been met with a multitude of accomplishments in her life, the renaissance woman always felt that something was missing. In her most triumphant flight yet, Whitmore has taken off once again with the sky as her limit but this time for her true love: music.
**“**Music is a powerful connector to memory,” explains Whitmore. “When I’d hear a song that conjured events from the past, I used to think of that as something negative – even when the memory was pleasant. I experienced it as a sense of loss, since it was of another time, another place, and I couldn’t go back there. I now recognize these unsolicited memories as a gift, with a sense of gratitude. I can appreciate the montage of memories that music from the past creates.”
Earning acclaim for her 2020 debut album _Can’t We Be_ Friends and singles reimagining the Great American Songbook, Whitmore serves as the key to bringing new life to the magic that lies within the music of our past. Though each track may be familiar to some, Whitmore delivers unprecedented emotion and passion through each piece of the collection, reigniting her innermost conceptualizations on life, love, heartbreak and everything in between.
“These were the songs of my parents and grandparents,” expresses Whitmore. “This music is in my blood. The Great American Songbook means ‘home’ and ‘family’ to me. It is the soundtrack of my childhood.”
Judy is named after the legendary singer Judy Garland, a friend of her grandfather who played violin in the MGM Studio Orchestra. Judy’s first foray as a vocal artist and performer began during college when she sang background vocals for Capitol Records in Hollywood, where she would later return to record her debut album _Can’t We Be Friends_.
“On my desk is a stone plaque, engraved with the words, ‘Never, Never, Never Give Up,’” shares Whitmore. “I was a little girl the first time my father quoted those words to me. In spite of the poverty he experienced as a child, he worked hard and became very successful. His example of persevering, even through hard times, has been my inspiration to keep going, no matter the obstacles, until I achieve what I set out to do.”
These words have always resonated with Judy, even when life seemed to hold the pen narrating the story for her. Marrying young, she and her husband first settled in Beverly Hills and had 2 children… resulting in Judy putting her music dreams on hold. Soon after their children were born, the couple moved to Aspen, Colorado to raise their family in a more rural environment. It was in Aspen that she befriended her closest neighbors, Annie and John Denver. John convinced Judy into confronting her fear of flying by inviting her to board his private plane, Windstar One. The experience was so powerful that it inspired Judy to earn her commercial pilot’s license, eventually working search-and-rescue missions for Pitkin County (Aspen) Air Rescue, which later influenced her best-selling novel, _Come Fly with Me_. Conquering her fear of flying had such an effect on Judy that inspired her to get back into the pilot’s seat to conquer all of the other things she never had the opportunity to.
In 2014, she co-founded the cabaret group, ACT THREE with her brother Billy (a featured vocalist on _Can’t We Be Friends_) and her neighbor Lynn. The trio brought timeless standards to life at legendary venues including Carnegie Hall and the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Their journey to Carnegie Hall was chronicled in the award-winning documentary film, _Once Upon a Dream_.
Earlier this year, Whitmore released her latest single, a stunning rendition of “Moonlight In Vermont.” Although the track is set in Vermont, with each listen, vivid illustrations fill Whitmore’s mind and transport her to her cherished time in Aspen. The classic tune of the timeless ballad also takes Whitmore back to the early years of her childhood when her mother bought her the sheet music for the song. Young Judy Whitmore took this music to her piano teacher, who encouraged her to find her own artistic freedom within the song.
“The new album is going to be all jazz,” explains Whitmore. “I’m so thrilled I’ll be recording with Michael Lang at the piano. Aside from being a legendary musician, he is such a lovely man. I was very fortunate to meet him during the recording of my album _Can’t We Be Friends_. I can’t wait to work with him again!”
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