The Prince and the Angel
by Paul DeVere
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Published May 2007 in Celebrate Hilton Head Magazine
Though she doesnt realize it, she still has her Minnesota accent when she talks. But it sure doesnt show up in the smoky, sultry sound of her voice when she delivers a song from her seemingly endless repertoire of music that includes everything from the big band sound to Rascal Flatts. Old and new fans can attest to that when they cheer her on at CQs Restaurant on Hilton Head Island.
Fortunately, those same old and new fans of Cheryl Christine will be able to hear it all on her new CD, I Hope You Dance, to be released this month. Recorded on Hilton Head Island at Husbands Production Studio, Cheryl shows her love of light jazz and swing with hits like Them There Eyes, made famous by Billie Holiday and It Had To Be You, a Sinatra standard. There is a nod to with Christines interpretation of the Rascal Flatts hit God Bless The Broken Road, and to contemporary ballads, like Carole Kings Will You Love Me Tomorrow.
On the new CD, Mark Husbands provides drums and percussion, Steve Rich plays clarinet and saxaphones (alto, tenor and soprano) and, besides the vocals and piano, Cheryl adds flute and synthesizer to the mix. I'm real happy with the way it turned out, Christine said.
This one-time piano teacher from Minnesota began to develop, in musical terms, her multi-lingual talent at CC Richards supper club in White Bear Lake, just north of the Capitol. The piano player didnt show up for his job two nights in a row. It was the first place we went, Christine recalled. She had decided she just had to perform and took a friend with her to go job hunting. I just kind of sat down and said, Oh, I can play. And the fellow said, Well, youre hired. You can start tomorrow night. What kind of stuff do you sing? I said, Oh, I dont sing. And he said, You want to play, youve got to sing. I actually always sang when I played, but was very shy and didnt sing in front of anybody. But I wanted the job bad enough, she said.
The next night I came with as many songs as
I could gather, she continued. I was scared to death. Whenever I went
within two miles of the place,
I just froze. But friends helped me get through it.
Hilton Head Islanders got their first taste of Cheryls talent when she
became co-owner and performer at Casablanca Piano Bar (now Jump & Phils)
in 1988. From 1991 to 2001, she developed an even larger following as
owner and performer at Cheryls LeCabaret Piano Bar, a popular hangout
for locals and a true discovery for visitors. (now the Sage Room restaurant)
I had a great run there, Christine said. But health problems (Cheryl
is a cancer survivor) forced her to sell. It was the hardest decision
I've ever had to make, she said.
To succeed with any audience, whether they are at the Village Vanguard in New York or the Greenbrier Hotel or CQs Restaurant, you have to continually please. During the 1980s, Cheryl did that and more. She signed with Comstock Records and charted in England on the Peugeot Playbill and in the U.S. with her own compositions and recordings. She toured Europe in that decade three times, especially Sweden, where she developed friendships that survive today.
Sweden was wonderful. I even got to perform in a club for a prince of Malaysia, said Christine. He was there with the Swedish ambassador to Malaysia and the president of Volvo and a couple of big bodyguards. I was told that I could talk to him but never to look him in the eye. I was in my twenties so I said, o.k. and went on playing. All of a sudden the waitress calls me over and said the prince would like to speak with me, she said.
This is near the end of the evening so they cleared everybody else out, she continued. He asked me to play a few songs for him, like Dont Cry For Me Argentina and some of the old show tunes. Then he asked me to his table. I was a little intimidated. Im not supposed to look him in the eyes but he wants to talk. He starts talked to me and I'm not looking at him at all. I thought that was so rude so I just said the heck with it. I just turned around and looked at him and said something like, "How are you today?" And he says, "You sing like an angel!"
Sitting behind him
was the ambassador waving his arms, telling me not to look the prince
in the eyes, Cheryl recalled. I just thought he was
the nicest person – like he was kind of lonely or something. By the
end of the night we were like old buds. I gave him a big hug when they
all left, she said.
Music has been a major part in Cheryls life since she was five years
old, maybe younger.
Through the years, through the happy and tough times, the love for
her art has grown with her talent.
