Little Eydie, R.i.p.

At the risk of turning this into an obituary blog this week, I cannot be remiss in noting the passage of Eydie Gorme, a pop music icon. The Bronx-born singer had both a successful solo career and, later, an equally successful one with husband Steve Lawrence (as Steve and Eydie, simply).  Mr Lawrence survives her, along with a son.

The retired songbird died in Vegas after a brief illness, currently believed to be the result of undiagnosed cancer. She was born August 16, ironically passing less than a week from her 85th birthday.

Coming out of the big band era, Miss Gorme segued into rock'n'roll and adult contemporary music after having an enormous hit with "Blame It on the Bossa Nova" in 1962. Eydie met Steve on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show. They were married in Vegas in 1957. The late-night talk show also provided Gorme with her big career break.

According to Wikipedia: [Steve and Eydie] became famous on stage for their banter, which usually involved tart, yet affectionate, and sometimes bawdy, references to their married life, which remained a feature of their live act.