DebbieFleming.ca

Rock and Roll had just taken the world by storm when Debbie discovered her singing voice. She began singing with a small combo, The Starfires, while still in high school, which played the current hits for sock hops and church dances. She experienced an epiphany when she discovered the infectious grooves and funk of Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks (including Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, who later became The Band). Debbie began to be a featured guest singer with that band during matinees at Toronto’s Concord Tavern(now Long and McQuade).

Left to right Bill Cudmore, Debbie, Patty McDonald with Will Pop Jones on piano, and Levon Helm on drums

Debbie D

After the birth of her two children, Debbie began songwriting in earnest, and recorded a demo tape of her creations with fledgeling recording engineer, Jim Morgan at Captain Audio Studio in Toronto. Studio owner, Ben McPeek, heard Debbie’s tapes, and immediately launched Debbie into the world of jingle singing. Intending to become a singer who would be a producer’s dream, Debbie took music courses in harmony and arranging, so she could learn the best way to communicate with musicians in their own language.

Debbie with Dr. Elmer Iseler

She also joined the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir under the baton of Dr. Elmer Iseler, and quickly learned to be a crack sight-reader, with a vocal range spanning 3.5 octaves. Her vocal versatility, excellent ear, pitch and sight reading abilities led her to become one of Toronto’s top session singers for many years. She has recorded hundreds of jingles, her operatic New Diet Pepsi commercial winning an award in the late ‘80s. She has added backup vocals to hundreds of albums recorded by artists such as Anne Murray, David Clayton Thomas, Rob McConnell, Oscar Peterson, Hagood Hardy, Rita MacNeil, Susan Aglukark, Rik Emmett and country superstar Alan Jackson to name only a few. She’s also sung backup vocals during live performances with Petula Clark, Engelbert Humperdink, Mary Bailey, Martin Short and many others.

Left to right: Rob Maciag, Jamie Ray, Ronnie Prophet, Debbie Fleming, David Holcroft

In the 70’s and 80’s, when television production in Canada was at it’s peak – Debbie was a regular singer on The Tommy Hunter Show, The Ronnie Prophet Show (where she led the vocal backup quartetFree Spirit), Stars on Ice, Downright Disco, Patsy Gallant, Bobby Vinton, and many more specials and productions.. On these shows, she sang everything from pop and country to R&B and funk. During the tapings of Stars on Ice, she had to emulate the sounds of the pop singers of the day, from Diana Ross to Jennifer Warnes on songs used as background for the skating stars. The CRTC in Canada at that time outlawed the televised broadcast of any music that was not recorded by Canadian artists, and thus all background music for the show had to be re-recorded. This was a great thing for Canadian talent in general, and even better for Debbie, who analysed and duplicated with a fine-toothed comb, the styles and nuances of all the great singers of the time.

Sing-Co-op-8 – from left to right: Jamie Ray, Susan Tanner, Debbie, Judy Tate, Jim Gillard, David Blamires, Vern Kennedy, Bob Hamper

It was also during the 80’s, Debbie assembled her own jazz vocal octet, known as Sing-Co-op-8. This group was largely a sight-reading rehearsal group, but they recorded for CBC, and performed a few concerts before they disbanded. All the singers in the group were busy session singers and musicians, and scheduling was difficult.

Early in the 1980’s Debbie teamed up with Lynne Deragon, a songwriter, singer and good friend, to form a fabulous band which played many of their original songs. When they played at PWD’s in Yorkville, their sound man was none other than Graham Greene, Canadian actor who starred in Dances With Wolves! Around this time, Debbie also began working with society dance bands for corporate and private engagements, and with these bands she sang everything from jazz standards, to the songs that were currently popular. She could switch from Cyndi Lauper to Tina Turner on a dime, and she became one of the most sought-after vocalists in this circuit for 15 years.

Debbie was also part of a large group of singers produced by Keith Whiting at CBC, called The Gospel Project. In this 20 voice group Debbie sang with Jackie Richardson, Betty Richardson, Jeff Jones, B.J. Reed, Colina Phillips, Sharon Lee Williams, John Rutledge, David Blamires and many others. Debbie wrote original songs for the group which were performed on CBC.

After being knocked for a loop by Take 6 in the early 90s, Debbie assembled another group of singers to satisfy her need to re-explore crunchy jazz harmonies, and to rehearse and sing vocal charts that she began to arrange and lift. The group – all crack sightreaders -- became Hampton Avenue and under Debbie’s leadership, recorded 3 CD’s and won the Jazz Report Vocal Group of the Year in 1999. Although the larger version of Hampton Avenue has now disassembled, Debbie sings and arranges for The Hampton Avenue-4, who still perform.

Hampton Avenue-4 from left to right Debbie, Dylan Bell, Suba Sankaran, Tom Lillington

Her love of Country music led to a self-produced solo recording in 1994, consisting of all her own songs, and entitled Nothin’ in the World (That This Old Girl Can’t Do). After the release of the film O Brother Where Art Thou, she teamed up with two of her Toronto Mendelssohn Choir associates to form ChoirGirlz – who perform their country and bluegrass flavoured music on a regular basis with Debbie playing guitar as well as singing.

Debbie also remains as a first soprano in The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the 80 voice Mendelssohn Singers, constantly oiling up her vocal chops during choir rehearsals and concerts. As a result of her association with the choir, she has been first-call in the studio scene when operatic or classical voices are required, and when she contracts classical singers, she knows who to call!

Debbie’s love for Jazz, and standards, led her to reconnect with her cohorts she had met the McMaster Jazz Club – Bruce Harvey and Jack McFadden – and as a trio they have appeared at the Downtown Jazz Festival for 3 years. In July 2004, Debbie added drums and sax to her trio, and as The Debbie Fleming Quintet, debuted at the prestigious Montreal Bistro. Shortly after this performance, she went into the studio, and recorded a CD with her own jazz material that she has written over the years. The title of the CD is Steppin’ Out as Debbie takes center stage, not as a member of a singing group, but free and on her own.

Debbie will always love group singing, and will never stop! But the time has come for Debbie to explore her Diva side. It’s all good!