Acknowledgement
Hello Andylon,
You asked the question...
Jay Jones & Ms Timi Yuro, December 1995.
"Do you know who has taken this picture.. and what is the story behind this picture and where is is the picture taken?
Well, there's a bit of story behind this photo...
Back in the 90s I was one of the partners in the collectors' record company RPM, and we did a couple of Timi Yuro CDs which I'm sure you must be aware of, "The Lost Voice Of Soul" and "The Voice That Got Away".
Timi had been a huge favourite of mine since the very early 60s, and this was the first opportunity I had to get my teeth into her back catalogue.
However, at that time I didn't have copies of all her original vinyl records, so when I started putting the first compilation together, I went in search of a Timi collector, who might be able to help.
I can't quite remember how it happened, but someone put me in contact with a lovely, charming man named Jay Jones. He was a HUGE Timi Yuro fan, and not only did he have all the records, he had dozens of photographs and was even friendly with Timi, and was in contact with her.
He was a great help in compiling both CDs, and writing the liner notes. He also provided many of the photos.
Jay used to go and visit Timi in The States, and he often showed me photos of his trips there. I particularly liked that photo, and I asked him for a copy.
The way Jay told me the story was that one evening they were in Timi's apartment, taking photos of one another, and Jay asked her to pose with him for a 'professional' portrait photo (among other things, Jay was an accomplished photographer).
Timi duly applied full make-up, and that's how that picture came to be taken.
That year Jay had gone over at Christmas, so that pic was taken in December '95. Timi looks fabulous, doesn't she?
Also, if I remember correctly, we actually included this pic on the "Voice That Got Away" booklet/inlay, although I think we may have airbrushed out the tracheostomy tube, at Timi's request.
Jay was a great practical joker and he would often phone me, and pretend to be Timi Yuro.
One afternoon I was in my office and the phone rang, and I picked it up, and I heard what I thought was the usual "Hi Roger, it's Timi, how are you?" in a really throaty voice.
On the day I had a lot of work to do, and so I said words to the effect of "Fuck off Jay, I'm really busy, phone me tomorrow."
The person at the other end of the phone roared with laughter - and, of course, it WAS Timi, phoning from LA. Jay was with her, and thought it would be a great prank to get her to call me!! Happy days!!
I'm very proud of the Timi Yuro CDs I did for RPM. She's still my favourite singer.
She was in a class of her own.
Cheers,
Roger Dopson
THE TIMI I KNEW
Andylon has asked me to write a few words about the Timi Yuro I knew.
Timi Yuro & Chris Lorimer
Others more versed than me will discuss her recording career, her personal appearances and her short film career. I will try to humanise the legend.
I was introduced to Timi Yuro around the time of 'What's a matter baby' by my good friend Dusty Springfield who was also able to give me an address where I could write a 'fan letter' I did, Timi replied, we corresponded and either she suggested or I suggested that I run a fan club for her in Britain. I did, and compared to what we can do now, it was tacky, you paid your five bob (25p, E20c, 12.5cUS) and got a membership card, an 8" x 10" and around four newsletters a year. With interim notes if there was a record due for release and if I could come up with some gimmick to promote it.
Like an A3 poster which said:
'If everyone who reads this buys Timi Yuro's new single it will go to number 1.
Please'
which members distributed to record retailers and stuck on walls all over the country. Timi seemed pleased with, and amused by my efforts.
1965. Timi Yuro was in Britain for a short promtional visit after entering the San Remo Song Festival in Italy
1966 - Timi appeared for a couple of weeks at Annie Ross's club "Annie's room' in London, staying at the Strand Palace Hotel.
I travelled down from Leeds for a few days and met up with some of the members who I took to meet Timi and her mother, Edith, at the Strand Palace Hotel. The second or third visit Edith was very short with whoever I had with me, and they left sightly peeved mollified by the fact Timi was 'tired'.
Was she?
No. 
Edith & Chris Lorirmer
Edith wanted to go to Charlie Chester's gambling club and Timi would not let her go out on her own so Chris went with her. Twelve hours later we returned to the hotel Timi's comment was "Now you see why I won't let her go out on her own?" I played for pennies and won, Edith lost.
The show was okay, the band terrible, they could not get into Timi's mix of music be it standards, jazz or soul. She featured songs from 'The Amazing', and knowing her she had her charts with her. One night, after thanking everybody for making her first record a hit she made a big introduction to 'Hurt' the band played the wrong tune she improvised some lyrics to a tune she was not familiar with. Nuff said.
Timi Yuro & Edith
I was working in the north of England, the fan club was doing very little, Timi had left Mercury Records and was in limbo so no news we corresponded less frequently and I lost touch with a lot of my friends in London 1968 bored one day at work I started to ring round some of my old mates, one was Gloria Marcantonio who ran the Dionne Warwick fan club. She believed in fate and said fate had made me ring her. She and Dionne had been in San Remo with Timi, who had re-signed with Liberty and was in London to record a single.
I was to phone her at the London Hilton. I did, Timi asked if I could come down to stay with her for a few days as Edith had to return to L.A. I took some leave and went down to London slept in the lounge of Timi's suite and worked with her sorting through actates and dubs to make a short list of tunes for her to record. Initially she was to cut three songs but Liberty eventually asked her to cut the whole album in London.
They got her an apartment in Eyrie Mansion, Jermyn Street which runs parallel to Piccadilly (and was very expensive when Timi found she was paying for it we moved to Lancaster Gate near Marble Arch groovier and cheaper) Marshall Lieb (one of Phil Spector's Teddy Bears) was producing the album, Ian Green (an English arranger who later married Rosetta Hightower of the Orlons) was arranging it, using session musicians and Sue and Sunny as the base backing singers with added girls when required.
The album was cut at Olympic Studios.
Because her two favourite albums were ‘The Amazing’ and ‘Make the world go away’ she wanted to do another concept album reflecting where she was at
Funky.
Not one of the songs recorded in London sounded like the original acetate with the exception of ‘It’ll never be over for me’ the Baby Washington song she sang as a tribute to her mother. For those familiar with the album, ‘I’ll never fall in love again’ was the Tom Jones single, ‘When he wants a woman’ a dirge and ‘As long as there is you’ a folk song.
Day one ‘Something bad on my mind’ Timi in black cashmere slacks and black cashmere crew in her booth shoulders forward, ass out ‘I got something to say, something happened ….’
Day four an interview on a radio station to let the world know she was in town and recording again. Somebody from Columbia Pictures heard the broadcast and said ‘That broad has got the voice for our new Oskar Werner vehicle’ They phoned Liberty, would Timi be interested, come along and see a rough cut of the film, they gave Timi the lyrics and somebody played piano over the credits where the theme song would be.
We watched the film, and cried buckets,Timi then asked for the start to be played again, for the pianist to ‘like play a little lower down the keyboard mate’ and she gave her first rendition of ‘Interlude’. ‘Time is like a dream and now for a time shit I can’t stop crying, again man’
The orchestra for the recording was a combination of Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestra members. There was a large screen where the credits ran and Timi tried to get through the whole song. And tried. And tried. Eventually after talking to herself firmly she managed it and after a couple of attempts the director was happy. As she was leaving the booth, Timi heard a noise behind her, and turning noticed that all the string players were tapping their instruments with the bows. They liked it and approved.
Because she had only intended to be in the UK for a couple of weeks, her visa allowed her to sing for recording purposes but not to a live audience. She was running out of money so she saw an agent who got her 10 days singing to American troops in Germany. Whoopee she could go sing and I could sleep.
Before Timi went home she fixed me up with a job in the mail-room of Liberty Records as a kindness to me and also so I could mail home all the shoes and clothes she and Marsh had bought in Bond Street.
The album was released in the late summer of 1968 Liberty were spending mega bucks promoting Vikki ‘It must be him’ Carr worldwide and Liberty then sold out to the Trans America Corporation which also owned United Artists.
Result – zilch
Timi gets married to Robert Selnick, a pit boss in the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, Timi moves to Las Vegas, Timi gets pregnant, Timi has a daughter Milan, 1972 Milan’s christening ,Chris has got to come So Chris goes an spends a month with her parents in Los Angeles helping Edith with her antique shop. Goes to Vegas and helps prepare for the christening, I swear Edith and Timi cooked for three days before the event so we ate, got into cars and went to church, came back and ate, and ate.
Due to the fact that Timi was not working, she and Robert could not afford the single storey house they had been living in.So, take an apartment. Removal firm? Nah, move yourself. Get some of Robert’s mates to move the heavy furniture, hire a truck for the small items,Timi and Chris can move them!!!! So there is madam behind the wheel of a truck with a baseball cap firmly on her head and a checkered shirt and jeans. We got stopped at traffic lights and a larger truck pulled up at the side of us the driver made a ‘Little lady’ remark to Timi. A sailor was reported to have blushed three streets away.
And basically that is it, I returned home, Timi started her long battle with cancer, we corresponded infrequently She did want me to go to Holland with her in ’81 but too much water had flowed under too many bridges,I had a good job as a music librarian (promoting Timi Yuro!!) and was too well stricken with years to just throw it all away on a whim.
I seem to have spent most of my adult life concerned with Timi Yuro and/or her body of work. I was 18 when I first became involved and I'm not anymore. Time to hand over to the youngsters, Andylon it's all yours.
Keep this great site going and keep preserving the memory of one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century Timi Yuro.
Your old (as in very) friend
Chris Lorimer
Note: The pictures were taken in 1966 at the Strand Palace Hotel London during Timi's stint at 'Annie's room'
Hello Fellow Timi Yuro Fans!
My Name is Mike Newmyer and I guess I am known in the Timi community to be one of the most die hard fans Timi has. I am very knowledgeable about her career and co- facilitate Timi's Yahoo group with Timi's friend and former employee: Chris Lorimer.
I have collected anything Timi for the past several years now and have come up with quite a collection. I have supported The Timi Yuro Association with many unreleased recordings and some rare videos for public domain.
I want to thank Andylon Lensen for doing a fantastic job on this official Timi Yuro Website! You have done Timi very proud!
Congrats on your fantastic endeavor to keep her memory and music alive!
Mike Newmyer
September, 2008
Dear Andy
Herewith I want to let you know as follows;
I had the oppertunity in February 1982 (a day later after she did here Live Dutch Television show at the Carre in February) to interview Timi in her hotelroom in Amsterdam. Also present were her husband Robert Selnick and Andy Lensen who arranged the interview.
Mostly we talked about her famous Liberty recording period and the sidestep to Mercury Records. The article was publised October 12,1984 in a worldwide record collectors magazine called "Goldmine".
(On request we are able to send a scanned copy from this published article in "Golmine" )
A few days later I went to The Haque where she did a fantastic performance for an enthusiastic audience.
She still lives on in her great music. Thanks to the internet and therefore this marvelous Timi Yuro site where we can share our fanship. Younger people still can discover the talentfull singer she was.
I hope this site will have an tremandous number of hits for Timi and of course Andy.
Kind regards,
Hans Buijze
Zoetermeer Holland