Liberace Biography

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Liberace
Instrumental | 3 CD Set
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The term "child prodigy" may be more of a publicity expression than a true indication of talent, but in the case of one Wladziu Valentino Liberace, it rang quite true. Though he came to be known after World War II as Liberace, the pianist born in 1919 in Wisconsin was soon to make musical waves - at the age of seven. His father, Salvatore, played French horn in John Philip Sousa's concert band and in the Milwaukee symphony and put a love of music into the youngster and his brother George. Liberace's playing was praised by the legendary pianist Paderewski and young Wladziu gained a scholarship to the Wisconsin College of Music, where he remained for seventeen years. He made his concert debut at eleven and as a young teen actually appeared with symphony orchestras. He was on track to be a successful concert pianist. However, a sense of humor and self-promotion changed his life. Sensing the future, he, at age fifteen, took elocution lessons to get rid of his Polish accent and later became known for his entertainment work during WWII in an overseas special services unit. After the war, he began working in clubs and eventually landed a contract with Decca Records, which saw him as the next Frankie Carle, a successful and entertaining pianist of the era. But he soon moved to Columbia and came under the wing of producer Mitch Miller, recording a flighty rendition of "September Song" and with the ensuing in-concert album gained a national audience. Liberace played pop songs, light classics, had lots of fun with music (playing "Mairzy Doats and "3 Little Fishes" around some classical rhapsody) and took to wearing bizarre stage outfits to go with his constant companion, a candelabra on the piano. He had a successful television show, saw his name come up in news stories and song parodies and even appeared in a film, "Sincerely Yours," as a deaf concert pianist, and he also wrote a cookbook. After a tour of Great Britain, he successfully sued the Daily Mirror for a column filled with sexual innuendo but that was to come into focus later. His work was eventually copied somewhat by stars like Elton John and Gary Glitter. His career took on a different perspective prior to his 1987 death when a one-time employee made embarrassing comments about his sexual behavior. It is believed he died not of a kidney illness but of the more ominous disease associated with HIV. There is a Liberace museum in Las Vegas, administered by brother, George.

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