Salli C. Terri (September 3, 1922 – May 5, 1996) was a singer, arranger, recording artist, and composer. Record audiences still cite Terri's "haunting" vocals, with Hi-Fi Review originally describing her as "a mezzo soprano whose velvet voice and astonishing flexibility has hardly an equal at present."
Background
Salli Terri was born Stella Tirri in London, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Sicilian-born Joseph Tirri, was a violinist and conductor. When Salli was a small child, the Tirri family moved to Detroit, Michigan.
Terri obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Wayne State University in Detroit and earned a master's degree in music from the University of Southern California. From 1950 to 1952, she taught music and drama at the American School in Japan (Chōfu, Tokyo).
Early career
Terri joined the Roger Wagner Chorale in 1952 for its first tour of the western United States.
Terri first became known to the record-buying public through her featured solos, musical arrangements and as the author of liner notes for best selling albums by the Roger Wagner Chorale released by Capitol Records. Her notable solos include: I Wonder as I Wander and Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child (Folk Songs of the New World US Capitol – P8324), Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head on the gold record 1956 Christmas recording Joy To the World (US Capitol – P8353/SP8353), and Were You There from the 1957 House of the Lord (US Capitol – P8365/SP8365).
Duets with the Spanish Guitar
In 1958, Salli Terri joined guitarist Laurindo Almeida and flautist Martin Ruderman on the Grammy winning Duets with the Spanish Guitar, an album widely considered to be the first classical crossover album. In this recording, Almeida arranges standard classical and folk repertoire through the prism of several Latin musical forms, including the modinha, charo, maracatu and boi bumba. The result, according to Hi-Fi and Music Review was "...a prize winner in my collection. Laurindo Almeida's guitar playing captures the keen poignancy and rhythmic élan of Brazilian music with superb assurance and taste...Salli Terri sings Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with a sinuousness and ecstasy which makes this the finest modern version.
The album, with additions from later recordings, was renamed Duets with Spanish Guitar, and re-released in 1990 on a CD in the United States (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, and France. The tracks are still available on internet music sites, and the album still continues to receive accolades. In 2010, Fanfare inducted Duets with the Spanish Guitar into its Classical Recording Hall of Fame.
The success of Duets with the Spanish Guitar led to additional recordings with Almeida, including the 1960 Conversations with the Guitar which won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance Vocal or Instrumental Chamber Music. While continuing to arrange and record with the Roger Wagner Chorale, Terri also embarked on a solo recording career, which resulted in seven LPs, including the albums Songs of Enchantment (Capitol P8482), At the Gate of Heaven (Capitol P8504) and Songs of the American Land with the Jack Halloran Quartet (Capitol P8522), produced by Robert E. Myers.
Later career
Terri's eclectic repertoire included religious music, love songs, folk tunes and ballads. Her inclusive musical approach led to wide-ranging roles in Hollywood, academia, and concert performance. Her film work included Mary Poppins, Bells are Ringing, How the West Was Won, and Jerry Lewis's Cinderfella. Terri's vocals were also featured on early 1960s recordings Voodoo and Chant of the Moon by the classic lounge exotica by Robert Drasnin with composer John Williams on piano.
In addition to her recording career, Salli Terri was a professor of music and directed a woman's choir at UCLA,