Shelley Fisher

US soul songwriter, singer and producer. Active since the 1960s. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago at the age of ten and grew up on the city’s West side. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at the age of sixteen and was honorably discharged. Fisher began his musical career by studying theory, composition and vocal technique with James L. Mack in the Chicago Junior College System and with vocal coach Gisela Goettling at The Chicago Conservatory of Music at Roosevelt University. For several years he was the featured vocalist with the popular Morris Ellis Orchestra. His first professional opportunity came as a principal in Oscar Brown, Jr.'s musical production “Summer In The City” (Harper Court Theater), in 1966. His performance of “Elegy” (To A Plain Black Boy) led to him opening for Stevie Wonder at the original Regal Theater in Chicago. Since that time Shelley has shared billing or recorded with other world renown artists such as the original Earth, Wind & Fire, The Dells, Eartha Kitt and B.B. King. Fisher arrived in Los Angeles in 1969 and soon found steady work playing piano and singing for the “jet set” in watering holes like The Sportsmen's Lodge (Sherman Oaks) and Frank Sinatra’s spot “Jilly’s” in Palm Springs. His songwriting abilities began to get notice when “Girl, I Love You” launched the career of Chicago R&B/Soul legend Garland Green. “Yesterday’s Dreams” (Lou Rawls on Capital Records), “Plainsville, USA” Jimmy Randolph on Motown Records) and “King Size Bed” (The Valentine Brothers on Sony Records) are but a few of the titles in Fisher’s catalogue published by his Vantown Music Company. In 1972, he landed a co-starring role in the comedy motion picture “Calliope”. He played the role of 'Piano Player' in "Three Wishes of Billy Grier" starring Ralph Macchio and in "Letter to Three Wives" with Loni Anderson. Shelley wrote and performed the original music, onscreen for the motion picture "Drifting Clouds"('Kauas Pilvet Karkaavat'), written and directed by Finnish producer Aki Kaurismaki. This film won second prize at the 1996 Cannes (France) Film Festival. In 2009, Fisher played Dr. Conrad Murray in the Michael Jackson Episode of VH1 Television series "Famous Crime Scene Investigations". Shelley returned to his hometown Chicago in 1977 and the infamous gang infested community Cabrini-Green as 'Artist in Residence’. There he taught the ‘Blues’ as a cultural heritage in two Chicago’s Public Schools. The program of his design was funded by the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, was successful and continues to be funded, benefiting the Community and other local 'Blues' Artists as well. Some of the 'guest artists' who supported the project with personal appearances were legends Willie Dixon, KoKo Taylor and Sunnyland Slim. From 1978 through 1999 Fisher lived and worked abroad, namely in Osaka, Japan, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Oslo, Norway. In 1997, Shelley wrote, arranged and produced 'CELEBRATION', A Tribute to Nat “King” Cole. The Las Vegas style program was produced at the NRK TV (Norwegian TV) and toured from Scandinavia to Spain earning high praises throughout the European Union including Poland and Switzerland. He repatriated in 2000 choosing to make Las Vegas his home base. It was not long before he found himself entertaining in major 'Strip' hotels, namely; Hotel New York, New York, The MGM Grand, The Venetian and The MGM/Mirage. For a man who has spent nearly a half century entertaining people all over the world, you would expect Shelley Fisher's greatest performance to have come on stage. Yet in June, 2004, he was forced off the road by another vehicle, forcing his SUV down an embankment in Las Vegas. Shelley found himself with a shattered and nearly severed left arm. He died twice that day, once in the ambulance, and again on the operating table, and eventually underwent seven more separate surgeries to regain 65 percent usage of his left hand. Fisher was in his third year of performing six nights a week in the now-defunct Baccarat Bar at the MGM/Mirage Resorts when the tragedy occurred. Although the accident left the entertainer unable to play the piano professionally, his velvet voice was unaffected. He broke two attendance records in 2007 with performances in Den Hague, Holland and at "Puntaldia", the Jazz Music Festival on the Island of Sardegna, Italy.