Ceil Clayton

Ceil Clayton was born on January 15, 1925 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and started in the entertainment business when she was 8, playing piano and singing on local radio stations. She studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston. She moved to St. Louis, Missouri after World War II and later became a featured performer at Mr. D's, a popular nightspot in the old Gaslight Square. She performed solo until the late 1980's, when she hooked up with drummer Bill Schneider and bass player Bill Harper. The three performed as the Ceil Clayton Trio on Saturdays at the old Bandera's Cafe & Bar on Manchester Road in Warson Woods. She was invited to open the Kings Court Bar at the Sheraton Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the first piano bar at the Bristol hotel in Oslo, Norway. She died of cancer June 23, 1997 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of 72.