Music
Press
By Greg Prato
Raised in Chesaning, MI, vocalist Ryan DeHues is a throwback to the days of crooners and big bands. It was while growing up in his small hometown that DeHues developed an appreciation of big band jazz and such legendary crooners as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and Jack Jones. His parents (who both sang with the choral group Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians in the early '70s) also encouraged their son's musical endeavors. In the spring of 2000, Pat Boone's record company, Gold Label, sponsored a national contest for America's Next Great Crooner, which resulted in DeHues taking the top prize and receiving a recording contract with the label. June of 2001 saw the release of DeHues' debut album, My Dream Come True, which was produced by David Diggs and David Siebels, and featured a dozen standards (tops being a reading of George Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me," sung as a duet with Debby Boone), as well as a 30-piece orchestra. - All Music Guide
Review
by Jonathan Widran
Pat Boone's Gold Label is all about "Memories and More," offering a catalog of classic crooner performances from the '40s through the '60s by the likes of Patsy Cline, Tony Bennett, and Perry Como. The story behind 16-year-old prodigy DeHues is fascinating -- Gold Label held a contest in 2000 to find "America's Next Great Crooner" and the Michigan teen's tape won hands down -- but it's his voice that is truly mind-blowing, not to mention self-assured in its phrasing. Without knowing the back story, there's simply no way you'd ever suspect he's a kid. Much younger than even Harry Connick, Jr. was in the beginning. The Connick comparisons, then the early Sinatra comparisons, will no doubt become part of DeHues' story, as he tackles classics like "Night & Day," "I've Got the World on a String," and "The Way You Look Tonight" with ease, grace, and passion. He also has an affinity for Gershwin ("Someone to Watch Over Me," a soulful duet with Debby Boone) and Cole Porter. As promising as DeHues is as a crooner for the new millennium, he'd simply be a voice in the wilderness without the amazing big-band arrangements here by David Diggs and Dave Siebels, who also play keyboards. It's fun to imagine DeHues' friends listening to alt-rock and hip-hop while he's really digging this far into history. Kudos should go to his parents, Larry and Lorraine DeHues, who performed with the famed choral group Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians from 1973-1975.
- All Music Guide
Discography
2001 - "My Dream Come True" - Gold Label/Honest Ent.
2008 - "Get Ready" - Gold Label
Ryan's music can be heard on the “Music Of Your Life” radio network, the only syndicated Adult Standards station in the world playing the Great American Songbook. MOYL has over 50 AM/FM stations covering the US, and listeners in 91 countries at www.musicofyourlife.com.
Photos
Bio
Pat Boone’s Gold Label Presents Nu Jazz Crooner…
Ryan DeHues
“A New Young Voice for the Timeless Classics”
Ryan DeHues is the abundantly gifted singing prodigy who ignites audiences with his impressive vocal stylings and incredible command of the stage. Ryan valiantly keeps the flame burning for singing in the tradition of his influences—Jack Jones, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme. The music he sings reflects meticulous taste and the quality standards of the great American songbook writers such as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Sammy Cahn and Hoagy Carmichael.
Ryan tells the story of every tune, breathing life into every note and word, singing with unrestrained feeling while taking surprise detours and turns with melodic variations and deviations. His praiseworthy assets illuminate his vocal artistry: his signature voice within its natural baritone range, his elastic adjustment from up-tempos to basic balladic tenderness, his implacable tone control, transparent good taste and charming style.
A brief backdrop of Ryan’s career - While still a high school student in Chesaning, Michigan, Ryan was the uncontested winner of the national “Search For America’s Next Great Crooner” sponsored by singer Pat Boone and his recording company, The Gold Label. Ryan’s debut album, “My Dream Come True” was recorded with a dynamite Los Angeles big band. Since its release, Ryan has performed coast to coast and appeared on National TV & Radio shows, with worldwide recognition in The New York Times and Jazz Educator Magazines.
Now at 27, Ryan's new Gold Label release features the best of his big band heritage along with a Nu Jazz sound! While maintaining an allegiance to a swinging tradition, the concept of “Get Ready” is plainly a departure from his first effort. Indulging in the musical styles he loves – not only straight ahead jazz/swing, but also Brazilian bossa nova, a touch of jazz/pop crossovers and some of the European sounds of Nu Jazz electronica. This provides a fresh direction that could potentially attract and expand younger audiences’ interest and affinity for jazz in all its shades.
How wonderful it is that good music has an ambassador in Ryan DeHues! His voice is one that you cannot and will not ignore, and one you will want to hear again and again.
Ryan is currently a host on the “Music Of Your Life” radio network, the only syndicated Adult Standards station in the world playing the Great American Songbook. MOYL has over 50 AM/FM stations covering the US, and listeners in 91 countries at www.musicofyourlife.com. Ryan will be joining fellow Gold Label artist Denise Brigham summer 2012 for a Christmas recording project, backed by full orchestra at the Chicago Recording Company Studios.
Links
