Cherry Vanilla

Cherry Vanilla (born Kathleen Dorritie; October 16, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's Pork, she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before becoming a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for Vangelis.

Cherry Vanilla
Birth nameKathleen Dorritie
Also known asCherry Vanilla
Born (1943-10-16) October 16, 1943
Woodside, Queens, New York City
Genres
Occupation(s)singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
LabelsRCA Records
Websitecherry-vanilla.com

Career

Kathleen Dorritie was born in Woodside, New York.[1] Adopting the stage name Cherry Vanilla, she starred in the London productions of Andy Warhol's play, Pork, directed by Tony Ingrassia, and other theatre of the ridiculous plays including a role as a necrophiliac nurse.[2] She worked for MainMan LTD as David Bowie's publicist, in the early 1970s.[2]

She became known for her outrageous marketing strategies, which included an open offer to perform oral sex on any DJ who would play Bowie's records and a series of radio commercials that began "Hi, my name is Cherry Vanilla and I've got scoops for you…" while working for Radio Hanoi in opposition to the Vietnam war.

After parting ways with Bowie in 1974, Vanilla formed her first band with Kasim Sulton, which played under her name. In 1976, she formed Cherry Vanilla & her Staten Island Band, with Buzzy John Vierno (bass guitar), Frank La Rocca (drums), Thomas Morrongiello (guitar), and Gary Cohen (piano).[3] The group's first released material was the track "Shake Your Ashes", on the Max's Kansas City album of 1976.[3] 1976 also saw the release of Vanilla's art book, Pop Tart.[2]

Her high profile in New York was the impetus for Miles Copeland III to invite her to England. She relocated to London in 1976, becoming part of the burgeoning punk scene and was signed by RCA Records. The London-based Cherry Vanilla Band initially consisted of Vanilla's boyfriend/guitarist Louis Lepore and pianist Zecca Esquibel, along with bassist Gordon "Sting" Sumner, guitarist Henry Padovani and drummer Stewart Copeland, who loaned their services and equipment in exchange for £15 a night and the support spot on her tour, including a date on March 5, 1977 at London's legendary Roxy Club.[4] (The support spot was for Copeland's band The Police, and would be the setting for the band's first live performances.[5])

A more permanent line-up comprised Louis Lepore (guitar), Zecca Esquibel (keyboards), Howie Finkel (bass guitar), and Michael (Manny) Mancuso (drums). Their first release was the single "The Punk" in September 1977, followed in February 1978 by the debut album Bad Girl.[3] Finkel and Esquibel left the band and with a string of replacements the band continued, releasing another single and a second album, Venus D'Vinyl, in 1979.[3] She split up with Lepore and the group disbanded, with Vanilla returning to the U.S.

In 1980 she performed the narrative on Vangelis' "Not A Bit – All Of It" (from his See You Later album). She later ran his American office.[6] In 1984, she played the hitchhiker and the waitress on Roger Waters' album, The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking[7] In 1987, she was the composer in the boxing club documentary film Broken Noses. She returned to recording in the early 1990s, releasing Blue Roses, with Man Parrish and Barb Morrison, plus two singles. Blue Roses combines spoken word poetry with electronic music.[3]

Her autobiography, Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla, was published in October 2010 by the Chicago Review Press.[1] The foreword was written by Rufus Wainwright.

A song entitled "Cherry Vanilla" celebrating her career and recorded by The (Fabulous) Cult of John Harley was produced by Martin Rushent. The song was used during the launch of the book.[8]

A launch party for "Lick Me" was held November 4, 2010 at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles where Rufus Wainwright performed and Angela Bowie was in attendance.[9]

Filmography

Discography

Albums
  • Bad Girl (1978), RCA
  • Venus d'Vinyl (1979), RCA
  • Blue Roses (with Man Parrish) (1993), E.S.P.

Singles
  • "The Punk" (1977), RCA
  • "Liverpool" (1978), RCA Victor – Netherlands only
  • "Moonlight" (1979), RCA
  • "Fone Sex" (1991), Radikal – with Man Parrish
  • "Techno Sex" (1992), Radikal – with Man Parrish

Books
  • "Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla" (2010) Chicago Review Press
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References
  1. DiGiacomo, Frank (October 22, 2010). "Cherry Vanilla talks sex, David Bowie, rock 'n' roll, and Mark Zuckerberg". New York Daily News. OCLC 9541172. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
  2. Thompson, Dave. "Cherry Vanilla>Biography" at AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  3. Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 177. ISBN 1-84195-335-0.
  4. Sutcliffe, Phil; Fielder, Hugh (1981). The Police :l'historia bandido. London and New York: Proteus Books. p. 41. ISBN 0-906071-66-6.
  5. Campion, Chris (2010). Walking on the Moon: The Untold Story of the Police and the Rise of New Wave Rock. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-470-28240-3.
  6. Parcellin, Chris (2002). "All's Fair in Rock'n'Roll". cherry-vanilla.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008.
  7. "Roger Waters – The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  8. "Media Access". cherry-vanilla.com. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  9. Berliner, Magda (November 4, 2010). "Cherry Vanilla @ Chateau Marmont for 'Lick Me' Launch and Rufus Wainwright Performance". The Daily Truffle. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
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