Portland Observer. November 16.1963 Page 7
OBSERVATIONS
FROM THE SIDELINES
by Kathryn Hall B o tk
4
IL L A
W
D O R S E Y , soprano.
Oregon’s First Lady o f
Gospel Song, who sings her gospel
around ihe world, will be heard live
in Portland at the H ilton Hotel this
week. Dorsey will be the featured
soloist for M ultnom ah County
Commissioner
Gladys
M cC oy’s
annual meeting o f the Association
o f Oregon Counties.
Countless Oregonians hear W ill«
Dorsey's songs over K G W -T V on a
late-late Sunday night program just
before the station signs o ff. “ I t ’s an
on-going program.*' the station's
programmer says. “ I t ’s been run
ning a long time— five, six, seven
years,” the programmer estimated.
“ There are no plans to alter any
thing about it. It's called 'Joy of my
Soul.’ "
Some famous Oregonians are
among her T V fans. Neil G old
schmidt listens. Governor Victor
Atiyeh is a fan. Senator Hatfield,
City
Commissioner
M ildred
Schwab, as well as Ctiy Com m is
sioner Charles Jordan are also D o r
sey fans. A traveler, Hubert D il
worth,
business
and
personal
manager for Leontyne Price, caught
her 3:00 a m. broadcast and was
fascinated by the Dorsey sound. " I t
helped me to relax and to unwind
after a hectic day in airports and
travel," he said as he joyfully met
W illa Dorsey backstage after the re
cent Price concert performances
with James DePriest and the Oregon
Symphony Orchestra.
“ I ’ve been at K G W for ten
years," Dorsey said as she trod the
carpeted corridors o f "h er” studio.
" I'v e been here every Sunday night
for ten years— on film clips, if not
live. I ’ve also sung at Neighbor Fair
for seven years.”
“ I came to Portland first in 1963.
I was a guest on Kirby Brumfield's
show on K A T U . A t that time we
were living in Los Angeles and I ap
preciated the good air of this state.
The smog was not good for the
voice and I quickly accepted a schol
arship I had been awarded to con-
certize and to study at Warner Paci-
fic College. 1 had been singing all
my life— since I was two years old,
and knew this was what I wanted to
do. I am 50 years old now and sing
ing. “ He Arose” was my first song.
“ M y father and my mother were
both singers in Atlanta where I was
brought up,” Dorsey said as we set
tled into her comfortable studio
quarters at K G W . " M y father
taught me to memorize three or four
stanzas of those songs they sang at
that time. We started singing gospel
when I was just out o f high school. I
attended Clark College which is a
part o f the Atlanta University sys
tem. I became a member o f the A t
lanta Philharmonic Society and I
still hold a membership there.
" M y professional boost came
from Dale Evans through the H o lly
wood Christian Group which met
with movie stars in Hollywood each
month. It was Dale Evans who a r
ranged for me to sing at the New
York Worlds Fair in 1964. That was
Symbolic fast
gives support
to Food Bank
The sixth annual "Fast for the
H u n gry" lakes place on Thursday,
November 17, to help support the
work o f the Interagency Food Bank.
Several events are planned this week
to support the Food Bank’s "Fast
for the H u n g ry," including a sym
bolic soupline on Tuesday in front
o f the Portland Building, a delivery
o f bread and water to the Portland
C ity Council on Wednesday m orn
ing, and a Celebrity Fast no-food
lunch at 12 noon on the day o f the
Fast, Thursday, November 17, in
the Portland Building.
According to D r. Lendon Smith,
a Portland pediatrician who is
serving as Honorary Chairperson of
the Fast for the Hungry for 1983,
"T h e basic idea o f the Fast is that
we are asking people to join with us
in skipping a meal or fasting the
whole day on the Thursday before
Thanksgiving, November 17, and
donating the money you would have
spent on food to the Food Bank at
3939
S.E.
26th
in
Portland
(97202).“ Both Oregon Governor
Victor Atiyeh and Portland M ayor
Frank Ivancie have declared N o
vember 17 “ Fast for the Hungry
my 'launching pad,' and I have not
stopped running since.”
The Dorsey career is managed,
produced, and performed by W illa
Dorsey.
Dorsey does her own musical ar
rangements. The orchestrations are
worked out with an arranger-friend
in Dallas. Texas. “ I sing awhile, he
w rites," Dorsey explains.
Dorsey plays both piano and or
gan and frequently accompanies
herself on one— or both. On tape,
Dorsey has been known to play both
by "o ver-d ub " methods, and sing,
too.
“ I do have a sense o f business and
I do my own booking for concerts,
radio and T V , and I have contracts
drawn legally. A c tu a lly ," Dorsey
paused and grew reflective, “ actual
ly. the Lord is my booking agent.
1984 is booked nearly solid n o w ."
Dorsey, from her launching pad.
has completed 10 tours to the Orient
and has made 32 trips to Europe,
sometimes with her adult son, some
times with an organization but, cus
tomarily, she travels alone. H u n
gary, Poland. Leningrad. Moscow,
Israel. Japan, and Taiwan all have
been on the Dorsey beat. She sings
in 14 different languages including
N o fooling!
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And with a Far West checking account you can
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Come to any Far West office
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Oregon's first lady of Gospel. W illa Doraey. w ill belt out her beet
to Portland fana thia week
Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Swa
hili.
Dorsey says, “ Every place in the
world likes gospel. After we touch
Jesus, we reach out and (ouch our
neighbors to make this world a bet
ter place Spirituals are not forgot
ten and I shall be singing them to o ."
It's the FAR IVEST w ay
>FAR
FSL1C >M/EST
^FEDERALI
M A M OFFIC E SW 5th & Washmgton
Portiarxl O e g o o T»4»pfxxw224 4444
61 convergent offices throughout Oregon
*SM< ' » M l #
ttol»ft»|lB«<<i
Look for some
important phone
ä
essages inyour
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Changes Affecting You
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1983. Two changes will directly affect you:
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Second, your telephone bill will
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T t’s in the mail?
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This information will include the new numbers to call for service and
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Ex'
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