In the mid 1990's, Lucy was asked by Bruce Crowther and Mike Pinfold to be interviewed for their book, "Singing Jazz,"  published by Miller Freeman books.  She received a long list of questions and what follows below is her written response to those questions:

"The movies, with their wonderful musical extravaganzas influenced my childhood friends and me, in Iron Mountain, Michigan to present variety shows in our neighbors’ garages and basements.  We were untutored, so our shows were simply children’s productions, and of course very low budget.  We charged “safety pin” admissions and used them to put our costumes together (usually made of crepe paper).

In 1935, I went to live with my grandmother in St. Paul, Minnesota, where I attended Humboldt High School.  I was a bit lonely at first, not having a “teen” friend, but through music, I soon found many friends and a teacher who would be responsible for motivating me toward a singing career.  Her name was Celeste Burns.  She formed a girls’ quartet with three of my friends and me and taught us how to write our own arrangements and secured an audition for us at radio station KSTP in St. Paul, where we performed in a weekly show for 2 years.

After high school graduation, I returned home to Iron Mountain – was employed at a local pharmacy and sang on Saturday nights with a 14 piece swing band: “Jerry Salone & his Band from the Land of Sky-Blue Waters.” I married the drummer, Joey DeRidder, and we had a son, Jeff.  -  Life was good.  -  Then came World War II and Joey enlisted in the Army Air Corps.  He was killed 2 years later.

After another 2 years, I began singing again locally – then in Duluth, Minnesota where I met and joined “Woody Herman and his All-Stars” for a tour of Canada.  Directly after that I joined the Charlie Ventura's 14pc orchestra for 1 year.  When he disbanded, I returned to Iron Mountain & moved to Chicago.  I wanted my little son with me and felt the need to establish “roots” for us.

There was plenty of work in Chicago – beautiful, intimate rooms, with a fine jazz trio in each one.  Wages were good and there were many local TV & radio shows.

Duke Ellington asked me to sing with his orchestra and it was difficult to turn that down.  It would have been a great musical experience, since he wrote mew music all the time.  I admired his talent so much but I wanted and needed a “home-life” with little Jeff.

When I had an offer of an engagement at the Village Vanguard in New York, I accepted and Jeff and I flew to Manhattan to seek our fortunes.  It was at that time that Saul Zaentz (currently a movie producer responsible for "The English Patient" and "Lord of the Rings") of Fantasy Records asked me to record and we did “The Singing Reed.”

We remained in New York for a year, but living expenses were high, and we returned to Chicago to more plentiful employment and another recording for Fantasy: “This is Lucy Reed.”

I later married and had two more great sons Steve and Ted Seymour.  In the next decade, I more or less settled down as a homemaker and mom and only performed occasionally.  In that period, I was offered a Caribbean cruise and a trip to Russia, singing with Benny Goodman.  When I asked for $650 per week, which was what I would earn in Chicago at that time, Benny smiled and said, “I was thinking more like $125!  I thanked him and stayed home.

Ten years after my second marriage, I was a single parent again.  I rejoined the entertainment workforce, and had to supplement that income with part-time selling.

In recent year, I have only performed in small concerts in intimate settings (my favorite kind of situation) and recorded a CD for Audiophile records called “Basic Reeding” released in 1992.  At present, suffice it to say, I am not suffering from overexposure, but I am optimistic about the future and am even now working on material for a concert and another CD.

I am not sure what it is that drives me to sing when it has been a very trying lifestyle, but I have lived long enough to know that life isn’t “easy” for anyone, and if you can work at something you enjoy and are comfortable with, you’re a happier person, and consequently life is better.  Each person must choose his own way.

The most important things my high-school music teacher taught me were (1) To be very conscious of singing high enough to reach the correct pitch.  She would tug on her earlobe as a signal when we sang flat. (2) We dissected each song by reading the lyrics like poetry and marking with a pencil where we would take a breath, at the end of a sentence or at a comma, and (3) How to breathe to accomplish that: by holding the abdomen in and the diaphragm out and chest up – during the entire song.  It produces good posture which in itself is effective in performance and allows you to sneak in little breaths without shoulders moving up and down.  It also enables you to sing long phrases without gasping.  After a little practice, you can learn to sight read a song and breathe in the correct places.  (4) To phrase a song like you would, if you were reading poetry.  Sometimes if the music is written by one person and the lyric by another, the accent in the music is not always in the places where it should be to accent a certain word.

A new song is a treasure to me and I look for good stories to tell like my current new interests” “Alone Too Long” by Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields.  I heard it on a Mark Murphy album and wasn’t able to purchase the sheet music.  It was out of print in Chicago.  A friend of mine called A.S.C.A.P. in New York and they sent it to me.  I always like to learn a song the way the composers wrote it, not from someone else’s perception of it.  Mark Murphy is one of my absolute favorite singers, because he always sings his songs a bit differently each time.  He’s a very inventive, swinging, witty, and intelligent singer and his sound is very pleasing to me.  “Papa Can You Hear Me?” by Michel LeGrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman.  LeGrand writes all beautiful music and the Bergman’s are true poets.  There is a song sung in Portuguese by Jenny Tourel and written by Hector Villa-Lobos that I have loved for a very long time and would certainly sing it if the Bergman’s would write an English lyric for it.  It’s a hauntingly beautiful piece called “Modinha.”  Jenny Tourel is a master singer – her breathing, phrasing, and feeling are extraordinary.  Singing doesn’t get any better than that.

How do I approach new material?  My training to read a lyric like poetry is so deeply ingrained in my, that I must tell a story.  I don’t like to change the melody the 1^st time through, out of respect to the composer, but taking some liberties after that is acceptable and expected in jazz.  What I truly enjoy musically is scatting with an instrumentalist or another singer for many choruses.  It can be improvisational both harmonically and rhythmically with no distraction or concern about destroying the lyric.  Excitement builds up with this kind of “jamming” that’s very contagious.  I love it!

I think one of the most rewarding aspects of my profession is the camaraderie of the friends I have met and continue to meet – audiences and performers alike – they are witty, “hip,” and caring people.  We all have our own sets of joys and sorrows and through music we recognize these feelings in each other.

As to critics:  A critic has to keep his credibility by writing what he honestly feels.  If you can’t take any flak, you shouldn’t be in the public eye.  We are imperfect people in an imperfect world.  If you just deliver what you honestly feel inside at each performance, most audiences are kind and appreciate that you have devoted your life to entertaining.

The singers who inspired me were the “swing” singers:  Nellie Lutcher, Frankie Laine, Betty Hutton, Peggy Lee, Anita O’Day, and later Mel Torme, Nat Cole and “Ol’ Blue Eyes!”

When Stan Kenton introduced June Christy with her wonderful husky straight tone in the 40’s, I think it became the “in’ sound to sing with no vibrato.  She was so unique and made me realize that one should try to develop his or her own perception and sound.  Yes, I still go to hear other singers: two long time close friends here in Chicago whose singing I have always admired and still do are Audrey Morris with her very pure sound and her after-the-beat delivery, and Frank D’Rone who sounds like no one else, has great phrasing and breathing technique.  When Sheila Jordan (another favorite) visits Chicago occasionally, as does Mark Murphy, I don’t miss their engagements.  And there are two younger, newer friends whose singing I enjoy, Jackie Allen, and Kurt Elling.

It’s gratifying to me to know that jazz in now finally being presented at Lincoln Center as an art form along with the Metropolitan Opera, Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New York City Ballet."