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My friend Carol Sloane passed away on Monday, January 23, 2023

Here's A Fun Carol Sloane story . . .

A Jazz Romance & A Matchmaking at

The Starlight Roof in Boston!

by Sue Auclair

I met "Sloaney" in the early 1980s when she came to Boston to rehearse with the inimitable jazz pianist, Ray Santisi, who was going to accompany her at her shows in Beverly, Massachusetts at a notable little jazz club called Sandy's Jazz Revival.

Ray lived in a basement studio on Bay State Road in Kenmore Square. It was a tiny place with two big grand pianos, a couch, a working fireplace and a small kitchen. He often held parties in the tiny space but on the day I met Carol, he was there with her to rehearse for the show. Ray and I were friends and invited me to come over to see and hear the proceedings.

She blew me away! Her soft, sultry alto voice simply stunned me!

I also went to the show at Sandy's which was a full house with the one and only Sandy Berman in the background making pastrami sandwiches and cocktails for the crowd.

Sometime later, I was referred by my friend, jazz promoter Fred Taylor, to a guy who was both a magician and a booking agent. His name was Buck Spurr(!).

Buck had been hired by the owner of several local Howard Johnson's Hotels in Boston to book his new jazz room in Kenmore Square. It was called, The Starlight Roof. And so, the new club brought me on board to handle the publicity.

It was a glittery spot on the top of the Kenmore Square HoJo as it looked out via glass windows on three sides, onto the city, the famous Citgo Sign and the Charles River. And, it was accessed via a newly built glass elevator installed especially for the boîte.

Buck sometimes asked me for booking ideas and so, I recommended Carol Sloane. I called Ray Santisi and he put it together for the club with his trio.

Carol wowed the crowds and Buck booked her again. One afternoon, when I was driving with her along Storrow Drive to a radio show interview at WGBH to promote the shows (probably with Ron Della Chiesa), she said to me, "You know, I moved to New York to get away from a bad relationship and now it feels like I should find a new boyfriend. It's not right to be alone. What do you think?"

I agreed with her and then she asked softly, "What about Buck Spurr? He seems like a very nice man."

I said, "Well, yes, and . . . he just got divorced a couple of months ago but now he's dating a very young woman and riding around on a motorcycle with her, so the timing isn't right."

I didn't forget this conversation however and when she came back to The Starlight for another gig, I said, "OH, Carol! Now's your chance! Buck just broke up with that young girl he was dating!"

She said "hmmmmm."

Then, on the phone with Buck one day, I said to Buck, "Hey Buck! You know Carol Sloane is a really sweet, lovely woman and beautiful too. Maybe you should take her out to dinner sometime! I think you two could hit it off!"

Buck said, "Hmmm. You think?"

I said, "Yes, yes, yes!"

Sometime later, Buck went to New York to catch a few shows with artists he was interested in booking and he went to see Carol at one of the clubs and I think they must have had dinner as well.

When he came back to Boston, I could tell he was smitten. His eyes sparkled as he talked about how lovely she was, her dress, her voice . . . and on and on.

OFF TO THE RACES!

The day before she arrived once again from New York, Buck called me and asked, "Why don't you and Freddie (Fred Taylor) go with me and Carol to Suffolk Downs Horse Track for lunch tomorrow afternoon . . .? I'm picking her up at the airport and I thought it would be fun to take her there."

Fred and I agreed to go and so the four of us scored a window-side table and placed our bets!

Fred, Carol and I lost a quite a few dollars because we had no idea about which horse might win! Buck was the expert--we were not. Carol said, "Oh, that horse is cute! I think I'll bet on him!"

Buck had booked her again at the Starlight for that weekend and when she asked him, "By the way, where am I staying tonight, at the hotel?"

He answered, "No, this time, you'll be staying with me this time at my place!"

Her eyes widened!

And so we all had lunch at "the track" and I remember Buck and Carol were drinking quite a few cocktails! They were BOTH apprehensive of what was to happen when they got to his apartment in Stoneham . . .

At one point, Carol and I went to the women's room and she confided in me that she was kind of scared! I told her everything would be fine! I gave her a pat on the back and said, "It's all going to work out. It's just like riding a bicycle!"

And so, off Buck and Carol went and Fred and I had a few laughs about it in the car on the way back to Boston.

THE NEXT EVENING:

The next night, as we awaited their arrival from our stools at the bar of the Starlight, the doors to the glass elevator opened and finally, there they were. I remember it like it was yesterday. The starry eyed couple walked in hand in hand, both grinning like two Cheshire cats!

We howled and applauded!!!

A VALENTINE'S DAY SURPRISE!

Some months after, Buck booked Carol into the Starlight Roof for Valentine's Day weekend. We had a sellout crowd.

Carol's first set on Valentine's Day ended and with the crowd applauding, Buck ran up on stage, grabbed the mic and said to the crowd, "Everyone please stay where you are because I have a little announcement to make! Carol, would you please come back to the stage?

Clueless, she walked to the stage and Buck said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take this moment on this very special day to ask Carol a very important question!"

"Carol, will you marry me? I have this ring for you, would you please wear it?"

Carol was overwhelmed with joy and smiled and said, "Well YES of course!"

And the crowd cheered and gave them both a standing ovation while they kissed on stage!

A STARLIGHT WEDDING!

It was November, 1986 and Buck and Carol decided to tie the knot at The Starlight Roof since that was where they met and also where they were engaged!

Buck laughed and said to me, "You're responsible for this! If anything goes wrong, it's all your fault!!!"

It was a small but glittery affair with social scene reporter Norma Nathan (aka "The Eye") of The Boston Herald in attendance with her hubby and talk show icon, Norm Nathan, of WBZ radio.

Fred Taylor was the Best Man; Boston's famous jazz DJ Tony Cennamo of WBUR FM, stood up for Carol.

Everyone had a fabulous time and Buck and Carol asked Freddie if he would take care of the top of the big wedding cake (all that was left), since they were leaving right away for their honeymoon and didn't want to drive back to Stoneham with the cake top.

Fred said, "OK!" And he put it into his freezer.

Fred lived across the street from the Starlight Roof in Kenmore Square. He had a famous penthouse over there and walked over to the club to see the shows frequently.

Addendum!

THANKSGIVING AT HENRIETTA'S TABLE

Charles Hotel,

Cambridge 1987

A year later . . . Thanksgiving was coming up and Buck and Carol asked if Freddie and I would join them for dinner. We decided that we didn't want to cook and so we planned our dinner a The Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, at Henrietta's Table.

It was a luscious affair with wines pouring and the usual turkey and trimmings.

At the end of the dinner, the waiter came by with the dessert menu and while we were all checking it out, Fred said, "OH! I almost forgot!"

He pulled out a brown paper bag from under the table, opened it and said, "Here's the top of your wedding cake!!!"

We all howled and our dinner was complete!

Here is a short clip from what I think may have been Carol's last performance. It was shot by me on my iPhone. Bristol, Rhode Island in April 2019.

Photo above by Sue Auclair -- At The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 2022

Sue Auclair: Marketing | Communications | Business Development | Entertainment

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