Bobby Short grew up in Danville, Illinois, but for the last several decades, he says, New York City, and specifically, the Cafe Carlyle, have been his home. Even his summer place in the South of France is called the "Villa Manhattan". The singer and pianist, who refers to himself as a "saloon singer", has appeared in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the Barnum and Bailey Circus and the White House, as well as nightclubs all around the world. He is considered by many the epitome of urban sophistication and elegance, but he has nevertheless agreed to an imaginary journey to a remote cabin, where no one will ever know whether he is wearing formal wear or not. Let's take a peek in his Survival Kit.
His List:
1. Record Player
2. The complete RCA Victor recordings of Duke Ellington
3. The complete Columbia records set of Mildred Bailey
4. Remembrance of Things Past (Proust)
5. Typewriter
6. Nose drops
7. A piano
8. Piano player

WNYC archives id: 26334