Beth Sorrentino Biography

Beth Sorrentino (born Elizabeth Sorrentino) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Suddenly, Tammy!

In the early 1990s, Sorrentino, her brother Jay (drums), and high school friend Ken Heitmueller (bass) formed the music trio Suddenly, Tammy!. The band was signed by spinART Records, which released two EPs (Spokesmodel, El Presidente), produced by Sean Slade, and a self-titled debut album. In 1992, the band was featured on the cover of College Music Journal. Suddenly, Tammy! subsequently signed with Warner Bros. Records, for whom they recorded the album We Get There When We Do, which was produced by Warne Livesey and released in 1995. A follow-up album, Comet, was recorded and completed, but the band was dropped from the label in late 1996 and the album was shelved. The trio disbanded in 1997. (Comet was released digitally by an independent label in 2010.)

Sorrentino contributed backing vocals to the 1992 debut album by The Lilys.

Solo career

Following the breakup of the band, Sorrentino moved to New York City and became a music teacher. She has taught at several schools on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as well as being a private piano and vocal instructor.

Sorrentino recorded a series of demos between 2002"2003, produced by Irwin Chusid and engineered by Peter Katis at Tarquin Studios, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The material mostly consisted of new original compositions, with cover versions of two Leonard Cohen songs. After sporadic returns to public performance in New York clubs, Sorrentino approved the demos for digital release in 2006 under the title Nine Songs, One Story. In 2008, two live solo sessions performed and recorded in 2001 at radio station WFMU were released digitally. These sets included a number of Suddenly, Tammy! songs, as well as new original material.

From 2006 to 2011, she composed music for a series of children's theatrical productions at the Lucy Moses School of Manhattan's Kaufman Center.

In 2009, her recording of her original song "Such a Beautiful Day" (a.k.a. "Beautiful Day") was included on The Believer magazine's compilation CD Fantastic And Spectacular, compiled by Daniel Handler.

In 2010, Sorrentino reunited with producer Sean Slade, and over 2010-2011 recorded a collection of songs composed by Sunshine Pop progenitor Curt Boettcher. The completed album, entitled Would You Like To Go, was released on April 22, 2013, in Europe on the Basta Audio-Visuals label.

Sorrentino recorded a theme song for WFMU radio's weekly conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay. The composition is an adaptation of the Johnny Rivers hit "Secret Agent Man," with new lyrics and retitled "Andy Breckman Man" (after one of the show's co-hosts). During 2011 and 2012, Sorrentino provided keyboard accompaniment on an intermittent basis at the program's biweekly live broadcasts from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on West 28th Street.

Discography

Albums

(compositions by Sorrentino except where noted)

• Nine Songs, One Story (2006)
  1. Amazing
  2. Such a Beautiful Day
  3. What I'm On
  4. Very Bad Today
  5. Child
  6. Tighten My Grip
  7. Wave
  8. Famous Blue Raincoat (Cohen)
  9. One Condition

• Hiding Out (2011)
  1. Care of Cell 44 (Argent)
  2. Constellation
  3. 100,000 Fireflies (Merritt)
  4. We Are the Girls
  5. I Want You In My Life (Moore)
  6. Hiding Out
  7. You Never Know (Tweedy)
  8. Back in Kind
  9. Andy Breckman Man
  10. Wishlist
  11. A Rose For Emily (Argent)
  12. Snowday
  13. Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) (Safka)
  14. Hounds of Love (Bush)
  15. End of Another Day

• Would You Like To Go: A Curt Boettcher Songbook (released April 2013 on Basta Audio-Visuals)
  1. Would You Like To Go (Boettcher/Alexander)
  2. I Just Want to Be Your Friend (Boettcher)
  3. The Island (Boettcher)
  4. I'm Not Living Here (Boettcher)
  5. You Know I've Found a Way (Boettcher/Mallory)
  6. Baby Please Don't Go (trad. arr. Boettcher)
  7. Another Time (Boettcher)
  8. Along Comes Mary (Almer)
  9. Prelude (Rhodes/Edgar)
  10. The Know-It-All (Boettcher)
  11. There Is Nothing More To Say (Boettcher/Fennelly/Mallory)
  12. Wearing Levi's (Boettcher)

Singles

• Swingin' Single (2003) — Comfort Stand Records
  1. Beautiful Day
  2. Amazing