Sally Dworsky

Sally Dworsky
Birth name	Sally Gail Dworsky
Born	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.[1]
Genres	Alt-rock, folk rock, movie soundtracks
Occupation	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Chris Hickey

Sally Dworsky is an American singer-songwriter and playback singer in animated films. In addition to her solo work and co-fronting the alt-rock band Uma, Dworsky served as the singing voice for lead characters in iconic animated films including The Lion King and The Prince of Egypt, both of which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song – as well as Shrek. She has also recorded or performed with R.E.M., Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Neil Diamond and many others.

Early life

Dworsky was born to Robert and Shirley Dworsky,^[2] and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota.^[3] She has one sister, Rabbi Susan Dworsky,^[4][2][5] and two brothers,^[2] pianist Richard Dworsky^[6] and former lawyer turned drummer and author Alan Dworsky.^[7]

Career

In Minnesota, she was a member of the bands Moore by Four^[6][3] and Players.^[6] In Moore by Four, her voice was described as "sparkling", "marvelous separately – together [with band members], they're dynamite."^[8] She also appeared in lead roles in musicals at the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.^[6][9]

After moving to California,^[6] where she appeared in a featured role in the Los Angeles production of Les Misérables,^[6][10] she toured with Don Henley as a back-up singer,^[6][11] and was noted by a reviewer for a "strong solo" in "Sunset Grill".^[3] She also sang back-up vocals in the studio, and on stage, for artists including R.E.M., Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Shelby Lynne, Teddy Thompson, Rodney Crowell, Midge Ure, Ringo Starr, and many others.

She began singing in films including leading roles in The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt,^[12] and Shrek.^[13] As the singing voice of Nala in The Lion King, she sang part of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight",^[14] which won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Original Song. One of the songs she recorded for The Prince of Egypt (in the role of Miriam) was "When You Believe" (in a duet with Michelle Pfeiffer),^[15] which won the 1999 Academy Award for Best Original Song.^[16] One reviewer wrote about the song, which was also recorded and released by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, "the film version of the song will move you in a wholly good way ... singers Sally Dworsky and Michelle Pfeiffer convey the hope and amazement every living Hebrew must have felt at hearing Pharaoh's own emancipation proclamation."^[15]

In the early 1990s, she gave her first solo performances, in the Twin Cities and in Los Angeles,^[6] and in 1995 released a solo EP, Habit Trail.,^[17] produced by Jay Joyce. Dworsky has also performed on A Prairie Home Companion.^{[18][unreliable source?]}

Dworsky joined the group Uma (Chris Hickey and Andy Kamman) and they signed a record deal with producer Don Gehman's label Refuge, an MCA affiliate. They released the album Fare Well in 1997 and toured throughout the U.S. and Canada with artists such as Jonatha Brooke and Chris Whitley. Dworsky released Start It All Over Again, an album of covers, with her brother Richard Dworsky in 2006 and followed up in 2008 with Boxes, an album of original songs. She has since released two singles, Same Room in 2018 and This Day in 2020, both produced by Marshall Vore.

Personal life

Dworsky was married to singer-songwriter Chris Hickey.^[19] They have fraternal boy-girl twins, daughter Lila, and son singer-songwriter Charlie Hickey (b. 1999).^[20][21][22]

Discography

Soundtracks

• The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Walt Disney Records (1994)
• The Prince Of Egypt Soundtrack – DreamWorks (1998)
• Disney's Greatest Vol. 3 – Walt Disney Records (2003)
• Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection – Walt Disney Records (2004)
• The Magic of Disney – Walt Disney Records (2009)
• Best of the Lion King – Walt Disney Records (2011)
• Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection: The Lion King – Walt Disney Records (2011)

Solo

• Habit Trail – Sally Dworsky (1996)
• Start It All Over Again – Sally Dworsky and Richard Dworsky (2006)
• Boxes – Sally Dworsky (2008)
• Same Room – Sally Dworsky (2018)
• This Day – Sally Dworsky (2020)

Uma

• Fare Well – Uma (Chris Hickey, Sally Dworsky, Andy Kamman) (1997)^[23]

Filmography and TV appearances

• 1989 – The Wizard – song "I Found My Way"
• 1992 – The Cutting Edge – song "Turning Circles"
• 1994 – The Lion King – Adult Nala (singing voice)^[24][25]
• 1997 – The End of Violence – songwriter, Bad News, performed by Eels
• 1998 – Mulan – Young Bride (singing voice)
• 1998 – The Prince of Egypt – Miriam (singing voice)^[26]
• 2001 – Shrek – Princess Fiona (singing voice)
• 2014 – A to Z (TV Series, Ep 4) – song "There Will Be a Light"
• 2018 – Transparent (TV series) appeared in episode
• 2022 – The Patient (TV series) appeared in episode

Awards and recognition

• 1996, 1997 – ASCAP award-winner, most-performed songs, with "That's as Close as I'll Get to Loving You"^[27][28]

References

1. "Sally Dworsky (visual voices guide)". www.behindthevoiceactors.com.
2. "Funeral notices: Dworsky, Shirley". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. August 31, 2004. p. B6. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
3. Bream, John (July 23, 1990). "Passion, musicianship are Henley's hallmarks". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 5B. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
4. "Carleton Rabbi to retire by June". thecarletonian.com.
5. "Rabbi Shoshana Susan Dworsky Welcome to Dworsky Mediation!". mediate.com.
6. Bream, Jon (May 3, 1991). "Dworsky Steps Into Spotlight With First Solo Performances". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Pfister, Darlene (February 19, 1997). "A New Beat". The Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. E9. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
8. Habich, John (October 10, 1986). "Four is audience's lucky number". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 3C. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
9. Bream, Jon (September 28, 1984). "Singer Steele will make pop music debut via two jobs". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 2C. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
10. Sullivan, Dan (June 3, 1988). "'Les Miz' Barrels Into Town". The Los Angeles Times. p. 14, pt VI. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
11. Gettelman, Parry (June 29, 1990). "Henley faithful to trademark sound". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. A2. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
12. Seymour, Gene (December 21, 1998). "Animated films: Talk about a difficult job". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 5E. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
13. Hischak, Thomas S. (October 6, 2011). "Dworsky, Sally". Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson, NC; London: McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 9780786486946. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
14. Commander Coconut (July 1, 1994). "Play ball, shut up, make better movies". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 1, Calendar. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
15. Peyton, Jeffrey (March 24, 2005). "Don't miss animated retelling of the Exodus". Columbian-Progress. Columbia, Mississippi. p. 4. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
16. Welkos, Robert W. (February 24, 1999). "Oscar's Big Song Squabble". The Los Angeles Times. p. D1. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
17. "Raúl Melo". prairiehome.publicradio.org. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
18. "Prairie Home Companion at Town Hall – April 11, 2008". Rattle My Cage. Archived from the original on July 8, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
19. "Chris Hickey Talks About Love Away and Sings About Strummer, Cash, Whitley, and McLennan". nodepression.com.
20. "Ears Wide Open: Charlie Hickey « buzzbands". buzzbands.la. April 6, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
21. "Happy Birthday to these two beautiful humans. I love you more every day. Have an amazing new year !!! ❤️❤️🥳🥳❤️❤️". instagram.com.
22. "Happy birthday to you and also to me. Love u char. Thanks for being my best friend". instagram.com.
23. "Music Reviews". News-Press. December 26, 1997. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
24. Hischak, Thomas S.; Robinson, Mark A. (2009). "Can you feel the love tonight?". The Disney Song Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland; Toronto; Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. p. 29. ISBN 9780810869387. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
25. "Play Ball, Shut Up, Make Better Movies". The Orlando Sentinel. July 1, 1994. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Oscar in Brief". The News Leader. March 21, 1999. Retrieved April 30, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
27. Roland, Tom (October 1, 1996). "Epitome of country/rock crossover". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. p. 4A. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
28. "ASCAP's award-winners". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 40. October 4, 1997. p. 104. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 4, 2019.

External links

• Sally Dworsky at IMDb
• Official website