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Cindy Fee

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Cynthia "Cindy" Fee
Cynthia Fee photographed in 2023
Cynthia Fee photographed in 2023
Born (1954-12-06) December 6, 1954 (age 69)
Detroit, Michigan
Occupationrecording artist
Period1970–present
Notable works"Thank You for Being a Friend", from the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls

Cynthia L. "Cindy" Fee (born December 6, 1954) is an American singer and recording artist. She is best known for performing "Thank You for Being a Friend",[1][2][3] the opening theme song for the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning sitcom[4][5] The Golden Girls.

Early life

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Cynthia L. "Cindy" Fee was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Raytown, Missouri, where she was active in music and theater at Raytown High School.[6]

Career

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Fee started performing professionally at sixteen, working Kansas City-area restaurants, clubs, local theaters, and amusement parks. In 1973, Fee became a founding member, along with Eric Bikales, of the Kansas City band Hotfoot[7] and also sang with the jazz group the Means/Devan Trio.[8]

Golden Girls theme song — "Thank You For Being a Friend"

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Fee recorded a cover of Andrew Gold's song "Thank You for Being a Friend" for the credits of The Golden Girls.[9] During the show's first run and in syndication, the song became well known. In honor of Betty White's 90th birthday, President Barack Obama released a video of him listening to the theme song.[10] After White's death in 2021,[11] the sitcom and theme song were streamed 384 million times in one week alone.[12] After going viral in 2022,[13] the Golden Con convention, a fan convention, returned to Chicago in 2023 featuring Fee as a headline performer.[14]

Other recordings

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Fee also recorded chart-topping records with some of the best-selling music artists of all time.[15] Her discography includes a duet with Kenny Rogers, "I Don't Want to Know Why",[16] from the platinum-selling album, What About Me?[17] Fee is also a credited background singer on the Kenny Rogers's album Christmas,[18] which peaked at #34 in the US,[19] and Rogers's Share Your Love, which peaked at #6 in the US.[20] She has also performed as a background singer for Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, and Lionel Richie.[6] Fee also released her own albums Dancin in My Sleep[21] and Young at Heart,[22][23] the latter with noted rockabilly guitarist Eddie Angel,[24] a founding member of Los Straitjackets.

Jingles and television commercials

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Fee is also a prolific jingle and TV commercial singer. Fee's commercial jingle credits include: "Get on Your Pontiac and Ride",[1] for Hoover, "Nobody Does It Like You"[25][26] and "What the Big Boys Eat",[27] from a Wheaties cereal campaign. Fee's voice was also featured in commercials for Chevy Trucks, McDonald's, Miller Beer, Chick-fil-A, Home Depot, Goodyear, Hot Pockets, Barbie, John Deere, NASCAR, Ford, Toyota, Purina, Avon, and American Airlines.[6] Fee's Wheaties and Hoover commercials were awarded Clio awards.[6][28][29]

Personal life

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She is married to Robert Landis and has two adult children, Ethan and Rory Landis. Fee frequently performs a genre she calls "country soul", a combination of Motown and country,[2] and has appeared live at venues including in Nashville, Chicago, Los Angeles, as well as in Europe. She is frequently recognized at events and conventions and interviewed about her career.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b Garber, Megan (2015-09-14). "A Brief History of 'Thank You for Being a Friend'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  2. ^ a b Arkush, Michael (1988-11-20). "Familiar Voice With New Slogan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. ^ "Betty White celebration, set for Jan. 15 in Oak Park, to feature singer of 'Golden Girls' theme song". Chicago Tribune. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  4. ^ "THE GOLDEN GIRLS". Television Academy. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  5. ^ "Golden Girls, The". Golden Globes. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  6. ^ a b c d "Meet the Class of 2022 - Raytown C-2 School District". www.raytownschools.org. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  7. ^ "Kansas City and other Midwestern Bands from the '50s, '60s & early '70s". www.oldkc.com. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  8. ^ Ritter, Jess (1975-09-26). "Going Out". The Kansas City Times. p. 32. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  9. ^ Piepenburg, Erik (2022-05-04). "Golden-Con Threw a Party, Invited Every 'Golden Girls' Fan It Knew". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  10. ^ "President Obama wishes Betty White a happy birthday". POLITICO. January 17, 2012. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  11. ^ Carlson, Michael (2022-01-02). "Betty White obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  12. ^ Dick, Jeremy (2022-02-05). "The Golden Girls Cracks Nielsen's Highest-Rated Shows List After Betty White's Death". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  13. ^ Finlon, Katie (2023-03-21). "'Golden Girls' Fan Convention Returns To Chicago After Going Viral In 2022". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  14. ^ "Golden Guests". GOLDEN CON: THANK YOU FOR BEING A FAN. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  15. ^ "Kenny Rogers touches down in Cranbrook this week - Cranbrook Daily Townsman". 2014-07-14. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  16. ^ I Don't Want to Know Why by Kenny Rogers with Cindy Fee, retrieved 2024-01-04
  17. ^ "1984 Kenny Rogers – What About Me? | Sessiondays". Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  18. ^ "Kenny Rogers - Christmas | Releases | Discogs". Discogs.
  19. ^ "Christmas". Music Charts Archive. 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  20. ^ "Kenny Rogers". Music Charts Archive. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
  21. ^ "Dancin In My Sleep". April 22, 2010 – via open.spotify.com.
  22. ^ "Cindy Fee and Eddie Angel on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player.
  23. ^ "Eddie Angel "Young at Heart" CD". Hi-Tide Recordings & Nu-Tone. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  24. ^ "Eddie Angel". www.eddieangel.com.
  25. ^ "1993 Hoover "Nobody does it like you" TV Commercial" – via www.youtube.com.
  26. ^ Rose, Devin (2012-06-05). "Former jingle singer from Oak Park has changed her tune". Oak Park. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  27. ^ Elsmo, Melissa (2022-01-12). "Connecting to Betty with a single song". Oak Park. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  28. ^ "Collection: Clio Awards 2020/2021 Gold Winners • Ads of the World™ | Part of The Clio Network". Ads of the World™.
  29. ^ "JINGLE WRITER MAKES FINE-TUNED PITCH". Chicago Tribune. 1985-06-20. Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  30. ^ "Cindy Fee, Voice Of The Golden Girls Them Song" – via www.youtube.com.