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"Woods can carry a show of any magnitude,
"Nurses didn't make anything back then. I loved nursing, but the economics weren't working for me and my two children." So, she became a postal worker. A friend asked her to to sing at an office party. After the party, that same friend goaded her into auditioning for his friend who owned a nightclub. That's when things began to change for Carol. The club owner loved her, and she realized that singing brought out the passion she'd lost when she left nursing. The only problem in those early days, was that Carol's repertoire consisted of mostly gospel songs, with the exception of three popular songs, Summertime, Stormy Monday Blues and Sunny. So, each week she'd have to learn a few more songs to be able to play a complete set. Today her repertoire is so large, she can't remember the last time she sang Sunny. Between 1965 and 1970, she performed with a group known as Carol Woods and the Executives. They recorded just one song called Ooh Baby, which is still in circulation today. That led to an association with the UK label Ember Records and a number of disco/soul-themed recordings which can now be found on the recently re-issued CD Carol Woods: Out Of The Woods. After a couple of years working in Europe, where she be-friended Freddie Mercury and ended up singing back-up for him on some recordings, Carol returned to the states a bit disillusioned with the whole industry. Lucky for audiences everywhere, she was persuaded to give show business another try. She is now a veteran of Broadway, music/cabaret, television and motion pictures, and is respected by the who's who of the theater and music industry. Her Broadway credits include Chicago, for which she is best known, having played Matron "Mama" Morton in hundreds of performances, but she's also starred in The Full Monty, One Mo’ Time, Stephen Sondheim’s Follies, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Goodbye Girl, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She was nominated for an Olivier award for her performance in Blues in the Night and received a standing ovation at the 50th Grammy awards for her powerful rendition of Lennon and McCartney’s Let it Be. Her television and screen credits include Across the Universe, Honeymooners, Stepping Out, Steam, Sweet and Lowdown, The Parent ‘Hood, The Practice, Third Watch, Law and Order and most recently The Good Wife. Her steady and rewarding career also includes concert halls and nightclubs from New York to London to Tokyo to Russia. She has received outstanding reviews for her shows including her solo Carnegie Hall concert “An Evening with Carol Woods”, and her cabaret show “From Blues to Broadway.” Along the way Carol has worked with the best and brightest in the business, all while relishing her role as mother and grandmother. Look forward to her newest project, “Ain't We Got Fun: The Music of Richard Whiting.” CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Theatre
Film
Television
Concerts
Click here to read Carol's entry on Wikipedia.
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CAROL'S BIOGRAPHY