Molly Ringwald’s jazz album Except Sometimes came out in 2013. But Molly Ringwald is still working the material, including performing live in jazz venues.
Molly Ringwald recently spoke to Diablo Magazine ahead of a February gig about how she ended up singing jazz.
“I was born in Roseville [California] and grew up in Sacramento until I was about 10. My father, Bob, was a traditional jazz musician and he was instrumental in starting the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Festival—organizing and performing this great festival. That’s a great festival, which still exists, I have fond memories of going to it in Old Sacramento. It always very festive and there was music everywhere. In fact, I was one of the first guest stars of that festival, when I was four years old.”
Although Molly Ringwald is best known as a op culture icon from the 1980s, she says that jazz music permeated her childhood.
“We listened to jazz, all the time, in the house. All my early musical influences were jazz. Looking back it was an incredible experience to have that kind of musical education at a young age.”
It must me odd for a film icon whose movies have come to define the decade of the 1980s to now associate herself with jazz. But Ringwald takes it a step further. When she was recording the album, filmmaker John Hughes had just died. Hughes directed Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club. So Molly Ringwald paid tribute to Hughes by recording a modern jazz version of the film’s most well-known song, “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” originally by Simple Minds.
“As for the 1980s, I have always loved all different kinds of music. When I was younger and now. Even though I sing jazz I love alternative, chamber, pop, classical, jazz. I just love music and its great to explore different kids of music.”