Many of the people who substantially contribute to the rich fabric of the arts and entertainment realm do so in relative privacy. Though they are usually overshadowed by loud characters clamoring for attention and whatever they think stardom will get them, these people are easy to admire, actually to cherish.

This new year began without Josie Falbo, one of those people. Her death came peacefully on the first day of the year. She was 82, and ended her year-long fight with cancer in the company of family, including her adult sons, Sal Lepore and Anthony DeChristopher.

The internet exploded with memories and praise, for there were few people in the local musical world as admired as she was.

Singer and producer Joanie Pallatto told me, “Josie raised the bar, no matter what she was singing.”

When Bob Bowker, a musician, composer and producer, was forming the sadly now bygone group The Lakeside Singers in 1999, the first person he recruited was Falbo.

Critic Neil Tesser, who wrote the liner notes for Falbo’s final album, said, “She had a beautiful voice, angelic at the top of her range, but earthy too, so she could sing pretty much anything, from rock n’ roll in her youth to the whole jazz songbook. Then, when she pulled out the stops, her voice was gigantic. People seeing her for the first time were astonished to hear that voice coming from this lovely woman in her 70s, with the sweetest demeanor, who stood under five feet.”

She was a child of the then-vibrant, heavily Italian Taylor Street neighborhood. Before she was 2 years old, she was singing in both Italian and English, and by the time she was 9, she had performed on the Morris B. Sachs amateur hour, a popular local radio/TV program.

She won musical scholarships in both high school and Mundelein College, and performed solo at the Lyric Opera House. She did dip into the local club scene for a time, using her multi-range voice in both classical and pop idioms, playing with various groups. She also married and started a family and worked as a typist.

Then along came the jingle world. From the 1970s into the 1990s, this city was the vibrant center of the advertising world and work was plentiful.

Falbo’s voice and versatility made her an in-demand studio presence and she would sing in national advertising spots for such products as McDonald’s, Mr. Clean, Sara Lee, Oscar Mayer, Green Giant, United, Old Style, Bud Light, Kellogg’s, Pizza Hut and many more. Realize it or not, you have heard her voice.

As word of her talent spread, she was hired to work on recordings by such stars as Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Dennis DeYoung, Michael Bolton, Ben Vereen, Vic Damone, Della Reese, Mavis Staples and Earth, Wind & Fire.

She came close to making her own recording in the mid-1960s when she was signed by Vee-Jay Records, famous as the label that introduced The Beatles to the U.S., but in the midst of creating an album, the company declared bankruptcy in 1966.

“I was pretty sure I would never make a record,” she told me a few years ago. “And I was probably a little scared because I was always surrounded by all these great artists in the studios. And, to tell the truth, I was perfectly happy to remain anonymous.”

But as the advertising work began to dry up, she finally made her first album, a selection of songs called “Taylor Street,” which one reviewer praised for the “incredible youthfulness of her voice. She can sound remarkably similar to the young Whitney Houston or Vanessa Williams.”

As Falbo told me, “There was a freedom in being on my own. But it took Dick Boyell, the owner of the production house, to keep pushing me. He just kept sending me songs he wanted me to record, song after song. I finally just gave in and am so glad I did.”

Still, it would be a decade until her next release, “You Must Believe in Spring.”

“I am hoping this will lead to new things,” she told me. “I feel a joy now in sharing my music and maybe this will serve as an introduction to new venues.”

Her latest, “Kickin’ It,” arrived in October, and Falbo was excited to start promoting it until her illness prevented that.

Released by that treasure of a local label, Southport Records, run by Pallatto and her husband, Bradley Parker-Sparrow, it’s an exciting, delightful 11-tune package.

It’s also shadowed by tender history, as when Pallatto says, “Josie threw me a surprise wedding shower when Sparrow and I were about to be married in 1982. Her kindness was only eclipsed by her amazing vocal talent. I learned of her business savvy and determination in 2010 as we were about to release that first CD. Sparrow gave it the title ‘Taylor Street.’”

The new CD has liner notes by Tesser, who writes, in part, “For those who’ve never heard her before, I envy you. You’ve waited your whole life to discover one of your favorite ‘new’ singers, and that experience — like falling in love for the first time — really can’t be beat.”

Falbo’s adult sons collaborated on a note they gave to me. It says, in part, “She had a sweet, beautiful voice — but look out if she was mad. That sweet little voice could quickly turn into one with words we probably can’t repeat here.”

And in another part, there was this: “She truly loved life and what she was doing. She was blessed to make a career out of what she loved and never felt like she had a job. She felt fortunate to do what brought her joy — performing and sharing music with others.”

It brought joy to plenty of people.

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/07/josie-falbo-appreciation/