Remembering Josie Falbo
June 12, 1943 – January 1, 2026
A tribute to the Chicago-based jazz singer
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Josie Falbo passed away on Jan. 1, 2026 at the age of 82.
She was born in 1943 and until late in life spent much of her career as a very busy studio singer in Chicago.
She began singing in English and Italian when she was just 19 months old, performed on the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour when she was nine in 1952, sang as a soloist at the Lyric Opera House, and performed in many nightclubs.
Her solo career ended for quite a few decades in favor of performing on a countless number of commercials in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s and becoming a greatly in-demand background singer including for Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, and Nancy Wilson among countless others.
She sang in many languages and was heard in quite a few countries.
Starting in 2010 when she was 67, Josie Falbo recorded three jazz albums (Taylor Street, 2020’s You Must Believe In Spring and 2025’s Kickin’ It) that showed that she was an unheralded but extremely talented jazz singer, sounding much younger than her age.
In this miniset from around 2020, Josie Falbo scats passionately and displays a wide range on “Just You, Just Me,” embraces the melody of Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing,” and swings her way through “A Night In Tunisia.”
-Scott Yanow
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