Cynthia "Cindy" Fee | |
---|---|
Born | December 6, 1954 (age 69) Detroit, Michigan |
Occupation | recording artist |
Period | 1970–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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]