Alwin Lopez Jarreau, born on March 12, 1940, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the fifth of six children in a musical family deeply rooted in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where his father, Emile Alphonse Jarreau, served as a minister and singer, and his mother, Pearl (Walker) Jarreau, was a church pianist. The family frequently performed together in church concerts and benefits, and young Al often sang duets with his mother at PTA meetings, fostering his early passion for music. As a student at Lincoln High School in Milwaukee, Jarreau was active in leadership, serving as student council president and a Badger Boys State delegate, where he was elected governor. He pursued higher education at Ripon College, graduating in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology while singing with a campus group called the Indigos. Two years later, in 1964, he earned a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa. Initially, Jarreau worked as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco, but he moonlighted as a singer with a jazz trio led by George Duke. In 1967, he teamed up with acoustic guitarist Julio Martinez, and their duo became a sensation at the Sausalito nightclub Gatsby’s, prompting Jarreau to commit fully to a professional singing career starting in 1968.
Jarreau’s career took off in the late 1960s as he focused on jazz, performing at venues like Dino’s, The Troubadour, and Bitter End West, and gaining television exposure on shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Dinah Shore, and David Frost. He expanded his nightclub gigs, appearing at The Improv alongside emerging talents like Bette Midler, Jimmie Walker, and John Belushi. During this time, he became involved with the United Church of Religious Science and the Church of Scientology, and his Christian spirituality began influencing his songwriting as he started penning his own lyrics. In 1975, while working with pianist Tom Canning, Jarreau was signed by Warner Bros. Records, leading to his debut album, We Got By, which earned critical acclaim and an Echo Award, the German equivalent of the Grammys.
He performed on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Valentine’s Day 1976, hosted by Peter Boyle. His second album, Glow, secured another Echo Award, and in 1978, he won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for Look to the Rainbow. Jarreau’s breakthrough came with the 1981 album Breakin’ Away, featuring the hit “We’re in This Love Together,” which spent two years on the Billboard 200 and exemplified the Los Angeles pop and R&B sound; it earned him the 1982 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, along with another Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male, for “(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk.” The 1983 self-titled album Jarreau topped the Billboard Jazz charts for the third consecutive time, reached No. 4 on the R&B albums chart and No. 13 on the Billboard 200, and included hits like “Mornin'” (U.S. Pop No. 21, AC No. 2), “Boogie Down” (U.S. Pop No. 77), and “Trouble in Paradise” (U.S. Pop No. 63, AC No. 10), garnering four Grammy nominations in 1984. His 1984 single “After All” hit No. 69 on the US Hot 100 and No. 26 on the R&B chart. Jarreau was renowned for his scat singing, earning the nickname “Acrobat of Scat,” and vocal percussion.
He wrote the lyrics for the theme song to the 1980s TV series Moonlighting, which received Grammy nominations in 1988 for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. In 1985, he contributed to the charity single “We Are the World” by USA for Africa, singing the line “…and so we all must lend a helping hand,” and won three Grammys for it: Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Best Music Video, Short Form. He also dueted with Natalie Cole on “Mr. President” for HBO’s Comic Relief. Jarreau won additional Grammys, including Best Jazz Vocal Performance for All Fly Home in 1979, Best Recording for Children for In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record in 1981, Album of the Year nomination for Breakin’ Away in 1982, Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, nomination for “Never Givin’ Up” in 1981, and later wins for Heaven and Earth in 1993 and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for “God Bless the Child” (with George Benson and Jill Scott) in 2007, among 10 total wins and 19 nominations.
He toured extensively with artists like Joe Sample, Chick Corea, Kathleen Battle, Miles Davis, George Duke, David Sanborn, Rick Braun, and George Benson, and collaborated on symphony programs with conductor Larry Baird starting in 2003. In the 1990s, he took a break from recording but remained active, touring more than ever, developing a symphony program, and performing as the Teen Angel in the 1996 Broadway production of Grease. On March 6, 2001, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Boulevard. Other highlights included a 2006 duet with American Idol finalist Paris Bennett, an appearance on Celebrity Duets with Cheech Marin, a 2010 guest spot on Eumir Deodato’s album with the song “Double Face,” and a 2012 performance at Italy’s Festival di Sanremo with Matia Bazar. In 2009, a children’s book, Ashti Meets Birdman Al by Carmen Rubin, was inspired by his music. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1991 and a Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2004, and was inducted into the SoulMusic Hall of Fame in 2012. On October 17, 1982, he sang the National Anthem at Game 5 of the 1982 World Series for the Milwaukee Brewers.
In his personal life, Jarreau was married twice. His first marriage to Phyllis Hall lasted from 1964 until their divorce in 1968. In 1977, he married Susan Elaine Player, with whom he had a son, Ryan Jarreau. Ryan and Susan often contributed as background vocalists on albums like Tomorrow Today, and Susan provided photography for several releases, including Glow, All Fly Home, This Time, and Breakin’ Away; she was the inspiration for the song “Susan’s Song” on We Got By.
Jarreau faced health challenges later in life, including a critical illness in July 2010 in France due to respiratory problems and cardiac arrhythmias after a performance in Barcelonnette, requiring hospitalization in Marseille for a week. In June 2012, pneumonia led to canceled concerts in France, but he recovered and toured for the next five years. In February 2017, after hospitalization for exhaustion in Los Angeles, he canceled his remaining tour dates and announced his retirement on February 10. Just two days later, on February 12, 2017, Jarreau died of respiratory failure at age 76 in Los Angeles, one month before his 77th birthday. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, with his headstone featuring lyrics from “Mornin'”: “Like any man / I can reach out my hand / And touch the face of God.”