Albany News Anchors Unite To Form Musical Group – The Singing Anchors

Three of the most recognizable faces in Albany are joining forces to make music! 

On Saturday, December 17,  Jerry Gretzinger (WRGB), Benita Zahn (WNYT) and Jessica Layton (WNYT) will unite to perform as "The Singing Anchors" at the Shenendehowa Adult Community Center in Clifton Park. We recently had the chance to learn more about the group in an interview with Jerry Gretzinger.

How did the idea of ‘The Singing Anchors’ come about?

A few years back, Benita Zahn, Jessica Layton and myself were performing at a benefit for the Red Cross with a local big band. Instead of emceeing they had asked us all to sing. So basically it was the Red Cross who brought us all together. But it was Benita who said to Jessica and I, "I know this guy Jay Kerr who owns the Fort Salem Theater. Maybe we can do a show with him." The rest was history.

How do you decide what songs to perform or what kind of shows you are going to produce?

It really starts with Jay Kerr, owner and artistic director at the Fort Salem Theater. He's a genius when it comes to what kinds of shows and songs we should work on. Certainly each of us contributes our ideas. Benita and I and big into standarnds and show tunes, and Jessica has a great knowledge of all the current, popular tunes that work with our style shows, so it makes for a great mix.

What’s the most inspirational news story that you’ve ever reported?

I've had the privilege to focus on 'good' news stories the last 4 years or so, so it's really tough to pick just one. But if I had to, I think I'd pick the story I did on a local man who refused to give up when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He and his wife decided to get one of those tandem bikes and start riding cross country. He had been given 6 months to live and 5 years later was still going strong. Taught me to never give up and never be afraid to try to defy the odds.

What is your favorite Country Music song and why?

Truth be told, I didn't listen to much country music until I purchased the Karaoke Revolution: Country game. I am definitely one of those closet karaoke fans and my family and I had a lot of fun when these games started coming out for our Playstation. The songs were great. But if I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to say Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. Not only did I love the movie as a kid, the Singing Anchors have their own version of the song that Jay Kerr rewrote the words to so it would reflect what we all do for a living. It's pretty funny. We performed it in July of 2011 at our "Singing Anchors Go Hollywood" show in Salem.

What can we expect to see at the ‘Fort Salem Theater Presents The Singing Anchors Go Holiday’ Saturday, December 17 at the Shenendehowa Adult Community Center?

We actually had some people contact us before our performances in Salem to ask if we were singing all Jesus music. Sort of a strange question to get. But, and it was not by design, there are no religious songs in the lineup. It's over an hour of some of the greatest holiday tunes we all know and love. And of course, the anchors lend their own flair and humor to them. One of the songs I perform is Blue Christmas. Although it's a song about lovers being apart for the holiday, it winds up being one of the funnier moments in the show. You'll have to check it out this weekend if you want to know why. :-)

For tickets call 518-383-1343