CABARET LIFE NYC: Award-Winning Singer WILLIAM BLAKE Stars at MACY's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The New York cabaret community had something really special to be thankful for yesterday as one of its own, singer William Blake, was a featured performer in the 2014 MACY's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is televised nationally on NBC. Cruising up to the parade's main staging area on a faux Mississippi River Boat at around the show's midpoint, Blake and three backup singers revved up the crowd with a uptempo gospel/blues song "Give Thanks" (see video).

The number was written by Broadway composer Matthew Sklar (2006 Tony Award nomination for "Best Original Score" for The Wedding Singer) and William Schermerhorn (who won an Daytime Emmy Award in 2012 for his song in the 2011 MACY's Thanksgiving Parade, "Won't You Join Our Parade"), with an arrangement by Blake's Musical Director Michael Thomas Murray. For the 31-year-old Texas native, who came to New York just seven years ago, performing in the MACY's parade is now one of the high points of his career.

"Doing the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York was just the biggest adrenaline rush ever," Blake admitted the day after his Facebook page was blowing up with proud posts from friends, family, and cabaret colleagues. "It's even bigger than Carnegie Hall. I live for professional moments like these."

Blake has taken New York cabaret by storm the past two years, mainly through his standout show, Echoes of Etta: A Tribute to Etta James, during which he displays a powerful blues vocal sound that has blown the roof off clubs such as Birdland and Joe's Pub. His performances earned him a 2012 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award as "Best Male Vocalist." In 2014, he collected a trophy case full of awards, winning a Nightlife Award as "Outstanding Male Jazz Vocalist," a Bistro Award as "Outstanding Vocalist," and a MAC for "Show of the Year."