Claire Phillips Gordon was born and raised in Los Angeles California. She graduated from UCCal when she turned 20. This was during the time when young people filled the ballrooms and danced to the music of major bands. Claire found jazz and fell in love with the music and the people who played it. Her wish to stay close was fulfilled during the years she was Duke Ellington's secretary. Song-writer husband, Irving Gordon, wrote the song Unforgettable for her. The famous Nat Cole recording came about due to Claire's friendship with Nat. The list of famous jazz artists she knew as friends is long. She wrote about Nat, Dizzy, Duke, and the many others big names in her memoirs, "My Unforgettable Jazz Friends." Her other books are biographies of jazz greats Marshal Royal and Rex Stewart.Besides writing, Claire Gordon raised three sons. She has been an importer, had an antique store, was an executive in advertising, and a real estate broker. She speaks both Spanish and French, which she uses in her world travels along with "enough German and Italian to get by." These days she spends her days in front of her Macintosh computer, listening to music while she writes and researches.