Artist:
Sarah Vaughan
Born:
Mar 27, 1924 in Newark, New Jersey
Died:
Apr 03, 1990 in Los Angeles
Representative Songs:
"Lover Man," "September Song," "Misty"
Representative Albums:
Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown, The Complete Sarah Vaughan on Mercury, Vol. 1, 1944-1946
Similar Artists:
Carmen McRae,
Billie Holiday,
Holly Cole,
Maxine Sullivan,
Susannah McCorkle,
Sheila Jordan,
Lena Horne ,
Shirley Horn,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Ernestine Anderson
Influences:
Followers:
Jesse Palter,
Meegan Samantha Coleman,
Iza Eirado,
Diane Marino,
Sunset Room,
Lina,
Norah Jones,
Roberta Gambarini,
Bobby Wade,
Kate Hart,
Jane Monheit,
Ithamara Koorax,
Moe Loughran,
Loston Harris,
Connie Evingson,
Eboni Foster,
Mónica Naranjo,
Suzanne Pittson,
Paula West,
Rebecca Martin,
Claire Martin ,
Rebecca Kilgore,
Sheila Landis,
Joe Lee Wilson,
Hanna Richardson,
Carmen McRae,
Maria Howell,
Thelma Carpenter,
Carol Williams,
Lula Reed,
Lurlean Hunter,
Nnenna Freelon,
Patty Richards,
Tânia Maria,
Karin Krog,
Fionna Duncan,
Betty Carter,
Ruth Brown,
Milira,
Rickie Lee Jones,
Aretha Franklin,
Anita Baker,
Nina Simone
Relationship with:
George Treadwell
Performed Songs By:
N. Washington,
Arthur Francis,
James Dyrenforth,
Val Burton,
Bruce Sievier,
John Klenner,
Rita Mann,
Albert Hay Malotte,
Paul Madeira,
Mack David ,
Richard Lewine,
Einar A. Swan,
Jack Segal,
S.K. Russell,
Harry Owens,
Ruth Lowe,
Morgan Lewis,
Clifford Grey,
Brooks Bowman,
Louis Alter,
Harry Revel,
H.J. Lengsfelder,
Gerald Marks ,
Don George ,
George Forrest ,
Victor Schertzinger,
Seymour Simons,
Bernie Henighen,
Edward Eliscu ,
Carolyn Leigh,
Al Hoffman,
Irving Gordon ,
Richard Whiting,
Maceo Pinkard,
Frank Eyton ,
Harold Adamson ,
Robert Sour ,
Ted Koehler,
Maxwell Anderson,
Joe Young,
Dubose Heyward ,
Tito Fontana,
Arthur Johnston,
Ralph Blane ,
Richard Rogers,
Harry Brooks,
Ray Gilbert ,
George Treadwell,
Jimmy Sherman,
Sante Palumbo,
Matty Malneck,
Bob Merrill ,
Sam M. Lewis,
Will Jason,
M. Fisher,
Alfred Newman,
Jimmy Davis,
Victor Young ,
Allie Wrubel ,
Robert C. Wright ,
George David Weiss,
Paul Francis Webster,
Ned Washington ,
Harry Warren ,
James Van Heusen,
Roy Turk ,
Juan Tizol,
Jule Styne,
Billy Strayhorn,
Al Stillman,
Frank Signorelli,
Carl Sigman,
Arthur Schwartz ,
Harry Ruby,
Billy Rose,
Smokey Rogers,
Leo Robin ,
Don Raye,
Roger "Ram" Ramirez,
Cole Porter ,
Mitchell Parish ,
Clyde Otis,
Thelonious Monk,
Harry Mills,
H. Miller,
Johnny Mercer ,
Robert Lee McCoy,
Hugh Martin ,
Herbert Magidson,
Jimmy Lytell,
Jay Livingston,
Jack Lawrence,
Burton Lane ,
Bert Kalmar,
Gus Kahn ,
Irving Kahal ,
Isham Jones,
Antonio Carlos Jobim,
Will Hudson,
Eddy Howard,
Edward Heyman ,
Ray Henderson,
Lorenz Hart,
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg,
Otto Harbach ,
Nancy Hamilton,
Oscar Hammerstein II,
Walter Gross,
Johnny Green ,
Adolph Green ,
Mack Gordon,
M. Gordon,
John Golden,
Norman Gimbel,
Haven Gillespie,
Ira Gershwin ,
Arthur Freed,
Dorothy Fields ,
Sammy Fain ,
Ray Evans ,
Sherman Edwards & Donald Meyer,
Michael Edwards,
Duke Ellington,
Ervin Drake,
Jimmy Dorsey,
Walter Donaldson ,
Howard Dietz ,
Buddy DeSylva,
Peter de Rose ,
Gene DePaul,
Eddie DeLange,
J. Davis,
Hal David,
Betty Comden,
Sammy Cahn,
Irving Caesar ,
Sonny Burke,
Johnny Burke ,
Lew Brown,
Leslie Bricusse,
Rube Bloom,
Bennie Benjamin,
Gus Arnheim,
Fred E. Ahlert,
Richard Adler,
Stanley Adams,
Nacio Herb Brown ,
Jerry Ross ,
Frank Loesser,
Jerome Kern,
Andy Razaf,
María Mendez Grever,
Bronislaw Kaper ,
Vernon Duke ,
Burt Bacharach,
Richard Rodgers ,
Harold Arlen,
Vincent Youmans,
Alec Wilder,
Jimmy McHugh,
Abe Lyman,
Dick Jurgens,
Carroll Gibbons,
Ray Noble,
Irving Mills,
Gene Lees,
Ronnell Bright,
Cootie Williams,
Fats Waller,
Lucky Thompson,
Horace Silver,
George Shearing,
Thad Jones,
Quincy Jones,
Johnny Hodges,
Lionel Hampton,
Freddie Green,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Erroll Garner,
Leonard Feather,
Miles Davis,
Tadd Dameron,
Dori Caymmi,
Paul McCartney,
John Lennon,
Hoagy Carmichael,
Milton Nascimento,
Bing Crosby,
Irving Berlin,
Henry Mancini ,
Kurt Weill ,
Stephen Sondheim,
Sigmund Romberg ,
George Gershwin ,
Leonard Bernstein
Worked With:
- Real Name: Sarah Lois Vaughan
- Genre: Vocal Music
- Active: '40s - '80s
- Instrument: Vocals
Biography
Possessor of one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan ranked with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday in the very top echelon of female jazz singers. She often gave the impression that with her wide range, perfectly controlled vibrato, and wide expressive abilities, she could do anything she wanted with her voice. Although not all of her many recordings are essential (give Vaughan a weak song and she might strangle it to death), Sarah Vaughan's legacy as a performer and a recording artist will be very difficult to match in the future.Vaughan sang in church as a child and had extensive piano lessons from 1931-39; she developed into a capable keyboardist. After she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater, she was hired for the Earl Hines big band as a singer and second vocalist. Unfortunately, the musicians' recording strike kept her off record during this period (1943-44). When lifelong friend Billy Eckstine broke away to form his own orchestra, Vaughan joined him, making her recording debut. She loved being with Eckstine's orchestra, where she became influenced by a couple of his sidemen, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, both of whom had also been with Hines during her stint. Vaughan was one of the first singers to fully incorporate bop phrasing in her singing, and to have the vocal chops to pull it off on the level of a Parker and Gillespie.
Other than a few months with John Kirby from 1945-46, Sarah Vaughan spent the remainder of her career as a solo star. Although she looked a bit awkward in 1945 (her first husband George Treadwell would greatly assist her with her appearance), there was no denying her incredible voice. She made several early sessions for Continental: a December 31, 1944 date highlighted by her vocal version of "A Night in Tunisia," which was called "Interlude," and a May 25, 1945 session for that label that had Gillespie and Parker as sidemen. However, it was her 1946-48 selections for Musicraft (which included "If You Could See Me Now," "Tenderly" and "It's Magic") that found her rapidly gaining maturity and adding bop-oriented phrasing to popular songs. Signed to Columbia where she recorded during 1949-53, "Sassy" continued to build on her popularity. Although some of those sessions were quite commercial, eight classic selections cut with Jimmy Jones' band during May 18-19, 1950 (an octet including Miles Davis) showed that she could sing jazz with the best.
During the 1950s, Vaughan recorded middle-of-the-road pop material with orchestras for Mercury, and jazz dates (including a memorable collaboration with Clifford Brown) for the label's subsidiary, EmArcy. Later record label associations included Roulette (1960-64), back with Mercury (1963-67), and after a surprising four years off records, Mainstream (1971-74). Through the years, Vaughan's voice deepened a bit, but never lost its power, flexibility or range. She was a masterful scat singer and was able to out-swing nearly everyone (except for Ella). Vaughan was with Norman Granz's Pablo label from 1977-82, and only during her last few years did her recording career falter a bit, with only two forgettable efforts after 1982. However, up until near the end, Vaughan remained a world traveler, singing and partying into all hours of the night with her miraculous voice staying in prime form. The majority of her recordings are currently available, including complete sets of the Mercury/Emarcy years, and Sarah Vaughan is as famous today as she was during her most active years. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
