Classic Blues & Jazz 4-Ethel Waters-Am I Blue
Adam is a devotee of jazz and blues. Over the last few months he has posted from time to time on this topic. He had intended to post more frequently on one of his favoured art forms, but other things came to the fore.
A song he has always had time for is this one from Ethel Waters – Am I Blue
Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American blues and jazz vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, rock and roll and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her best-known recording was her version of the spiritual, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, and she was the second African American ever nominated for an Academy Award. Wikipedia
And here is another view, and one to which Adam is more receptive:-
Ethel Waters was the first black Superstar…an innovator who opened all the theatrical doors hitherto closed to black performers of her day, to attain the towering position she reached as a headliner. She fought hard and long to achieve solo star status in the white world of vaudeville, night clubs, Broadway theater, radio, films and television. More than any other black performer of the century, Ethel Waters was a woman of the theater, and the celebrity she attained in maturity as an actress tended at times to overshadow-at least in memory-the importance of her accomplishments and influence as a singer.
Her talents defied categorical limits. She was the fountainhead of all that is finest and most distinctive in jazz and popular singing. Widely imitated during the 30’s and 40’s, one still hears echoes of Ethel Waters in many singers who came after her. Joe Turner, Bing Crosby, Ivie Anderson, Lee Wiley, Mildred Bailey, Connie Boswell, and Ella Fitzgerald have acknowledged their debt to her. Her range soared easily from a low, chest tone to a high, clear head voice: on records she sang from a low E to high F, just over two octaves, and on “Memories of You” she hits a spectacular high F sharp. Her diction was clear and impeccable, coloring the lyrics with the proper emotion necessary to express the feelings she wanted to convey.
At the end of the day just admire the sheer talent
Adam intends to post more on this subject, based on his jazz record collection built up over 40 years and hopefully supported by You Tube .
