Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan, known by her nicknames "Sassy" and "The Divine One," was an acclaimed American jazz singer and pianist born on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. She passed away on April 3, 1990, in Hidden Hills, California. Vaughan was renowned for her rich voice, wide vocal range, and the inventiveness of her improvisations, making her one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.
Vaughan grew up in a musical household; her father was a guitarist and her mother sang in the church choir. She began studying piano and organ at the age of seven and sang in the church choir alongside her mother. Her breakthrough came in 1942 when she won an amateur contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater, leading to her hiring by the Earl Hines Orchestra as a singer and second pianist. She later joined Billy Eckstine's band, where she met jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, who influenced her singing style.
In the mid-1940s, Vaughan began performing with John Kirby and appeared on television variety shows. Her career flourished in the 1950s as she toured the United States and Europe and signed with Mercury Record Corporation and its jazz label, EmArcy. She was known for her jazz interpretations of popular songs and ballads, and her best-known songs include "It's Magic," "Make Yourself Comfortable," "Broken Hearted Melody," "Misty," and "Send in the Clowns."
Vaughan's exceptional talent earned her nine Grammy nominations, winning one in 1982 for best female jazz vocal performance for the album "Gershwin Live!" She was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990, the same year she died. Her influence extended to future generations of artists, including Anita Baker and Amy Winehouse. Singer Mel Tormé praised her as having "the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field."
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