This week's Swell Dames includes an eclectic mix of singers, including Lucille Bogan, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bette Midler, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Ann Greer, Diane Cilento, Yvette Johannsen, Timi Yuro.
Ella Mae Morse was one of the most exciting vocalists of the ‘40s and ‘50s, a hard-to-classify, Texas-born white singer whose vocals were deeply influenced by her apprenticeship with a black guitarist who taught her the blues. Her style defied characterization
The cabaret singer Georgia Lee - otherwise known as Dulcie Pitt - was a habitué of the bohemian world of artists like Donald Friend and Russell Drysdale and the jazz and blues nightclub circuit in Sydney and Melbourne during the 1950s
The power, range, and flexibility of her voice made Sarah Vaughan, known as "Sassy" or "The Divine One," one of the great singers in jazz. With her rich, controlled tone and vibrato, she could create astounding performances on jazz standards, often adding bop-oriented phrasing. Along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Vaughan helped popularize the art of jazz singing,