Happy Birthday to ya Stevie Wonder!!! My favorite musical genius was born 63 years ago today as Steveland Hardaway Judkins (his last name was later changed to Morris) in Saginaw, Michigan. In this 1974 photo, he is performing his classic “Living For The City” on “Top Of The Pops” in London. Photo: David Warner Ellis/Redferns. In the comment section, let me know what your favorite Stevie song is (Is it possible to have just one?)
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born 114 years ago today in Washington, D.C. In this April 1950 photo, he is illustrating part of the reason the name “Duke” was bestowed upon him by childhood friends who admired him for his killer style. He even wore suits and ties in high school and once blew everyone away at a party when he showed up in a shimmy back herringbone suit that was shirred and pleated in the back—a style that no one else was wearing at the time. Photo y Lipnitzki/Roger Viollet/Getty Images.
Coretta Scott King was born 86 years ago today in Marion, Alabama. Mrs. King was a graduate of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio (B.A. Music Education, 1951) and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston (Mus.B. in voice, 1954). In this photo, she is flashing the peace sign at an anti-war rally at the White House on May 9, 1970. She was one of over 100,000 demonstrators who attended the rally to protest the war in Vietnam and Cambodia. Photo: Benjamin E. “Gene” Forte/CNP/Corbis.
Watching the magnificent Ella Fitzgerald duet with Frank Sinatra on AspireTV. This photo is not from that show, but it is in the same timeframe (1950s). Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.
“I stole everything I ever heard, but mostly I stole from the horns.” ~ Ella Fitzgerald, born 96 years ago today in Newport News, Virginia. In this photo, she is performing at Mr. Kelly’s nightclub in Chicago in 1958. Photo by Yale Joel//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.
Donna Summer, the late great Boston-born “Queen of Disco” and all-around musical genius, Quincy Jones, are seen here in 1983 at the Savoy Theater in New York City. Both were 2013 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18, 2013. Photo: Walter McBride/Corbis.
Marvin Gaye was born 74 years ago today in Washington, DC. He is in Detroit in this 1971 photo shooting the cover for his iconic “What’s Going On” album. Photo: Jim Hendin
(via soulofmotown)
Singer Georgia Carr with Stan Kenton after a Detroit, MI performance of “The Biggest Show of ‘52”. It was Ms. Carr in the picture with Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole, Monica Lewis and Mr. Kenton, not Thelma Carpenter. Thanks to Derrick Lucas for contacting Mr. Cole’s former manager, Dick LaPalm, but clearly Mr. LaPalm was mistaken. And thank you Toni Callender for your comment and giving me the opportunity to correct the original post - and the excuse to share the lovely Georgia Carr with VBG fans. Photo: University of North Texas Digital Library.
Thelma Carpenter, the singer and actress best known as “Miss One” from 1978’s “The Wiz” in the 1950s. We have solved the riddle of the mystery lady in the photo with Sarah Vaughan, Nat “King” Cole, Stan Kenton and Monica Lewis (who provided the photo to VBG). Thelma Carpenter (1922-1997). Best known to my generation as “Miss One” from “The Wiz” (!!!) like so many of our great performers, she was SO much more. Born in Brooklyn, Ms. Carpenter was already on the road to stardom at the age of 5, when she started singing on the “Kiddies Hour” radio show and by age 11, she had her own show on WNYC radio. After winning the venerable “Amateur Night” competition at the Apollo Theater, she would go on to sing with jazz greats like Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins and Count Basie. In 1945, she replaced Dinah Shore on the very popular Eddie Cantor radio program, one of the first Blacks to replace a star on White radio show. She made her Broadway debut in 1944 in ”Memphis Bound” with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and was Pearl Bailey’s understudy in “Dolly” in 1968, performing the role over 100 times. In later years, along with ”The Wiz” in 1978, she had roles in the ABC version of “Barefoot in the Park,”in the early 1970s, ”The Cotton Club,” in 1984 along with “The Love Boat” and “The Cosby Show.” Ms. Carpenter died in New York City at the age of 77 in 1997. Photos: JET, October 2, 1952 (bottom right) and Amazon.com. ***Thanks to Derrick Lucas, who kindly contacted Mr. Cole’s manager, Dick LaPalm, who identified Ms. Carpenter for us. ***The lady in question was actually the singer Georgia Carr. Thanks to Toni Callendar for catching this and commenting on the VBG Facebook page.
This photo of Nat “King” Cole, Sarah Vaughan and Thelma Carpenter Georgia Carr comes to VBG courtesy of the lovely blonde woman in the picture, Monica Lewis, who had a remarkable decades long career as a jazz singer. Ms. Lewis is 90 years old today and just as stunning! She is joined by Sarah Vaughan and Nat King Cole of course, along with Stan Kenton, a progressive jazz bandleader that she was dating at the time. The occasion was a gathering of top musicians in Chicago sponsored by BILLBOARD magazine. I wish I knew the name of the beautiful lady standing in between Ms. Vaughan and Mr. Kenton (she is not Mr. Cole’s wife, Maria Cole) so if you do know, tell me her name in the comment section!***
*** Thanks to Derrick Lucas for contacting Mr. Cole’s former manager, Dick LaPalm, but clearly Mr. LaPalm was mistaken. And thank you Toni Callender for your comment and giving me the opportunity to correct the original post - and the excuse to share the lovely Georgia Carr with VBG fans.
Happy 60th Birthday Chaka Khan! And congratulations on 40 years in the music business! I thought this 1980ish photo would work for obvious reasons…
Happy 80th Birthday Quincy Jones! His middle name is Delight. Isn’t that appropriate? Mr. Jones has produced and arranged for everyone from Dinah Washington to Count Basie to Sarah Vaughan to Michael Jackson, of course. In this 1961 photo, he is in the studio looking over some sheet music. Today, Mr. Jones continues to innovate. He recently invested in a new startup called Playground Sessions, a new musical app that helps you play the piano! Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty.
