The 1950s was a transformative era in American music. Current mass-media mythology to the contrary, the 1950's were one of the richest periods in all of American musical history. Not only were many major musical tendencies from the first half of the century still flourishing, but Afro-American musicians across the spectrum from blues to jazz were developing a variety of musical syntheses with which to give expression to the rapid changes in their lives and in American society as a whole during the post-World War II period. Similar to most cultural shifts, Black female singers were at the forefront.
These women shaped musical genres, while breaking societal barriers. Their contributions not only enriched the musical landscape, but also paved the way for future Black generations of artists. The music and resilience of 1950s black artists left an enduring cultural impact, influencing modern music and advancing the cause of equality. In the rhythmic pulse of the 1950s, the birth of rock and roll marked a seismic shift in the music industry. By the ‘50s, Black artists in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles would conform the spirited sounds of Memphis and New Orleans to compact, Top-40 songwriting, with the first R&B stars-Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke-laying the foundation for what would soon become rock 'n' roll.
Although most of the music under discussion here never reached the attention of white Americans and their mass media during the years of its currency in any term vaguely relating to "art", we have no reason today to continue to obscure the genius nature of the Great Black Music of the 50's just because our forebears were too racist and stupid to know what was going down.
Here are some of the most influential African American singers of the 1950s:
Dinah Washington
Born Aug. 29, 1924, Dinah Washington earned the title “Queen of the Blues.” Washington had a versatile voice that seamlessly blended jazz, blues, R&B and gospel. Her emotive delivery and sharp diction made her a favorite among audiences. Hits, like “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” and “This Bitter Earth,” showcased her ability to convey deep emotion. Although she died in her 30s, Washington solidified her place in music history.
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Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald is referred to as the “First Lady of Song.” Her pure tone, exceptional diction and scatting set her apart as one of the greatest jazz vocalists. Fitzgerald’s career soared in the 1950s with the release of her “Songbook” series. It featured eight albums that reimagined the works of Tin Pan Alley, Cole Porter and other greats. Fitzgerald’s improvisational skill, specifically her scat singing, showcased her technical prowess and deep understanding of jazz.
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Born July 17, 1959, Holiday’s personal life was riddled with struggles. However, the addiction and adversity she faced as a Black woman singer only fueled her approach to music. Holiday was known for her haunting voice and emotive interpretations. Her famous singles, like “Strange Fruit,” a poignant commentary on lynching, and “God Bless the Child,” reflected her profound ability to convey deep emotion and social consciousness.
Sarah Vaughan
Born March 27, 1974, Sarah Vaughan was called “The Divine One.” As a singer, Vaughan possessed a rich, expressive voice with remarkable range. Her improvisational skills and unique tonal quality made her a standout in both jazz and pop music. Her songs including “Misty” and “Broken Hearted Melody” showcased her ability to infuse emotion into every note.
Mahalia Jackson
Hailed as the “Queen of Gospel,” Mahalia Jackson’s heavy, powerful voice brought gospel music to the forefront of American culture. Her performances were filled with deep spirituality and emotion, captivating audiences worldwide. Songs, like “Move On Up a Little Higher,” became anthems of hope and resilience. Jackson’s influence extended beyond entertainment. Jackson’s collaboration with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Ruth Brown
Called “Miss Rhythm,” Ruth Brown’s performances and soulful voice were instrumental in shaping rhythm and blues. Initially, Brown’s songs were constantly covered by white artists with no credit given. However, soon Brown’s string of hits, including “Teardrops from My Eyes” and “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” dominated the charts. Brown’s success helped establish Atlantic Records as a major label, earning it the nickname “The House That Ruth Built.” Her contributions laid the groundwork for future R&B artists.
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Etta James
Etta James’s versatile voice spanned genres from blues and R&B to rock and roll. Her 1955 hit “The Wallflower” showcased her powerful vocals and rebellious spirit. James’s emotive delivery and raw energy made her a standout performer, influencing a wide range of artists across musical styles. Her later classic, “At Last,” remains a timeless favorite, highlighting her ability to convey deep emotion.
LaVern Baker
With a voice that exuded both strength and sensuality, LaVern Baker made significant contributions to R&B and rock and roll. Hits, like “Tweedle Dee” and “Jim Dandy,” showcased her dynamic vocal style and charismatic stage presence. Baker’s success in the 1950s helped pave the way for future Black female artists in mainstream music.
Lena Horne
Along with her mellow voice, Lena Horne was a trailblazer in breaking racial barriers in Hollywood. In 1942, she became the first Black actress to sign a long-term contract with a major film studio (MGM.) She portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in the 1978 film “The Wiz.” Her performances of songs, like “Stormy Weather,” captivated audiences and showcased her elegant style. Horne’s activism and refusal to perform for segregated audiences made her a significant figure in the fight for civil rights.
Nina Simone
Nina Simone’s unique blend of jazz, blues, and classical influences made her a distinctive voice in music. Her deep, expressive voice and piano skills were evident in songs, like “I Loves You, Porgy.” In 2000, the singer won a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for her rendition of the song. Simone’s music denounced racism including Black women stereotypes. She also was a fierce advocate for civil rights, using her art as a platform for change. Her singles showcasing this include “Four Women.” Simone’s fearless approach to addressing racial injustices through music has left an enduring legacy.
Other Notable Artists
Of the wealth of newly-available recordings from the 50's (and the 20's, 30's, 40's and 60's), the continuing series of more than sixty two-record sets on the Prestige label holds tremendous interest for music lovers of all stripes. Prestige Records, founded by one Bob Weinstock in New York City in the late 40's, specialized in jazz and jazz-based music, recording first for 78-rpm single release and then for 10" and finally 12" Lp release, with the occasional 45 single issued for jukebox play. Weinstock hustled hard to sign and record the musicians he thought could sell records to the increasing body of modern jazz listeners on the east coast, in the midwest and on the Pacific coast. His A&R and production work was exemplary -- an incredible number of important classics of the 50's were cut by Prestige -- and he was skilled enough at marketing his product to keep the company viable and growing throughout the decade.
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One of the label's most popular artists in the early 50's was the tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons, a full-toned, hard-swinging, emotionally expressive stylist who straddled the line between jazz improvisation and rhythm and blues repetition -- much to the benefit of Prestige Records, which realized a number of jukebox smashes and a steady volume of sales from its Ammons releases. Unfortunately Jug's success was repeatedly undercut by his harassment at the hands of police authorities, who jailed the saxophonist several times (his last term extended to seven years) on the basis of his addiction to heroin. Like many prominent black (and white) musicians of the period, including the central figure Charlie Parker, Ammons found heroin to be an indispensable component of the jazz life and used it for many years -- seeming never to diminish his creative powers thereby.
Ammons, Stitt and Moody were giants then, major recording and performing stars in black communities throughout Afro-America. Although all of this music was being composed, performed, recorded, released and marketed in the same time and place -- America at the turn of mid-century -- the common approach has been to regard each strain of the music as a separate and wholly distinct musical discipline, existing in a world of its own definition and unrelated to anything but other music of the same ilk. But it is the originals we must study, if only because their work is usually far superior to that of their followers, and always because that is simply where it started.
Going back to the mood of the turn of the 50's, one could scarcely do better than to audition the second of two live dates by the Charlie Parker Quintet to be included on the Prestige Charlie Parker set (24009), a set recorded at a dance in the St. Here we have Bird in his natural habitat, leading a hot quintet (Red Rodney, Al Haig, Tommy Potter, Roy Haynes) through a program of bebop originals, standards, and blues to the delight of the dancers and diggers at St. Nick's. The other record in this set, originally issued as Bird on 52nd Street and dating back to 1947-48, takes the Miles Davis-Duke Jordan-Tommy Potter-Max Roach band through a similar set of material but in a nightclub -- rather than a dance -- setting, where the intricacies rather than the broad outlines of the music are paramount and the improvisation is just a little bit hotter.
Happily the studio technology of the period was at a considerably higher level, and the 1949-1950 recordings by tenor saxophone great Wardell Gray are marked by the richness and depth of their sound almost as much as by the music contained in the grooves. Central Avenue contains the Nov. 11, 1949 date that produced the very famous "Twisted" (vocal versions by Annie Ross, Lambert Hendricks & Ross, Joni Mitchell.and Bette Midler), "Easy Living," "Southside," and "Sweet Lorraine"; a live session recorded at the Hula Hut, Los Angeles, in August of 1950 with Clark Terry, Sonny Criss, and Dexter Gordon; four tunes recorded in Detroit (April 25, 1950) with the local rhythm section of Phil Hill, Beans Richardson, and Art Madigan (see our Elvin Jones interview, Sun, Vol. 4 No. 5 ); and a pair of L.A.
Wardell Gray grew up in the Detroit of the 20's and 30's; he left town in 1943 with the Earl Hines Orchestra, joining Charlie Parker in the saxophone section and later recording with Bird for Ross Russell's Dial Records label. Settling in Los Angeles in 1945, Wardell gained national attention in 1948-49 when he was a featured soloist with Benny Goodman's bebop band. Gray's playing -- along with that of Parker, Ammons, Stitt, Moody and tenorist Dexter Gordon -- was among the most influential of the period, inspiring a whole school of post-war saxophonists and considerably shaping the attack of the young John Coltrane, who was serving his apprenticeship with the bands of Dizzy Gillespie, Bull Moose Jackson, and Earl Bostic at that time.
Zoot, still active as an improvising musician based in New York City, was one of the large crop of young white musicians who staffed the Woody Herman and Stan Kenton big bands of the late forties and early fifties; possessed of a firm, round tone, a fertile imagination and a relentless sense of swing, Zoot pursued the Lestorian mode without pause throughout the 50's, cutting most impressively for Prestige. Zoot's "extended play" date was cut August 14, 1951; a month and a half later, on October 5th, Miles Davis took a group including the 21-year-old Sonny Rollins and the 19-year-old Jackie McLean into the Prestige studios to cut a session specifically for Lp release.
The other three sessions represented here include the legendary "Serpent's Tooth" -- "Compulsion" -- "Round About Midnight" date with Sonny Rollins and Charlie Parker ("Charlie Chan" for contractual reasons on the original issue) of Jan. Anyone who listens to the Miles Davis of the past ten years owes it to themself to go back and check out his landmark work of the 50's, of which the music contained in this album is some of the finest.
I can't say enough about the great King Pleasure album, The Source. King Pleasure (born Clarence Beeks) and the inestimable Eddie Jefferson pioneered the vocalese approach to the jazz vocal, composing original lyrics shaped to fit the improvisations of such jazz masters as Bird, Lester Young, Moody, Wardell Gray, and others. King's great work was done for Prestige in 1952 ("I'm in the Mood for Love" or "Moody's Mood For Love"), 1953 ("Red Top," "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid," "This Is Always," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Parker's Mood" and "What Can I Say, Dear?"), and 1954 ("I'm Gone," "Don't Get Scared"). Also included with King Pleasure's historic Prestige material is the whole of an album cut for the HiFiJazz label in April of 1960, most of which is markedly inferior to the earlier work.
The real prize in the entire Prestige catalog is the Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie-Bud Powell-Charlie Mingus-Max Roach collaboration of May, 1953, which has been issued under the modest title, The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever. Another Debut special, the concert was recorded at Toronto's Massey Hall by Mingus, who had made the arrangements for the show with the Toronto New Jazz Society. They had wanted the best of the bebop players, and what they got were the masters of their instruments, playing their mature asses off, blowing each other all over the Canadian stage. Bird is characteristically brilliant, witty, fluid and precise; Diz matches Bird step for step; Bud Powell is the greatest, and he gets a whole two sides to himself, with Mingus and Roach doing it to death as usual. "Salt Peanuts," "A Night in Tunisia," "Wee," "Hot House," "Perdido" and "All the Things You Are" make up the evening's program, and there's no way you can go wrong in investing an hour of your life in this beautiful improvisational music.
The other three records are from the mid-50's -- the two Coltrane sets -- and the end of the decade, which takes us through Oliver Nelson and Eric Dolphy, two prematurely deceased saxophonists who had a lot to do with the creative improvisational music which emerged in the 60's. The Kenny Burrell/John Coltrane set is really a Detroit reunion with Trane as a special guest. Pianist Tommy Flanagan, who is scheduled to be in town for the Homecoming Festival, put the band and the music together basically for two sessions in 1957 and 58, but the effect is not so overwhelming as one might hope. Interesting music in the mid-50's Prestige "blowing session" mold (see the Jackie McLean section in A.B. Finally, the Oliver Nelson/Eric Dolphy sets -- originally known as Screamin' the Blues and Straight Ahead -- are two of the prettiest, juiciest, musically most satisfying records you could possibly want. Words will not do to describe the beauty and depth of these performances; as Dolphy said late in his life (he passed unexpectedly in the summer of 1964): "Once you hear music, it's gone, in the air -- you can never capture it again." These records give the lie to that adage, and wonderfully so. Please make use of them in your lives.
These artists represent just a fraction of the immense talent and cultural impact of African American singers in the 1950s. Their music continues to resonate today, inspiring new generations of artists and listeners alike.
