The Beautiful Voice of Sarah Vaughan

In any list of top ten voices of all time, Sarah Vaughan should surely be named, but I rarely see her. Even on jazz lists, I suppose it's hard to get ahead of the men, since even Billie Holiday shows up in the 30s on one list. Sarah Vaughan generally is listed as one of the three top female jazz singers of all time. Here's a woman whom Ella Fitzgerald herself, who is almost always ranked No. 1, called the world's greatest singing talent. Singers from Mel Torme to Anita Baker have named Sarah as an influence, and all you have to do is listen to one of her songs to know why.

Sarah Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey on March 27, 1924. Her parents, who were both involved with music, encouraged her and Sarah began to study piano and organ when she was 7 years old. She became an organist and choir soloist at the Mount Zion Baptist Church before she became a teen. Sarah attended Newark's Arts High School and became one of the first of many Newark graduates to find worldwide success. Everyone knew that Sarah's voice was more than special, and when she was 18, her friends dared her to enter the Amateur Contest held on Wednesday nights at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. Singer, Billy Eckstine was in the audience that night. Sarah sang Body and Soul and brought the house down, winning first prize. This was the beginning of a career that would span 5 decades.

Sarah joined Billy Eckstine in Earl Hine's big band which also included jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. When Billy Eckstine went on to form his own band, Sarah followed initially. She soon decided that she would prefer to try a solo career. Sarah topped the charts in the late 40s with "Tenderly." She became well known for her unique vocal stylings and amazing range.

Wishing to expand her repertoire, in the 1950s, Sarah embraced show tunes like "Whatever Lola Wants". This is a song that has been covered by many artists and if you ever get a chance to listen to several versions, you will marvel at Sarah's effortless delivery. Her jazz fans were, of course, less than thrilled about these endeavors. However, Sarah Vaughan was successful in gaining new fans in other genres, also delving into the pop scene. Her several hit included the beautiful Brokenhearted Melody, which came out toward the end of the decade.

Sarah said that she became disenchanted with pop music around this time. It wasn't much of a challenge for her and she returned to her first love, jazz music, in the 1960s. She stayed with it until the end of her life. She recorded with the likes of Oscar Peterson, Louie Bellson, Herbie Hancock, and many others. Her recordings of the Duke Ellington Song Book (1 and 2) are especially revered, and she also won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocalist in 1982 for her album, Gershwin Live! Her most ardent fans hold one particular album she made that contains only 8 songs in the highest esteem: 1982's Crazy and Mixed Up. Sarah produced this album herself, and picked both the songs and the musicians who backed her.

While her voice deepened somewhat with age, Sarah never lost any of her upper range or her perfectly controlled vibrato. She passed away at the age of 66 in 1990. Singer Mel Torme was quoted as saying "She had the single best vocal instrument of any singer working in the popular field."

Sarah Vaughan still ranks today in the top three best female jazz singers of all time. A voice that pure and beautiful is a rare gift indeed and we are fortunate that she left us her recordings.