Big Band Female Vocalists
aka Peggy Lee, Dinah Shore, Jo Stafford
Female vocalists came into their own during the big band era. Most dance bands had a ‘girl singer’ and electronic recording encouraged a softer, more nuanced delivery. There is a nice selection to choose from in the Knott’s record library. Take a listen...
Peggy Lee sang for Benny Goodman until he fired her for marrying the band’s guitar player. Here, on a song she composed herself, Miss Lee is accompanied by some very modern sounding guitar work by Dave Barbour, Goodman’s ex guitarist.
https://archive.org/details/78_you-was-right-baby_peggy-lee-dave-barbour-lee-barbour_gbia0018661b
After Dinah Shore failed several big band auditions she struck out on her own. As it turned out, Ms. Shore’s career outlasted the big band era by decades. A listen to her on Hoagie Carmichael’s Skylark proves the big bands missed a great voice.
https://archive.org/details/78_skylark_dinah-shore-johnny-mercer-hoagy-carmichael_gbia0022114b
Then we have Jo Stafford. Here she is with a gentle warning on a Jimmy Van Heusen song. With a classically trained voice and an ear for good material, by 1955 she had sold more records than any female artist up until that time.
