1920's Classic Blues Singers

Mamie Smith (1920, first blues recording)
Ma Rainey
Bessie Smith ("Empress of teh Blues")
Ida Cox
Bertha "Chippie" Hill
Sippie Wallace
Alberta Hunter


Pacesetters of the Late 1920s

Ethel Waters
Annette Hanshaw
Connie Boswell


The Definitive Swing Singer

Billie Holiday


Swing Era

Mildred BaileyIvie Anderson
Helen WardHelen Forrest
Lee WileyHelen Humes
Maxine Sullivan


Two Major Innovators

Ella Fitzgerald
Sarah Vaughan


1940s / 1950s

Anita O'DayJune Christy
Dinah WashingtonPeggy Lee
Helen MerrillChris Connor
Annie RossBetty Roche
Carmen McRae


Avantgarde

Betty CarterJeanne Lee
Patty WatersUrszula Dudziak
Karin KrogJay Clayton
Norma WinstoneMaggie Nicols
Lauren NewtonKate Hammett-Vaughan
Ann Dyer


1960s to Present

Abbey LincolnSheila Jordan
Astrud GilbertoErnestine Anderson
Lorez AlexandriaRuth Brown
Irene KralEtta Jones
Carol SloaneFlora Purim
Janet LawsonDee Dee Bridgewater
Shirley HornMichele Hendricks
Dianne ReevesDiane Schuur
Cassandra WilsonCarmen Lundy
Vanessa RubinNnenna Freelon
Banu GibsonRoseanna Vitro
Diana KrallKartyn Allison
Patricia BarberHolly Cole
Stephanie HaynesMadeline Eastman
Kitty Margolis