Died On This Date (April 3, 1990) Sarah Vaughan / Jazz Icon
themusicsover Sarah Vaughan
March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990
Known as “The Divine One,” Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz singer who won three Grammys and was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award by the National Endowment for the Arts. Equaled perhaps by only Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, Vaughan left behind a body of work that may never be matched. Vaughan’s career began back in early ‘4os when she won an amateur contest at Harlem’s Apollo Theater after which she was invited back in the Spring of 1943 to open some shows for Ella Fitzgerald. Based on those performances, she was introduced to Earl Hines who then replaced his singer with Vaughan. And so launched a career that would extend through the late ’80s when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, Miss Vaughan passed away in her home on April 3, 1990. It has been reported that she died while watching a movie that featured her daughter.
What You Should Own
Red Allen was a respected bluegrass singer and guitarist. Born in eastern Kentucky, Allen wound up in Dayton, Ohio where during the early ’50s, he formed his first band, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys. In 1956, he joined the Osbourne Brothers, one of bluegrass music’s most influential groups. Allen can be heard on their “Ruby” and “Ho Honey Ho.” He left the group in 1958. Over the course of his career, Allen played on numerous records, either fronting his own band or as part of other groups. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame. His sons included fellow bluegrass and country musician,