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Ethel Waters

Biographer Stephen Bourne joins Alyn Shipton to select highlights from the recordings of singer and actress Ethel Waters, a powerful and influential star in the 1930s and 40s.

Powerful, feisty and influential, Ethel Waters was an excellent jazz singer, mainly remembered now for her screen roles in such pictures as Cabin in the Sky. Popular with both black and white audiences, she was a major star in the 1930s and 1940s. Her biographer Stephen Bourne joins Alyn Shipton to select the highlights from Waters' recordings.

1 hour

Last on

Sat 12 Feb 2011 16:00
大象传媒 Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Ethel Waters & Her Ebony Four

    Sweet Georgia Brown

    Composer: Bernie / Pinkard / Casey Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; possibly: Joe Smith, c; Don Redman, cl, ss, Pearl Wright or Fletcher Henderson, p. NYC, 13 May 1925.

    • Am I Blue?.
    • Living Era.
    • 5290.

  • Ethel Waters & Her Plantation Orchestra

    Dinah

    Composer: Akst / Lewis / Young Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; Harry Tate, dir; Horace Holmes, c; Joe King, tb; unknown reeds; Lester Armstead, p; Maceo Jefferson, bj; Bill Benford, tu; Jesse Baltimore, d. 20 Oct 1925.

    • Am I Blue?.
    • Living Era.
    • 5290.

  • Ethel Waters

    Am I Blue?

    Composer: Akst / Clarke Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; with (possible): Manny Klein, crt; Tommy Dorsey, tb; Jimmy Dorsey, cl; Frank Signorelli, p; Joe Tarto, b. 14 May 1929.

    • Am I Blue?.
    • Living Era.
    • 5290.

  • Ethel Waters With Duke Ellington & His Orchestra - I Can't Give You Anything But Love

    Composer: McHugh / Fields Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; Freddie Jenkins, Cootie Williams, Arthur Whetsel, tp; Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, tb; Johnny Hodges, ss, as; Harry Carney, bs; Duke Ellington, p; Fred Guy, bj; Wellman Braud, b; Sonny Greer, d. 22 Dec 1932.

  • Ethel Waters & The Dorsey's Brother Orchestra - Stormy Weather

    Composer: Arlen / Koehler Performers: Sterling Bose, Bunny Berigan, tp; Tommy Dorsey, tb; Jimmy Dorsey, cl; Larry Binyon, ts; Joe Venuti, Harry Hoffman, Waler Edelstein, Lou Kosloff, vn; Fulton McGrath, p; Dick McDonough, g; Artie Bernstein, b; Stan King (or Chauncey Morehouse) d. 3 May 1933.

  • Ethel Waters

    Heat Wave

    Composer: Berlin Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; Bunny Berigan, unknown, tp; Benny Goodman, cl; unkown ts, vn, p. 10 Oct 1933.

    • Am I Blue?.
    • Living Era.
    • 5290.

  • Ethel Waters

    Suppertime

    Composer: Berlin Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; Reginald Beane, p. 1947.

    • Favourite Songs of Ethel Waters.
    • Sepia.
    • 1079.

  • Ethel Waters

    I Ain't Gonna Sin No More

    Composer: Conrad / Magidson Performers: Taft Jordan, tp; Sandy Williams, tb; Edgar Sampson, as. vn; Elmer Williams, ts; vn; Joe Steele, p; John Trueheart, g; John Kirby, b. 5 Sep 1934.

    • Ethel Waters, 1931-34.
    • Classics.
    • 735.

  • Ethel Waters with The Dorsey Bros Orchestra

    Miss Otis Regrets

    Composer: Porter Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; unidentified inc. Tommy Dorsey, tb; Jimmy Dorsey, cl, as. 20 Aug 1934.

    • Ethel Waters, 1931-34.
    • Classics.
    • 735.

  • Ethel Waters with Eddie Mallory & Orchestra

    Georgia On My Mind

    Composer: Gorrell / Carmichael Performers: Eddie Mallory, tp; Tyree Glenn, tb; Castor McCord, cl; Benny Carter, as; Reg Beane, p; Danny Barker, g; Milt Hinton, b. 15 Aug 1939.

    • Ethel Waters, 1935-40.
    • Classics.
    • 755.

  • Ethel Waters

    Taking a Chance on Love

    Composer: Duke / Latouche Performers: Ethel Waters, voc. 1942.

    • Cabin in the Sky (Original Soundtrack).
    • Premier.

  • Ethel Waters with Reginald Beane

    St Louis Blues

    Composer: Handy Performers: Ethel Waters, voc; Reginald Beane, p. 1947.

    • The Favourite Songs of Ethel Waters.
    • Sepia.

Broadcast

  • Sat 12 Feb 2011 16:00
    大象传媒 Radio 3

Podcast

  • Jazz Library

    Advice and guidance to those interested in building a library of jazz recordings