Kitty White

Kitty White
Birth name Kitty Jean Bilbrew
Born (1923-07-07)July 7, 1923
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died August 11, 2009(2009-08-11) (aged 86)
Palm Springs, California
Genres Jazz, gospel, pop, spiritual
Occupation(s) Singer
Labels Mercury, Capitol, Pacific Jazz

Kitty White (July 7, 1923 – August 11, 2009) was an American jazz singer who was popular in Los Angeles nightclubs.

She recorded mostly on the West Coast with Buddy Collette, Gerald Wiggins, Chico Hamilton, Bud Shank and Red Callender. She sang many demo recordings for her friend, Los Angeles blues composer Jessie Mae Robinson, including "I Went to Your Wedding," a No. 1 hit for Patti Page in 1953.[1]

Biography

Early life

Kitty Jean Bilbrew was born on July 7, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. She was raised in a musical family—her parents were singers, and her uncle was a well-known vaudevillian and disc jockey. She started her career at the age of sixteen as a singer and a pianist. She appeared in local night clubs in her home town Los Angeles like the Hob Nob, the Club Gala, the Haig and The Captain's Table. When Kitty branched out and opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago, Illinois, she was introduced to the executives of Mercury Records, and she became a Mercury recording artist.

Her twin sister, Maudie Jeanette, also sang and briefly worked with Duke Ellington's revue, Jump for Joy, but never pursued an active career. Their mother, known as A.C. Bilbrew, organized an all-black chorus that performed in the 1929 film Hearts of Dixie.

A.C. later recorded the 1955 protest song "The Ballad of Emmett Till" for Dootone Records. Kitty picked up her catchy jazz name legitimately by marrying songwriter Eddie White in the 1940s. She moved to Palm Springs, California in 1967 and sang at the Spa Hotel for sixteen years.

White died in Palm Springs, at the age of 86, after suffering a stroke.[1]

Films

Kitty White worked in several films. She sang "The Lullaby Song" that accompanied the magical scene of the children floating down the Ohio River in a rowboat in Charles Laughton's 1955 classic The Night of the Hunter, after composer Walter Schumann, who wrote the song, discovered her in a small club. She sang "Crawfish" with Elvis Presley in his 1958 film King Creole; the duet appeared on the soundtrack album.

She voiced the song "Rather Have the Blues" for actress Mady Comfort in Robert Aldrich's 1955 cult film noir Kiss Me Deadly, accompanied by pianist Earl Grant, who is best known for the 1958 pop hit "The End." She also sang the title theme of Riders to the Stars in 1954 and The Magnificent Matador in 1955.

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "Kitty White, Vocalist Sang With Elvis". Los Angeles Times. 3 September 2009.

External links

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