Mildred Bailey

Many critics deem Mildred Bailey the finest pure jazz singer among White female vocalists. She had a marvelous sense of swing, great timing, and could be rousing, alluring, bawdy, or compelling. She had one of the highest-pitched ranges in jazz history, and also had excellent phrasing. Her brother Al was in Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys trio with Bing Crosby, and she worked with Whiteman in the 1920s and '30s. She co-led a superior band with her husband Red Norvo from 1936-1939, a group that was billed as featuring "Mr. and Mrs. Swing." After working in 1939 with Benny Goodman, Bailey went solo in the '40s and had her own radio program in 1944-1945. Hampered by health problems, she suffered from diabetes and died of a heart attack in 1951.