Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering deeply felt presentations of standards as well as writing and singing her own material.

Musician

Born in Chicago but raised in Calvin Center, Cass County, Michigan, Lincoln was one of many singers influenced by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

. Her debut album, ''Abbey Lincoln's Affair – A Story of a Girl in Love'', was followed by a series of albums for Riverside Records. In 1960 she sang on Max Roach's landmark

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

-themed recording, '' We Insist!'' Lincoln's lyrics were often connected to the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

in America. After a tour of Africa in the mid-1970s, she adopted the name Aminata Moseka. During the 1980s, Lincoln's creative output was smaller and she released only a few albums. Her song " For All We Know" is featured in the 1989 film '' Drugstore Cowboy''. During the 1990s and until her death, however, she fulfilled a 10-album contract with

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

. These albums are highly regarded and represent a crowning achievement in Lincoln's career. ''Devil's Got Your Tongue'' (1992) featured Rodney Kendrick, Grady Tate, Yoron Israel,

J. J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biograph ...

, Stanley Turrentine, Babatunde Olatunji and The Staple Singers, among others. In 2003, Lincoln received a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Jazz Master Award. Her lyrics often reflected the ideals of the civil rights movement and helped in generating passion for the cause in the minds of her listeners. In addition to her musical career, she ventured into acting as well and appeared in movies such as '' The Girl Can't Help It'', '' Nothing But a Man'' and '' For Love of Ivy''. She explored more philosophical themes during the later years of her songwriting career and remained professionally active until well into her seventies. She often visited the Blue Note jazz club in New York City.

Actress

Greg Morris Abbey Lincoln Mission Impossible 1970

In 1956 Lincoln appeared in '' The Girl Can't Help It'', for which she wore a dress that had been worn by

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953), and interpreted the theme song, working with Benny Carter. With Ivan Dixon, she co-starred in '' Nothing But a Man'' (1964), an independent film written and directed by Michael Roemer. In 1968 she co-starred with

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

and

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was awar ...

in '' For Love of Ivy'' and received a 1969

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nomination for her appearance in the film. Television appearances began in 1968 with '' The Name of the Game''. In March 1969 for WGBH-TV Boston, in one of a 10-episode series of individual dramas written, produced and performed by blacks, "On Being Black," was her work in Alice Childress's ''Wine in the Wilderness''. She appeared in '' Mission: Impossible'' (1971), the telemovie ''Short Walk to Daylight'' (1972), '' Marcus Welby, M.D.'' (1974), and '' All in the Family'' (1978). In the 1990

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

movie ''

Mo' Better Blues ''Mo' Better Blues'' is a 1990 American musical comedy-drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also wrote, produced, and directed. It follows a period in the life of fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (played ...

'', Abbey Lincoln played the young Bleek's mother, Lillian.

Personal life

Lincoln was married from 1962 to 1970 to drummer Max Roach, whose daughter from a previous marriage, Maxine, appeared on several of Lincoln's albums. Lincoln died on August 14, 2010, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, eight days after her 80th birthday. Her death was announced by her brother, David Wooldridge, who told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' that she had died in a Manhattan nursing home after suffering deteriorating health ever since undergoing

open-heart surgery Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to corr ...

in 2007. No cause of death was officially given. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered.Notice of death of Abbey Lincoln
Thedeadrockstarsclub.com; accessed August 2010.

Discography

As leader

* ''Abbey Lincoln's Affair...A Story of a Girl in Love'' (Liberty, 1957) * '' That's Him!'' (Riverside, 1957) * ''

It's Magic "It's Magic" is a popular song written by Jule Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn, published in 1947. They wrote the song for Doris Day in her Warner Brothers film debut, ''Romance on the High Seas'' (retitled ''It's Magic'' in the United Kingdom ...

'' (Riverside, 1958) * '' Abbey Is Blue'' (Riverside, 1959) * '' Straight Ahead'' (Candid, 1961) * ''People in Me'' (Philips, 1973) * ''Live in Misty'' (Kiva, 1973) * ''Sessions, Live'' with Buddy Collette (Calliope, 1976) * ''Sounds as a Roach'' with Max Roach (Joker, 1977) * ''Golden Lady'' (Inner City, 1981) * ''Talking to the Sun'' (Enja, 1984) * ''Abbey Sings Billie'' (Enja, 1989) * ''The World Is Falling Down'' (Verve, 1990) * ''You Gotta Pay the Band'' with Stan Getz (Verve, 1991) * '' Devil's Got Your Tongue'' (Verve, 1992) * ''Abbey Sings Billie Volume 2'' (Enja, 1992) * ''When There Is Love'' with Hank Jones (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 1993) * ''Live/Music Is the Magic'' (ITM, 1994) * ''A Turtle's Dream'' (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 1995) * ''Who Used to Dance'' (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 1997) * ''Wholly Earth'' (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 1998) * ''Love for Sale'' with Max Roach (West Wind, 1999) * ''Over the Years'' (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 2000) * ''It's Me'' (Verve/Gitanes Jazz, 2003) * ''Abbey Sings Abbey'' (Verve/Universal, 2007) * ''Sophisticated Abbey: Live at the Keystone Korner'' (HighNote, 2015) – live recorded in 1980 * ''Love Having You Around: Live at the Keystone Korner Vol. 2'' (HighNote, 2016) – live recorded in 1980

As guest

With Max Roach * '' Moon Faced and Starry Eyed'' (Mercury, 1959) * '' We Insist!'' (Candid, 1960) * '' Percussion Bitter Sweet'' (Impulse!, 1961) * '' It's Time'' (Impulse!, 1962) With others *

Eric Dolphy Eric Allan Dolphy Jr. (June 20, 1928 – June 29, 1964) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist and flautist. On a few occasions, he also played the clarinet and piccolo. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to ga ...

and Benny Bailey, '' Newport Rebels'' (Candid, 1961) * Frank Morgan, '' A Lovesome Thing'' (Antilles, 1991) * Bheki Mseleku, ''Timelessness'' (Verve, 1994) *

Mal Waldron Malcolm Earl "Mal" Waldron (August 16, 1925 – December 2, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. He started playing professionally in New York in 1950, after graduating from college. In the following dozen years or so Wa ...

, ''Soul Eyes'' (BMG/RCA Victor, 1997) *

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and co ...

, '' The Maestro'' (Muse, 1981) * Steve Williamson, '' A Waltz for Grace'' (Verve, 1990)

References

External links

*
Bio at Verve Records

Abbey Lincoln Discography at ''www.JazzDiscography.com''

Abbey Lincoln at NPR Music

Tribute and image.
"Remembering Jazz Singer and Activist Abbey Lincoln"
at NPR Music: Music News {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Abbey 1930 births 2010 deaths American women jazz singers American jazz singers African-American women singer-songwriters Liberty Records artists Verve Records artists Riverside Records artists Capitol Records artists Inner City Records artists Enja Records artists Candid Records artists People from Cass County, Michigan People from Chicago American Ahmadis American Muslims Jazz musicians from Illinois Jazz musicians from Michigan HighNote Records artists 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan Singer-songwriters from Illinois