Audrey Morris (November 12, 1928 – April 1, 2018) was an American singer and pianist who specialized in jazz ballads.

Early life

Morris was born on November 12, 1928, in Chicago. Morris grew up on the South Side of Chicago and had classical piano lessons in her childhood. Through the radio broadcasts of ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

'', she developed an interest in songs. In her school days she wrote lyrics. Her idols included

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 made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

, Lee Wiley,

Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady", and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentime ...

, and

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

Career

In 1950, she began performing in the Capitol Lounge and four years later began singing at Mister Kelly's. She recorded her first album in 1955 for the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

sub-label "X" (''Bistro Ballads'', with Johnny Pate); the following year for

Bethlehem Records Bethlehem Records was an American jazz independent record label, founded by Gus Wildi in 1953. History Bethlehem is remembered for its jazz releases from the 1950s. Producers included Creed Taylor and Teddy Charles. Bethlehem released the firs ...

(''The Voice of Audrey Morris'' with arrangements by Marty Paich). She was offered the opportunity to record an album of film theme music for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. In the following years, she continued to perform locally. She was the leader of a trio at London House, a jazz piano club. In the late 1960s, she limited her performances to her family. In 1981 she had another engagement at

Palmer House Palmer House may refer to: In the United Kingdom * Palmer House, Great Torrington, an 18th-century house in Devon In the United States Items in this section are alphabetized by state, then city. * Palmer House (Blackton, Arkansas), listed on th ...

. In 1985, she released the album ''Afterthoughts'' (with Stu Genovese). In the field of

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, she was involved between 1955 and 2001 in twelve recording sessions.

Death

Morris died at the age of 89 on April 1, 2018, at Presence Resurrection Medical Center in

Norwood Park, Chicago Norwood Park is one of the 77 Chicago community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Big Oaks, Norwood Park East, Norwood Park West, Old Norwood Park, Oriole Park, and Union Ridge. The community area contains the oldest extant ...

Discography

* ''Bistro Ballads Sung by Audrey Morris'' (1955) * ''The Voice of Audrey Morris'' (1956) * ''Afterthoughts'' (1985) * ''Film Noir'' (1989)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Audrey 1928 births 2018 deaths Singers from Chicago Jazz musicians from Illinois 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American women jazz singers American jazz pianists American jazz singers American women jazz pianists