Teddy Grace (born Stella Gloria Crowson,'Teddy Grace Once lost, now found' by Derek Jenkins, 2007 elviscostello.info
/ref> June 26, 1905 – January 4, 1992)
- accessed July 2010 was an American female

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 ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Big bands

Grace first sang professionally in 1931. She sang on radio in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

and worked with the bands of

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

, Al Katz (1933), Tommy Christian (1934), and Mal Hallett (1934–37).

Recording

From 1937 to 1940, Grace recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, and her sidemen on these recordings included Bobby Hackett, Jack Teagarden,

Charlie Shavers Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He ...

, Buster Bailey, Pee Wee Russell,

and His Orchestra, and Bud Freeman.

Military service

Grace left the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

in 1940 and joined the WACs a short time later, where she sang at

war bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an un ...

rallies and other political events. Grace lost her voice as a result of these activities. She was unable to speak for years and was never again able to sing. Twenty-two of the 30 sides Grace recorded for Decca were reissued on CD by Timeless Records in 1996. Another 26 of her sides with Mal Hallett and

were released by Hep Records in 1997.Teddy Grace with Mal Hallett And His Orchestra and Bob Crosby And His Orchestra – Turn On That Red Hot Heat
/ref>

Footnotes

References

*Derek Jenkins, (2007) "Teddy Grace Once lost, now found." The Oxford American Issue 58 Ninth Annual Southern Music Issue *

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

, Teddy Graceat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, Teddy 1905 births 1992 deaths American jazz singers Jazz-blues musicians Singers from Louisiana Decca Records artists 20th-century American singers People from Arcadia, Louisiana 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Louisiana