ETHEL ENNIS

Ethel Llewellyn Ennis (November 28, 1932 – February 17, 2019) was an American jazz musician whose career spanned seven decades. Ennis spent the majority of her life in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, where she was affectionately known as the "First Lady of Jazz" Ennis was born in a row house on North Calhoun Street in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. She began performing as a church pianist at a young age. Embarking on a solo singing career, she recorded a number of songs for Atlantic Records before her LP debut, Lullabies for Losers, was released by Jubilee Records in 1955. In 1957, she moved to Capitol Records for a two-album contract, and released A Change of Scenery. Soon after the 1958 follow-up LP Have You Forgotten, Ennis took a six-year hiatus from recording, during which she toured Europe with Benny Goodman. In 1963, she recorded four read more...