The song stylings of Sarah Vaughan

My absolute favorite vocalist. She could sing anything. Thanks OP!!!

I love her recording of “My Coloring Book.” So lush.

Michel Legrand is genius along with Sarah Vaughan. When I was young we would listen to her in our bohemian Brooklyn apartments and be amused at how fucking loosey goosey her phrasing was in the later recordings. She seemed drunk or high or both. But was fun. She was still in control somehow.

Her 1957 version of "Summertime" is probably my favourite recording of that song. It's so sinister.

Sassy rules. I just wish the lights she recording weren't so hot. She was always perspiring.

So Many Stars, from one of her great Brazilian albums:

R5, she was also quite zaftig in her later years, which probably contributed to that also.

One of my favorites, Say It Isn’t So

It is a beautiful record from start to finish, OP.

My favorite Sarah Vaughan song: Broken Hearted Melody

Sarah actually hated Broken Hearted Melody, and most of the pop hits she recorded in the 1950s.

Here is her version of A House Is Not a Home, with the Jimmy Rowles Quintet, from 1974:

Sarah Vaughn was called "The Divine Sarah" because of her very impressive voice. Just listen to her biggest hit Broken Hearted Melody and you'll see exactly what I mean. Superb!

The Divine Sarah.

Broken Hearted Melody is hardly representative of her talent. Sarah herself described it as corny, and it’s little more than a novelty tune. She generally refused to perform it in concert, but was occasionally cajoled into it.

With regard to Vaughan’s sweating issues, she was obese, but also did a lot of coke. I imagine both of those things contributed greatly to it.

I've never heard of Sarah Vaughan doing cocaine. Anyway, colorized from 1951? Perdido

Also...

One of my favorite Sassy songs: Wave, from Live in Japan. Her voice is astonishing, she had total control to do so many things with it.

.....

Undoubtably one of the all-time greats.

I love her interpretations when she respects the melody like at R19 but less so when she gets creative.

Anyway, what a shame singers like her no longer exist. All. Gone.

Sarah Vaughan's voice was akin to a car with a 12 cylinder engine steadily rolling along at 55 mph. She had great, great reserves of vocal power and ability which she never even had to tap into, and this is why she always sounded so effortlessly, perfectly divine. Another favorite of mine....

Love her album with Michel Legrand and her Live in Japan album too. Her Gershwin album with Michael Tilson Thomas is pretty great too.

Ella sweated a lot also. I doubt that Ella did coke.

Both Louis Armstrong and Whitney Houston were heavy perspirers on stage.

Just sayin' . . .

Saw her in concert with Billy Eckstine at Symphony Hall in Boston circa 1990.

They performed separately and together and it was a wonderful evening. It was obvious they adored each other.

Never understood why incredibly gifted singers smoked cigarettes.

Sarah was a lifelong smoker, dying of lung cancer at 66.

Amazing that with all that smoking, Sarah's voice stayed in good shape till the end.

Can't stand her - that fucking overused vibrato of hers makes me want to drive pencils into my ears.

Anyone have a few pencils for R27?

My all-time favorite vocalist...perfection.

She knew she often abused that silky plummy tone and worked the vibrato to the ears' distraction, but she didn't care. It was her voice, her talent, her experience and her show, and she did it the way she wanted it, at the moment. Maybe halfway she'd change her mind and finish a phrase differently.

When I'm not wanting purple baroque and a queen's vocal dalliances, I listen to her early work.

BUT her recording of Strayhorn's "Lush Life," slightly longer than the usual cut and called "Alternate Version," is the definitive version of the song, with her bravura and sensitivity to the lyrics working perfectly. That's when her brilliance really comes out.

Song stylings??? JESUS, OP, you act like no one here has every heard of her

the best of the best

Love her

She hit me in the head with a fondue pot.

I love her version of "My Man's Gone Now" from Porgy and Bess

So full of hot air I was surprised her tongue didn't cook.

Don't tell her I said that.

Saw her in person on a double bill with Ben Vereen. At one point, she adlibbed without breaking....."get those goddamnned lights out of my face mr. light man.....thank you." I was later thisclose to Mr. Vereen's ass when he danced into the audience and the row behind ours.

R37, Could you smell any Liza?

LISA!

For the poster who dared to slander Sass with the accusation of cocaine abuse - YOU try standing on stage with the equivalent of three or four winter caps realized in a wig, under all those hot lights and see how YOU fare. We all know that Miss Ross was the ONLY black female EVER who could wear a wig for weeks at a time without spilling a drop of sweat!

[quote]She seemed drunk or high or both. But was fun. She was still in control somehow.

It's not about sweating, R40. Sarah was well known for boozing, smoking and drugs, just like her best girl singer pal Carmen McRae. I could care less because I love both Sarah and Carmen. Note it was the cigarettes that killed both of them.

Stunning voice and she uses it so well

Elsa Fitzgerald got all the glory, but Sarah is way more interesting

Okay, R41, I stand corrected. Thank you for clarifying and causing me to call upon my friend, Google. Best, R40

"Elsa Fitzgerald"

Oh, dear.

^ she’s Norwegian