How Do You Feel Today?

Carol Duboc: Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Carol was greatly influenced by hometown jazz legend Charlie Parker. Carol started playing piano at age five and saxophone at age 8.

Old-Time Music : Hobart Smith said “Now the first fiddle that ever I heard in my life, when I was a kid — there was an old colored man who was raised up in slave times. His name was Jim Spencer. He played “Jinny Put the Kettle On” and all those old tunes like that, you know. “

Amazon : Dandridge (1922-65) led a life of glamour and stardom, beginning as a child performer when her mother, Ruby, put her and her sister Vivian on stage as the Wonder Kids. Her nightclub act made her famous, and she was at the height of her career in 1954 when she played the starring role opposite Harry Belafonte in Carmen Jones.

Marian Anderson Historical Society : In 1955 , Anderson broke the color barrier by becoming the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera . On that occasion, she sang the part of Ulrica in Giuseppe Verdi ‘s Un ballo in maschera . The occasion was bittersweet as Anderson, at age 58, was no longer in her prime vocally.

Chuck Mangione : In 1980 maximum impact was achieved in front of an “intimate” television of several hundred million when Chuck’s “Give It All You Got” was heard around the world as the theme of the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid which he performed live at the closing ceremonies.

Venerable Music : Hartman’s Ramblers did indeed display a great deal of jazz, blues and pop influence, particularly on record, though not under that name in the most brazen examples – but rather under the aliases the Washboard Wonders and Heartman’s Heartbreakers. The band was far more a straightforward Carolina string band of the day than these pseudonymous recordings would indicate,….

Red Hot Jazz : At age twelve Alberta Hunter ran away from her hometown of Memphis to go to Chicago to become a Blues singer. She had a somewhat hard time at first but gradually, achieved her goal and became one of the most popular African-American entertainers of the 1920s.

Wikipedia : Durante’s radio show was bracketed with two trademarks: “Inka Dinka Doo” as his opening theme, and the invariable signoff that became another familiar national catchphrase: “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” For years Durante preferred to keep the mystery alive, but eventually relented.

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