Memphis Women of Music
Overview
In this unit, the coverage will be on some 20th-21st century women singers representative of Memphis, TN. Some women were/are born and raised in Memphis and some of them made their living in the city. By the end of this unit the students shoudl be able to:
- Name some women singers of Memphis that have made an impact in the Memphis community and beyond through entertainment.
- Describe female singers of Memphis and some of their contributions to the entertainment world.
- List famous songs recorded by female singers of Memphis, TN.
- Identify some famous landmarks of Memphis that assisted some singers in making their mark.
Memphis Women of Music
Vera Little
Vera Pearl Little was an American contralto/mezzo soprano. She was born in Memphis, TN 1928 and died in 2012 in Berlin, Germany at age 83 after working for Deutsche Oper Berlin for over forty years. She received her education at Talladega College. Opera singers regularly competed in competitions for scholarships for monetary and scholastic opportunities. She won scholarships in Alabama and Munich. With these opportunities, she was able to further her vocal studies in Paris, Copenhagen and Germany with highly accomplished professors and coaches. She made a name for herself and performed very heavily in Germany and received the award of Kammersangerin. She sang in the opera choruses as well as the lead roles for the fach for mezzo soprano. A fach is a system used in Germany to classify singers. This helps them to get casting in certain roles within opera companies. This process separated them by (vocal) weight, color and the range of their voices.
Ms. Little married a gentleman named Savvas Augustithis, who was a Greek professor, in 1968. No children came from this union. A highlight worthy of much notice is that she was the first woman of color to sing at the Vatican before Pope John XXIII. She performed for major international opera houses, festivals, world premieres and even in her hometown of Memphis, TN, in front of a white only crowd after much negotiation. Discrimination and segregation was more than likely very prevalent and at an all time high at that point in time.
She wrote poems and loved literature and even wrote a memoir. Some of her poetry was even set to music. Vera Little definitely deserves to be placed in the hallmark of Memphis women who have paved the way for future classical and operatic singers from the Bluff City.
Here is an example of Vera Little singing "Voce di donna o d'angelo" from La Gioconda, Amilcare Ponchielli (FYI-it has been translated as The Happy Woman or The Ballad Singer)
Lillian Hardin
Lillian Hardin was born in 1898 in Memphis, TN and died in 1971 in Chicago, IL. She was known as a pianist and composer but was a notable bandleader, arranger and singer. She learned piano as a child. She received training from Fisk University and the New York College of Music. After she and her parents moved to Chicago, Lil, as she had come to be called, was able to obtain work easily because she could read music. Some elements that set some musicians apart were that some could simply “play by ear” and some could read sheet music scores. Many are able to do both.
While in the Chi-town she was able to get jobs as a pianist in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band where they traveled a lot of the United States.
She met Louis “Satchmo”Armstrong while in Oliver’s band. Armstrong was hired by King Oliver to play in his band. Other players in the band were trying to get the Memphis Belle before Armstrong landed in their band but they married in 1924 and this was the second marriage for both of them. After they were married, she encouraged Satchmo to start his own band, Hot Five and get him classical training. She saw more in her husband than just being in someone else’s band. After their separation in 1931, Lil and Louie finally divorced in 1938. Later in life, Hardin tailored, played as a solo singer/pianist, and had her own bands and was featured on television shows and record label recordings. She traveled to Europe and had a brief romance but never remarried. Lillian Hardin was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2014. There is a park in Chicago named Armstrong Park in her honor. Her memoir was never completed. There are many positions in music that people seldom see or hear about; however, this Memphian was able to do many: lead a band, arrange the music, sing and play the piano. Ms. Hardin deserves her recognition and she set the bar high for future Memphis musicians.
Here is Lillian Hardin playing The Pearls/Heebie Jeebies in 1959 in her 60s
Cybil Shepherd
Cybil Shepherd was born in Memphis, TN in 1950 and is known as an American actress, singer and model. While attending East High School, she won many pageants, which led her to model and thereafter gain notoriety and attention to directors and movie makers. She caught the eye of the right people, which resulted in her winning three Golden Globe Awards. She had roles that deemed her as witty, a smarty pants, rebel or bad girl on screen and off. Not only did Cybill Shepherd act and model; she also sings. Her musical discography ranges from 1974 to 1987, although she preferred acting over modeling and music.
She has been married and divorced twice and has three children. She has been an activist for gay, abortion and civil rights and considers herself a Christian.
Here is a tuneful song she co-wrote called “Talk Memphis to Me,” written in 1997.
DeeDee Bridgewater
Denise Eileen Garrett was born in 1950 in Memphis, TN. Her parents moved from Memphis when she was aged 3. Even though the jazz singer/songwriter left Memphis early, the city and its musical soul left a huge impact on her musically before she left as a child. Her dad, a trumpeter, taught at Manassas High School. In Michigan, where they moved, her father would accompany the underaged singer to local clubs to enhance her vocal gifts. She is a Grammy Award winner as well as a Tony Winner for her acting of which she has performed on Broadway as well as honor doctorates bestowed to her. She toured France with Sophisticated Ladies. She studied music at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has sung pop and R&B but her niche is in the jazz genre where she has performed with greats such as: Dizzie Gillespie, Max Roach, Terence Blanchard and many other legends. She is a mother of three, a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization and a mentor to young music professionals. She was also a host for over twenty years for a jazz show on NPR (National Public Radio) called JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. It is worthy of note to mention that DeeDee Bridgewater is fluent in French and this gave her the opportunity to create a niche while singing in her adopted second home of France. So if you haven’t taken a foreign language yet, consider it; You never know what the possibilities may bring by being bi-lingual, if you aren’t already. She never had any singing lessons; however, she had a mentor named Gladys De Jesus out of Manhattan that taught her how to breathe and use her voice.
Here is Ms. Bridgewater singing “Memphis, Yes, I’m Ready”
Ruby Wilson
Ruby Wilson was a blues and gospel singer, born in 1948 from Texas. Her mother loved gospel music and her father loved the blues. Even though she was not born in Memphis, TN, she made Memphis her home, becoming known as the”Queen of Beale Street.” She came to the blues city and began teaching kids and sang in clubs when she could. Wilson was the Goddaughter of B.B. King and sang in his club, B.B. King’s on Beale as a weekly headliner as well as in his other venue, Itta Bena. She also performed as an actress, appearing in movies and commercials. She toured the world, performed at festivals, and worked with some of the most famous artists today. She also lived in Texas, California and Chicago, but Memphis was her final resting place. She made a total of nine albums and has sung for President Clinton, VP Al Gore and royalty: Queen Elizabeth II. She passed away due to a stroke and coma in 2016.
Here is the Queen singing “I’m Coming Home.” https://youtu.be/6Rj-4W6cQS8
Carla Thomas
There are not many folk who wrote an internationally known song at the tender age of 16. Known as the Queen of Memphis Soul, Carla Thomas is a legend in her own right. She is a humble person from humble beginnings. She grew up in the projects and she received her diploma from Hamilton High School and while enrolled there was making recording hits with her father, the legendary singer Rufus Thomas. She learned a lot about music from him. After making records, she still performed, and traveled as a student at Tennessee State University which proved difficult to manage. Imagine trying to do class and homework when you have a hit record on the radio. Thomas eventually had to make the hard choice: school or singing career. Which do you think she picked? She is a walking museum and has sung with many legends including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Valerie June. She loves to give back and talk to the younger generation in workshops and masterclasses about the music field and other culturally relevant topics. She is trendy and fashionable nowadays with her outfits and jewelry. You may see her locally at different venues enjoying and taking in the music around her. She is a walking museum and a joyful person to be around.
Hear her now singing “Gee Whiz,” a song she wrote as a teen and a song which helped to put Satellite Records, aka Stax Records on the map. https://youtu.be/4e4e0jFOqEk
Joyce Cobb
Joyce Cobb, an internationally renowned American singer/songwriter and actress, currently teaches vocal jazz lessons at The University of Memphis, She was born in Oklahoma and like most singers got her first opportunities to sing within the black church. While in high school she had the opportunity to sing requiems and masses and listen to a plethora of the albums of her parents. She ended up taking up social work in Ohio at Wright State University but ended up leaving to follow her singing career. We will not put Cobb in a limited box. The singer has sung R&B, Pop, Soul and other styles of music. After she came to Memphis in the late 70s, she stopped singing country music and was the last to sign with Stax Records before they closed its doors. She later signed with Hi, Waylo and Archer Records. Cobb, along with singers such as Naomi Moody, Toni Green and Carla Thomas always give back to organizations such as Stax Music Academy and the Memphis Black Arts Alliance to reach out to the young people.
She has acted in productions such as Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Ain’t Misbehavin and has sang on many broadcast shows, documentaries and made her mark in the musical world. Joyce Cobb has a brass note in her honor on the Beale Street Walk of Fame among many noteworthy awards. During a fundraising performance with Jack Cooper (director) and the jazz ensemble at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, Joyce Cobb was a featured soloist and is quoted as stating that her parents said for her early on to “learn all the standards and you will never be out of a job.” That is something that she has always stuck with her and ended up being true. Let’s hear a song by Joyce Cobb entitled, “Moanin.” https://youtu.be/yIgrcRlHXtM
Wendy Moten
Wendy Moten is a Nashville-based singer/actress born in Memphis, TN in 1964. She is notable for singing R&B music. She went to Overton High School and sang at the Mid South Fair, winning a competition that gave her the opportunity to sing at a theme park. She went to The University of Memphis, studying music business. Ms. Moten has made a long standing career as a background vocalist for notable artists such as: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Bonnie Tyler, Vince Gill, Martina McBride and Julio Iglesias. She toured heavily with some of them. Even though she made a living as a touring musician she had a huge single titled, “Come in out of the Rain.” She was a finalist on The Voice and the oldest person to win the prize as runner up in 2021. Here is Wendy Moten singing “Come in out of the Rain.” https://youtu.be/0qM8mF8Iw1c
K. Michelle
K. Michelle was born as Kimberly Michelle Pate in Memphis, TN in 1982. She took music lessons in guitar and piano during her upbringing. She received her diploma from The Overton High School and later went on to Florida A & M University, an HBCU on a scholarship. She graduated and was planning to study law but decided to pursue her musical ambitions. She had a child before graduating from FAMU. She has received many awards, notably: BET, Soultrain, ASCAP and NAACP. She has acted on BET’s Love and Hip Hop and has made five albums in the genre of R&B music. It is said that her sixth and final album will be a country album. She has a very strident and unique voice and yodeled during her audition to FAMU, which is a unique vocal ability. She participated in campus life by placing in pageants and in Greek life by pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She graduated with honors as well. Her father works as a professor at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
Here is Ms.Michelle singing “The Rain.” Let’s take a listen: https://youtu.be/e6At--20uk8