Sarah Lois Vaughan (nicknamed Sassy and The Divine One), (March 27, 1924 April 3, 1990) was considered to be one of the greatest female jazz singers of the 20th Century, along with Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.
Originally from Newark, New Jersey , she began performing with Earl Hines in the early 1940s, but soon broke away with Billy Eckstine. Eckstine and Vaughan, along with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker stayed together for a time, though she went solo in 1945. "Tenderly" and "It's Magic" became popular during the late 1940s, and she continued to build on her fanbase in the 1950s with songs like "Misty" and "Broken-Hearted Melody." She continued playing with some of the biggest names in the business, including Miles Davis and Jimmy Jones.
She is well-known for her amazing vocal range, ranging from soprano to baritone and her signature beautiful vibrato. The other difference that she had compared with other jazz singers is her spectacular talent in improvising and interpreting songs. She was trained musically in theory and practice from a very young age. Jazz musicians treat her as one of their own because of this skill.
Like the other great singers of her generation, Vaughan became one of the key interpreters of the Great American Songbook in the 1950's and rode the Bossa Nova wave in the 60's.
In the later days of her career, between 1970s to 1980s, her lower vocal range increased, allowing her to sing the baritone range while still being able to use her existing soprano range. She normally sings in the contralto/alto range.
Vaughan was married three times: to bandleader George Treadwell, to professional football player Clyde Atkins and to jazz trumpeter Waymon Reed; all ended in divorce.
Vaughan continued recording jazz and pop material on a variety of labels in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and early 80s. She died in 1990.
