TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Helen Humes was a remarkable blues and popular singer for the Basie Band following Billie Holiday.
Humes embodied the blues’ playful spirit and deep emotions with her delightful and girlish timbre.
Starting in the 1920s blues scene, she captured Count Basie's attention while performing in Buffalo. From the late 1930s to the early 1940s, she was the main vocalist with the Basie band, sharing the spotlight alongside Jimmy Rushing.
After her memorable time with Basie, Humes became a highly sought-after performer in Los Angeles and even toured Australia in the late 1950s. Although she took a break to care for her elderly parents in Louisville, she triumphantly returned to the stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1973, launching successful concert tours in Europe.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.