TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Thelma Carpenter was a jazz singer and actress best known for her role as Miss One, the Good Witch of the North, in "The Wiz."
Born in Brooklyn, New York, she began her career as a child performer with her radio show on WNYC and won an amateur night contest at the Apollo Theatre in 1938. Carpenter performed at clubs like Kelly's Stables and became the band for Teddy Wilson's orchestra in 1939.
In 1940, she joined Coleman Hawkins' orchestra and became Count Basie's vocalist from 1943 to 1945, recording the hit "I Didn't Know About You." She made history as the first black artist to be a permanent member of Eddie Cantor's all-white radio show. In 1961, she achieved a hit with "Yes, I'm Lonesome Tonight," a response to Elvis Presley.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.