Kitty Jean Bilbrew (July 7, 1923 – August 11, 2009), better known as Kitty White, was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer who was popular in Los Angeles nightclubs. She recorded mostly on the West Coast with

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

Gerald Wiggins Gerald Foster Wiggins (May 12, 1922 – July 13, 2008) was an American jazz pianist and organist. Early life Wiggins was born in New York City on May 12, 1922.Vacher, Pete"Wiggins, Gerry" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). G ...

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, ...

Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...

and

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

. She sang many demo recordings for her friend, Los Angeles blues composer

Jessie Mae Robinson Jessie Mae Robinson (née Booker, October 1, 1918 – October 26, 1966) was an American musician and songwriter, whose compositions included many R&B and pop hits of the 1940s and 1950s, including "Black Night", "I Went To Your Wedding", an ...

, including "

I Went to Your Wedding "I Went to Your Wedding" is a popular song written and composed by Jessie Mae Robinson and published in 1952. Background The song's melody is similar to the old Russian song "Po Donu gulyaet kazak molodoi" ("Young Cossack went near the Don"). The ...

", a No. 1 hit for

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

in 1953. She was also the sole female voice on Elvis Presley's "Crawfish" from the "King Creole" film soundtrack. She sang the title song, "Riders to the Stars", for the 1954 sci-fi film of the same name.

Biography

Kitty Jean Bilbrew was born on July 7, 1923 in Los Angeles, California. She had a twin sister, Maudie, and was raised in a musical family: her parents A. C. Bilbrew and Ralph Bilbrew were singers, and her uncle was a well-known vaudevillian and disc jockey. She started her career at the age of sixteen as a singer and a pianist. She appeared in local night clubs in her home town Los Angeles like the Hob Nob, the Club Gala, the Haig and The Captain's Table. When Kitty branched out and opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago, Illinois, she was introduced to the executives of

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

, and she became a Mercury recording artist. Her twin sister, Maudie Jeanette, also sang and briefly worked with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's revue, ''Jump for Joy'', but never pursued an active career. Their mother, known as A.C. Bilbrew, organized an all-black chorus that performed in the 1929 film ''Hearts of Dixie''. A.C. later recorded the 1955 protest song "The Ballad of Emmett Till" for Dootone Records. Kitty picked up her catchy jazz name legitimately by marrying songwriter Eddie White in the 1940s. She moved to Palm Springs, California in 1967 and sang at the Spa Hotel for sixteen years. White died in Palm Springs, at the age of 86, after suffering a stroke.

Discography

Kitty White albums

* 1955 ''A New Voice in Jazz'' (EmArcy) * 1956 ''Kitty White'' (EmArcy) (with

Corky Hale Corky Hale (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California. Ear ...

, harp) * 1956 ''A Moment of Love'' (Pacific) (with Corky Hale, harp) * 1956 ''Cold Fire!'' (EmArcy) * 1957 ''Folk Songs/And Now For Your Musical Enjoyment'' (Mercury) * 1959 ''Sweet Talk'' (Roulette) * 1962 ''Newborn'' (Horizon) (with

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...

and

Red Mitchell Keith Moore "Red" Mitchell (September 20, 1927 – November 8, 1992) was an American jazz double-bassist, composer, lyricist, and poet. Biography Mitchell was born in New York City. His younger brother, Whitey Mitchell, also became a jazz ba ...

) * 1966 ''Kitty White'' (Clover)

Compilations

* 2007 ''A New Voice in Jazz'' (Fresh Sound Records) (CD reissue of 1st album, plus the album ''Sweet Talk'') * 2008 ''Cold Fire! & Folk Songs'' (Fresh Sound Records)

With others

* 1958 ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

'',

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

soundtrack album (RCA Victor). White sings a duet on "Crawfish"

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Kitty 1923 births 2009 deaths American jazz singers EmArcy Records artists Musicians from Palm Springs, California 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Jazz musicians from California