Ruth Young is an American jazz singer, born in New York, USA. She is the common-law wife of jazz trumpeter

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Biography

Young grew up in a show business family in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

. Her father was the Vice President of

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

Motion Pictures Her parents were close friends with actresses Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. They would go to jazz clubs together in Los Angeles. Young became interested in singing at a very young age. She was only 7 when she started singing to

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...

and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

records. name="documentary"> '' Let's Get Lost'' (1988) documentary by Bruce Weber In 1973, Young met

while he was headlining at the

Half Note Club The Half Note was a jazz club in New York City, New York that flourished in two Manhattan locations – from 1957 to 1972 in SoHo (then known as the Village) at 289 Hudson Street at Spring Street and from 1972 to 1974 in Midtown at 149 West 54 ...

. Down and out at the time after a long period in obscurity after having his teeth knocked out in a 1966 attack, she recalls that he looked "absolutely horrible", with his gaunt features and burgundy and red outfit and cowboy boots and "sounded like shit", but he was charming, still considering him to be a hero. The two began spending time together and started a relationship.'' Let's Get Lost'' (1988) documentary by Bruce Weber Two duets between Baker and Young appeared on his 1977 album '' The Incredible Chet Baker Plays and Sings'', made in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. In 1988, Young gained much attention for her biting comments about Baker in the documentary film '' Let's Get Lost''. She described him as "manipulative" and later said "You gotta realize, Chet was not that intelligent". He did not know what he was doing...He just did it."

Style

Michael P. Gladstone of AllAboutJazz comments that "despite an occasional intonation", Young can "eerily" emulate Baker's phrasing and timing in her singing. She released an album named ''This Is Always'' in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Ruth American women jazz singers American jazz singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers