Rosa King (March 14, 1939 – December 12, 2000) was an American jazz and blues saxophonist and singer who made her fame in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Career

King was born in Macon,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. During her career, she worked with

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

, Cab Calloway,

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, and Sly Hampton. Her reputation was boosted by a tenor sax battle with Stan Getz at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1978. She appeared on the TV show ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) ...

'' and in European television shows, as well as the cult film '' Comeback'' by Eric Burdon. Many careers were launched in her band, including those of Candy Dulfer, Saskia Laroo, and Alex Britti. She died from a heart attack in Italy shortly after a televised performance with Alex Britti in December 2000. Although King was popular in Europe, she had little exposure in America except for brief periods when she lived in New York City, maintaining an apartment there for many years even while living in Amsterdam. The year before she died, she returned to Georgia to perform with a band under the name Rosa King and the Looters. Band members included J. Lyon Layden on guitar, Eric Layden on bass,

Kristina Train Kristina Train (born January 17, 1982 in New York City as Kristina Beaty) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who lives in Nashville, having previously lived in London, United Kingdom. Her music blends influences from country, soul, gos ...

on vocals and violin, Jeff Evans on drums, and Dan Walker on keyboards. During the same year, she performed at a jazz festival in South Africa and several dates in the Netherlands. Her last performance in Italy was a reunion with guitarist Alex Britti in a nationwide televised concert with nearly 100,000 people in attendance. Although she had suffered several heart attacks the week before, she performed in a wheelchair. Twelve hours later she died. A Rosa King Foundation was established in the Netherlands to help young female artists, and a memorial concert was conducted at the

Melkweg Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided int ...

concert house in Amsterdam.

Discography

Trivia

King went to school with Richard Penniman ( Little Richard).Rosa King's Web Site
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References

1939 births 2000 deaths American jazz saxophonists American jazz singers American women jazz singers Musicians from Macon, Georgia Dutch people of American descent 20th-century American singers 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American women singers Women jazz saxophonists {{US-jazz-singer-stub