Teddi King (September 18, 1929 – November 18, 1977) was an American jazz and pop vocalist. Born Theodora King in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States, she won a singing competition hosted by

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

at Boston's Tributary Theatre, later beginning work in a touring revue involved with "cheering up the military in the lull between the Second World War and the Korean conflict." Improving her vocal and piano technique during this time, she first recorded with

Nat Pierce Nathaniel Pierce Blish Jr., known professionally as Nat Pierce (July 16, 1925 – June 10, 1992) was an American jazz pianist and prolific composer and arranger, perhaps best known for being pianist and arranger for the Woody Herman band from 195 ...

in 1949, later recording with the

Beryl Booker Beryl Booker (June 7, 1922 – September 30, 1978) was an American swing pianist. She was born in Philadelphia. Career Booker performed with Slam Stewart's trio in 1946, and played intermittently with him until 1951. She was Dinah Washington ac ...

trio and with several other small groups from 1954–1955 (recordings which were available on three albums for Storyville). She then toured with

George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...

for two years beginning in the summer of 1952, and for a time was managed by

George Wein George Wein (October 3, 1925 – September 13, 2021) was an American jazz promoter, pianist, and producer.

. King later began performing for a time in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Ultimately signing with RCA, she recorded three albums for the label, beginning with 1956's ''Bidin' My Time''. She also had some minor chart success with the singles "Mr. Wonderful" (which made the Top 20 in 1956), "Married I Can Always Get" and "Say It Isn't So" (both of which made the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

from 1957–1958). Her critically praised 1959 album ''All the Kings' Songs'' found her interpreting the signature songs of contemporary male singers like

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 ...

and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

(the "kings" of the title). In the 1960s, she opened the Playboy Club, where she often performed. After developing

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

, she managed to make a brief comeback with a 1977 album featuring

Dave McKenna Dave McKenna (May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008) was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his " three-handed" swing style. He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano. Career He was born in Woonsock ...

, and with two more albums recorded for Audiophile released posthumously. She died of the disease on November 18, 1977. King's style, influenced by

Lee Wiley Lee Wiley (October 9, 1908 – December 11, 1975) was an American jazz singer during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Biography Wiley was born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. At fifteen, she left home to pursue a singing career, singing on New York ...

Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentimenta ...

and

Mabel Mercer Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned b ...

, has won her a small but devoted cult following.

Discography

* '' 'Round Midnight'' (Storyville, 1953) * ''Now in Vogue'' (Vogue, 1955) * ''Storyville Presents Miss Teddi King'' (Vogue, 1955) * ''To You from Teddi King'' with

George Siravo George Siravo (October 2, 1916, Staten Island, New York – February 28, 2000, Medford, Oregon) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He began his career playing reeds with the Cliquot Club Eskimos and l ...

(RCA Victor, 1956) * ''Bidin' My Time'' (RCA Victor, 1956) * ''A Girl and Her Songs'' (RCA 1957) * ''All the Kings' Songs'' (Coral, 1959) * ''Marian Remembers Teddi'' with

Marian McPartland Margaret Marian McPartland OBE ( Turner;Hasson, Claire"Marian McPartland: Jazz Pianist: An Overview of a Career" PhD Thesis. Retrieved 12 August 2008. 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and wri ...

(Halcyon, 1974) * ''Lovers & Losers'' (Audiophile, 1976) * ''This Is New'' with

(Inner City, 1978) * ''Someone to Light Up Your Life'' (Audiophile, 1979) * ''In the Beginning (1949–1954)'' (Baldwin Street, 1999)

References

External links

* Teddi King at Allmusic
''Village Voice'' article by Nat Hentoff, "Remembering Teddi King"
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Teddi 1929 births 1977 deaths American jazz singers People with lupus Deaths from lupus 20th-century American singers