Today Sarah Vaughan, who was born on March 27, 1924, would have been 90 years old. Of course, Sarah didn’t make it to 90 and passed away far too soon, almost 24 years ago at the age of 66. But it feels as if this vibrant artist is still very much alive and well. That her voice, legacy, and, in many respects, her soul live on.
Read MoreI love fan art. It gives the amateurs amongst us a chance to put our own creative spin on an existing work while paying tribute to an artist that we admire. It’s interactive. It’s a form of homage. It helps Vaughan’s legacy live on. And Vaughan’s cover of “Whatever Lola Wants” has spawned a lot of fan art. Some of it is a lot of fun. Some less so. Some, quite, frankly, a little weird.
Read MoreLast time I talked about Sarah Vaughan’s still popular cover of “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” and the power of music to enact real cultural and social change. This post I’d like to discuss another form of cultural work done by music: selling stuff! In particular, how “Whatever Lola Wants” has been used in advertising.
Read MoreOne of my very favorite Sarah Vaughan songs is “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” (1955). She nails her role as the seductive temptress and performs a Lola that is hip and sexy with a dash of humor. It’s as if Vaughan is winking at the listener, saying: come here, this is serious business, but not really. And her voice is stunning: full, rich, and sensuous, yet agile as she effortlessly infuses the lyric with her trademark bends and turns.
Read MoreI’ve often wondered why we love the music that we love. Why does one performer captivate and excite us, while others simply fall flat? This is a complex question. One that involves the artist’s mastery of her craft, stage persona, and creative vision, not to mention the nuts and bolts of the actual music performed. But more often than not, it boils down to an artist’s ability to move her listeners – to create emotional, very visceral responses to the music she performs.
Read MoreI've always been intrigued by the paths people take en route to their life's work; how one passion leads to another then another until you have found what truly inspires and motivates you. For me, my interest in vocalists and women in jazz began with Sarah Vaughan. I guess you could say that she was my crossover moment.
Read MoreI am a Seattle-based jazz historian, writer, and editor. As long as I can remember, I have loved everything musical – be it the music itself, the amazing composers and performers who create it, or the stories behind the scenes. In addition to writing and blogging about jazz and classical music, I have taught music history classes and spoken internationally about big band “girl singers” and women in jazz, including one of my favorite musicians, Sarah Vaughan. This extraordinary vocalist is the subject of my biography Sarah Vaughan: To Bebop or To Be Pop.
Hi, I’m Elaine Hayes, a historian and recovering academic, who has been studying women in jazz for almost twenty years. I write about music and popular culture, teach music history, and speak internationally on jazz vocalists, especially my favorite singer, Sarah Vaughan. She’s the subject of my first book: Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan, published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, in 2017. When I’m not immersed in all things musical, I’m a freelance editor. I live in Seattle with my husband and son.
If you have questions about me and my work, or you just want to say “hi,” I’d love to hear from you. You can fill out this form or email me at elaine@elainemhayes.com.
Welcome to Lady Be Bop, a blog on women in music and popular culture. All music is fair game here, but I'll spend most of my time discussing jazz, in particular jazz vocalists. READ MORE
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