Knowra Ethel Waters Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (1896–1977) was an American blues and jazz singer and actress whose success on Broadway and in Hollywood broke barriers for Black performers.
Stormy Weather (song) : A 1933 song by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, closely associated with Ethel Waters. Waters introduced the song at the Cotton Club, making it one of her signature performances.
Baltimore : A major port city in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay. Waters was born and raised in Baltimore, where she began performing professionally.
Duke Ellington : An American composer, pianist, and bandleader central to the history of jazz. Ellington's orchestra accompanied Waters on recordings, including her 1932 hit 'Stormy Weather.'
Broadway theatre : The professional theater industry associated with productions staged in Manhattan's Broadway district. Waters's starring roles helped establish Black women as leading performers on Broadway.
Ethel Waters: His Eye Is on the Sparrow : Ethel Waters's 1951 autobiography, written with Charles Samuels. The book recounts her childhood, career, and religious life in her own voice.
Am I Blue? : A 1929 song by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke, recorded by many jazz and popular singers. Waters's recording became one of her best-known interpretations of a blues-inflected popular song.
Harlem Renaissance : A flourishing of Black literature, music, and visual art centered in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s. Waters's New York success unfolded amid the era's expansion of Black cultural life.
Bessie Smith : An American blues singer known as the Empress of the Blues and one of the most influential vocalists of her era. Smith and Waters were leading blues singers whose distinct vocal styles shaped the same recording era.
Cotton Club : A Harlem nightclub that presented Black performers to predominantly white audiences during the 1920s and 1930s. Waters headlined the club, gaining fame within an entertainment venue shaped by segregation.
Billy Graham : An American evangelical Christian preacher who became a prominent figure in twentieth-century religious broadcasting. Waters appeared at Graham's evangelistic events and publicly embraced evangelical Christianity.
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