Sarah Lois Vaughan (1924-1990) was one of jazz's greatest singers for almost half a century. Her rich voice and distinctive style, often applied to popular songs, brought her fame beyond the confines of the jazz world.

Sarah Lois Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 27, 1924. Her father was a carpenter and an amateur guitarist; her mother was a laundress and a church vocalist. From the age of 7 Sarah studied piano, and at age 12 became organist and solo vocalist in Newark's Mount Zion Baptist Church choir.

In 1942 at the Apollo Theater's weekly Amateur Night Sarah won first prize for a rendition of "Body and Soul" that so impressed jazz singer Billy Eckstine that he persuaded his bandleader, Earl Hines, to hire her. In 1944 Eckstine left Hines's band to form his own and took Sarah (as well as jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker) with him. Vaughan...