Unbeknownst to her mother, Richards would go out late at night to sing in clubs, getting experience in the bay area as a jazz and pop singer.
Notable songwriters Joe Greene and Eddie Beal were in attendance that evening[4] and were so impressed with Richards' performance that they booked her to record a demo.
Shortly after, Greene and Beal played the finished demo for Stan Kenton, with whom they'd had numerous successful collaborations, as well as for Pete Rugolo.
[7][6] Very shortly after joining the Kenton organization, Richards would record her first tracks with the orchestra on January 25, March 30 and May 15, 1955, at Capitol Studios in Hollywood.
[8] The sessions were scheduled to highlight her, with several pop singles produced from those dates, including "A-Ting-A-Ling", "Freddy"/"Winter In Madrid" and "The Handwriting's on the Wall".
[9] The most notable and mature of these initial 1955 singles with Kenton come from a July 22, 1955, session: Richards sings two Bill Holman arrangements of the standards "Black Coffee" and "The Thrill Is Gone", recorded at Universal Studios in Chicago.
[10][6] Burt Korall of Metronome magazine heard the Stan Kenton Orchestra at Birdland in New York City and praised Richards as the band's new "big commercial asset", noting her jazz feeling, intonation and star quality.
The record label supported her exclusively, featuring Richards on two high exposure releases backed by full studio orchestra.
She was paired with conductor Brian Farnon and arranger Warren Barker for her debut album, I'm Shooting High (1958).
[11]The Many Moods of Ann Richards was then recorded with Capitol and released in 1960, with music arranged by Bill Holman, Ralph Carmichael and Tak Shindo.
Shindo's Japanese folk style arrangement of Jerome Moross's "Lazy Afternoon" is especially notable for Richards, featuring her "vocal beauty and dramatic flair.
"[citation needed] In 1960, Richards was featured at Carnegie Hall with the Kenton orchestra and also appeared on Steve Allen’s NBC-TV show.
Noted as the highlight of her recording career, she is backed by arrangements from Bill Holman, Johnny Richards and Gene Roland.
In a glowing review of Two Much!, Billboard magazine predicted Richards would take her place amongst past Kenton singing stars such as Anita O'Day, June Christy, and Chris Connor.
Her Atco release, Ann, Man!, was an album of bluesy, sexual songs, backed by trumpeter Jack Sheldon and guitarist Barney Kessel.
By the mid-'70s, Richards had become the resident singer in the lounge of the upscale Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, backed by pianist Bud Herrmann.
Film critic Rex Reed said that "She performed half a set seated at my table, with a mic in one hand and a scotch in the other", and added that "she sang like a dream.
According to Kenton's third wife, Jo Ann Hill, he was secretly sending Richards checks in order to help with her living expenses.
[20] Richards was found dead on April 1, 1982, at her home in the Hollywood Hills, her death ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Due to connections with insurance policies on Richards' life, Botts has been suspected to be involved, though this claim is unsubstantiated.
"[4] In 1982 her friend Donna Shore organized a memorial for Richards at Carmelo's Jazz Club in Sherman Oaks, California.