Though she had a sporadic career, she became best known for her version of "Take the 'A' Train" with Duke Ellington, and, according to AllMusic, "was famous for her strong, dramatic way of putting across blues material".

[2] Roché was born in Wilmington, Delaware, as Mary Elizabeth Roach, and was raised by her grandparents in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

[1] She won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater after settling in New York City in 1939, and then sang with the Savoy Sultans in 1941.

[3][4] The following year, she joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra in succession to Ivie Anderson,[4] appearing in the film Reveille with Beverly (1944), which also featured Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.

[2][3][4] She also sang with Lester Young and Hot Lips Page, and in the 1940s performed at Minton's Playhouse with bebop musicians including Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke.