Irene Reid

She sang in church and in high school in Georgia, and moved to New York City in 1947 after her mother died.

Toward the end of 1947, she tried out for an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and won the competition for five straight weeks.

Soon after she was offered a slot as the featured vocalist with Dick Vance at the Savoy Ballroom, which she held from 1948 to 1950.

Additionally, she sang with Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, and B.B.

She appeared at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 1991, 1994, and 1996, and continued releasing albums on Savant Records in the 1990s and 2000s.