A little over a month ago, I finished reading the biography His Eye Is On the Sparrow: The Ethel Waters Story which was so riveting to me. I'm a bio junkie at heart. My mother read the book, which originally belonged to my Grandmama, Mable, and passed it on to me. My Grandmama was a huge fan of Ms. Waters and loved her music.
My brief description here does not in any way do her life's story justice, so please get the book if you are interested. It is an insightful and vulnerable story – she throws her heart into it – and gives a look into blues and jazz history as well as Civil Rights struggles of the day.
Ethel Waters (1896-1977) grew up in the slums of Philadelphia, the unwanted product of a rape. She raised herself and lived on the streets most of her days. She was a foul-mouthed street urchin whose family taught her to memorize her street address at a very early age, so if the cops picked her up they would be able to take her back home. She was a tall girl who always looked older than she really was and she began singing and dancing on the black Vaudeville stages in her teens. She rubbed shoulders with the likes of Bessie Smith and other famous performers. Her numbers were blues ballads and audiences fell in love with her mellow, rich voice. She was the first to sing a string of popular standards including "Dinah", "Heebie Jeebies", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Someday, Sweetheart", "Am I Blue?" and "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue."
Ethel Waters (1896-1977) grew up in the slums of Philadelphia, the unwanted product of a rape. She raised herself and lived on the streets most of her days. She was a foul-mouthed street urchin whose family taught her to memorize her street address at a very early age, so if the cops picked her up they would be able to take her back home. She was a tall girl who always looked older than she really was and she began singing and dancing on the black Vaudeville stages in her teens. She rubbed shoulders with the likes of Bessie Smith and other famous performers. Her numbers were blues ballads and audiences fell in love with her mellow, rich voice. She was the first to sing a string of popular standards including "Dinah", "Heebie Jeebies", "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Someday, Sweetheart", "Am I Blue?" and "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue."
There is a really good page on her here with music and a filmography.
Over her career, she recorded songs, received numerous accolades on Broadway and lived in Hollywood for a time making pictures. Waters turned down a lot of jobs because they did not portray the black characters in a positive light. She was a very strong woman and became a devout Catholic as a result of going to Catholic school at a young age.
Her best-known recording was her version of the hymn, "His Eye is on the Sparrow", and she was the second African-American ever nominated for an Academy Award for the film Pinky (which was written by a Mississippian, by the way). Her performance in The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers was a huge success. McCullers even rewrote part of her character for the film version, so it would portray her in a positive light.
As I was flipping through April's issue of Southern Living today, I spotted the name Ethel Waters and a terrific collage-style picture advertising a stage play about her life. It is being performed April 11 – May 2 at the Triad Stage at the Pyrle Theater in Greensboro, North Carolina.
I immediately called my Mama to see if she would be up for a road trip! We're going to put our heads together and hopefully get up there to see it. I'm SO excited!
Over her career, she recorded songs, received numerous accolades on Broadway and lived in Hollywood for a time making pictures. Waters turned down a lot of jobs because they did not portray the black characters in a positive light. She was a very strong woman and became a devout Catholic as a result of going to Catholic school at a young age.
Her best-known recording was her version of the hymn, "His Eye is on the Sparrow", and she was the second African-American ever nominated for an Academy Award for the film Pinky (which was written by a Mississippian, by the way). Her performance in The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers was a huge success. McCullers even rewrote part of her character for the film version, so it would portray her in a positive light.
As I was flipping through April's issue of Southern Living today, I spotted the name Ethel Waters and a terrific collage-style picture advertising a stage play about her life. It is being performed April 11 – May 2 at the Triad Stage at the Pyrle Theater in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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