Lyrics | Artists | Carmen McRae

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Carmen McRae

Born in Harlem, New York to Jamaican immigrant parents, Carmen McRae first studied piano at the age of eight and was soon hooked on the jazz music so prevalent at the time, particularly the greats Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday, who she met and became friends with at 17. McRae first made her name playing at Minton's Playhouse, a famous jazz club in Harlem where she initially worked as a secretary and sang as a chorus girl. In 1944 she went on to perform with Benny Carter's big band, worked with Count Basie and made her first recording with the Mercer Ellington...