Kitty Jean Bilbrew (July 7, 1923 – August 11, 2009), known professionally Kitty White, was an American jazz singer who was popular in Los Angeles nightclubs.
Kitty Jean Bilbrew was born on July 7, 1923, in Los Angeles, California. She had a twin sister, Maudie, and was raised in a musical family: her parents A. C. Bilbrew and Ralph Bilbrew were singers, and her uncle was a well-known vaudevillian and disc jockey.
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She started her career at the age of sixteen as a singer and a pianist. She appeared in local night clubs in her home town Los Angeles like the Hob Nob, the Club Gala, the Haig and The Captain's Table. When Kitty branched out and opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago, Illinois, she was introduced to the executives of Mercury Records, and she became a Mercury recording artist.
Her twin sister, Maudie Jeanette, also sang and briefly worked with Duke Ellington's revue, Jump for Joy, but never pursued an active career. Their mother, known as A.C. Bilbrew, organized an all-black chorus that performed in the 1929 film Hearts of Dixie.
A.C. later recorded the 1955 protest song "The Death of Emmett Till" for Dootone Records. Kitty picked up her catchy jazz name legitimately by marrying songwriter Eddie White in the 1940s. She moved to Palm Springs, California in 1967 and sang at the Spa Hotel for sixteen years.
White died in Palm Springs, at the age of 86, after suffering a stroke.[1]
kitty, white, this, article, about, american, jazz, singer, sanrio, character, same, full, name, hello, kitty, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, art. This article is about the American jazz singer For the Sanrio character of the same full name see Hello Kitty This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Kitty White news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s notability guideline for biographies Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources Kitty White news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Kitty Jean Bilbrew July 7 1923 August 11 2009 known professionally Kitty White was an American jazz singer who was popular in Los Angeles nightclubs Kitty WhiteBirth nameKitty Jean BilbrewBorn 1923 07 07 July 7 1923Los Angeles California U S DiedAugust 11 2009 2009 08 11 aged 86 Palm Springs California U S GenresJazz gospel pop spiritualOccupation s SingerLabelsMercury Capitol Pacific Jazz She recorded mostly on the West Coast with Buddy Collette Gerald Wiggins Chico Hamilton Bud Shank and Red Callender She sang many demo recordings for her friend Los Angeles blues composer Jessie Mae Robinson including I Went to Your Wedding a No 1 hit for Patti Page in 1953 1 She was also the sole female voice on Elvis Presley s Crawfish from the King Creole film soundtrack She sang the title song Riders to the Stars for the 1954 sci fi film of the same name Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Discography 3 1 Kitty White albums 3 2 Compilations 3 3 With others 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Kitty White news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Kitty Jean Bilbrew was born on July 7 1923 in Los Angeles California She had a twin sister Maudie and was raised in a musical family her parents A C Bilbrew and Ralph Bilbrew were singers and her uncle was a well known vaudevillian and disc jockey Career editShe started her career at the age of sixteen as a singer and a pianist She appeared in local night clubs in her home town Los Angeles like the Hob Nob the Club Gala the Haig and The Captain s Table When Kitty branched out and opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago Illinois she was introduced to the executives of Mercury Records and she became a Mercury recording artist Her twin sister Maudie Jeanette also sang and briefly worked with Duke Ellington s revue Jump for Joy but never pursued an active career Their mother known as A C Bilbrew organized an all black chorus that performed in the 1929 film Hearts of Dixie A C later recorded the 1955 protest song The Death of Emmett Till for Dootone Records Kitty picked up her catchy jazz name legitimately by marrying songwriter Eddie White in the 1940s She moved to Palm Springs California in 1967 and sang at the Spa Hotel for sixteen years White died in Palm Springs at the age of 86 after suffering a stroke 1 Discography editKitty White albums edit 1955 A New Voice in Jazz EmArcy 1956 Kitty White EmArcy with Corky Hale harp 1956 A Moment of Love Pacific with Corky Hale harp 1956 Cold Fire EmArcy 1957 Folk Songs And Now For Your Musical Enjoyment Mercury 1959 Sweet Talk Roulette 1962 Newborn Horizon with Laurindo Almeida Buddy Collette and Red Mitchell 1966 Kitty White Clover Compilations edit 2007 A New Voice in Jazz Fresh Sound Records CD reissue of 1st album plus the album Sweet Talk 2008 Cold Fire amp Folk Songs Fresh Sound Records With others edit 1958 King Creole Elvis Presley soundtrack album RCA Victor White sings a duet on Crawfish References edit a b Kitty White Vocalist Sang With Elvis Los Angeles Times 3 September 2009 External links editKitty White at AllMusic Kitty White discography at Discogs nbsp Kitty White at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kitty White amp oldid 1198203468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
