Herb Jeffries (1913–2014)

The actor and singer Herb Jeffries has died. From the New York Time obituary: “I just knew that my life would be more interesting as a black guy. If I’d chosen to live my life passing as white, I’d have never been able to sing with Duke Ellington.”

I believe that Herb Jeffries was the last link to the 1940s Ellington band.

Jeffries’s recordings with Ellington, via YouTube and Grooveshark
“The Brown-Skin Gal in the Calico Gown” : “Flamingo” : “The Girl in My Dreams Tries to Look like You” : “I Never Felt This Way Before” : “Jump for Joy” : “My Little Brown Book” : “There Shall Be No Night” : “What Good Would It Do?” : “You, You Darlin’”

[If you’re picking three: “Flamingo,” “I Never Felt This Way Before,” and “Jump for Joy.” But I also have inordinate affection for “There Shall Be No Night.”]

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May 27: I’ve corrected the link for “Jump for Joy”: I had the Ivie Anderson version.