Jazz Singer. She was born in Fort Gibson (Oklahoma) and died in New York. She came to New York in the early '30s and at age 17 was singing and recording with Leo Reisman's orchestra. She spent most of the that decade singing with commercial radio orchestras (including Victor Young and Johnny Green) and with small jazz groups. Starting in 1939 Lee Wiley became the first singer to devote an entire album to the music of one composer; her George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and Rodgers & Hart sessions are considered classic and the highpoints of her career. She appeared at a few of Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts but from the late '40s on Wiley performed and recorded less frequently. After some sessions for Columbia during 1950-51, Storyville in 1954 and Victor during 1956-57, all that remained was a final record for Monmouth-Evergreen in 1971.Cause of death: Cancer.
Jazz Singer. She was born in Fort Gibson (Oklahoma) and died in New York. She came to New York in the early '30s and at age 17 was singing and recording with Leo Reisman's orchestra. She spent most of the that decade singing with commercial radio orchestras (including Victor Young and Johnny Green) and with small jazz groups. Starting in 1939 Lee Wiley became the first singer to devote an entire album to the music of one composer; her George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen and Rodgers & Hart sessions are considered classic and the highpoints of her career. She appeared at a few of Eddie Condon's Town Hall concerts but from the late '40s on Wiley performed and recorded less frequently. After some sessions for Columbia during 1950-51, Storyville in 1954 and Victor during 1956-57, all that remained was a final record for Monmouth-Evergreen in 1971.Cause of death: Cancer.
Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni
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