I am always amazed at just how much information on certain topics is so well-hidden, and always thankful for the world-wide web, the internet, to bring it all to light. I pride myself on knowing about all or most of all the Black American Female Torch singers from the 40’s and 50’s, since I have such great passion for this era and genre, and when I run across someone I’m unfamiliar with I usually run it by an even more reliable source, my mom. So imagine how surprised I was to find that even she had never heard of Miss Joyce Bryant, a Black American Female Jazz Singer who became popular in the 50’s, with an incredible four-octave range.
Listen to Ms. Bryant sing here!
She was called “The Bronze Blond Bombshell” and “The Black Marilyn Monroe”, because of her stunning appearance, her blond and sometimes grey colored hair, and her trademark, fabulous low-cut, mermaid style gowns. It is written that her gowns were so tight that sometimes she’d have to be carried on and off stage! A spirited woman, known for always doing things on her own terms, she was the first Black American singer to perform at the Miami Beach Hotel, despite threats from the KKK, and one of the first to play Casino Royale in Washington, DC. Criticized for lyrics some felt were too racy, she left the music scene for religious convictions and worked with the church before eventually studying opera and garnering a contract with the New York City Opera in the 60’s. Miss Bryant returned to performing jazz in the 80’s and began vocal coaching the likes of Jennifer Holiday, Phyllis Hyman and Racquel Welch. Joyce Bryant… an original diva.
