Ethel Waters was born 124 years ago.
A blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress, Waters frequently performed jazz, big band and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.
Her best-known recordings includes "Dinah,” "Stormy Weather,” "Taking a Chance on Love,” "Heat Wave,” "Supper Time,” "Am I Blue?" and "Cabin in the Sky,” as well as her version of the spiritual, "His Eye Is on the Sparrow.”
Waters was the second African American, after Hattie McDaniel, to be nominated for an Academy Award. Her nomination for was 1949’s, Pinky.
Waters often toured with Billy Graham on his crusades. She died on September 1, 1977 at age 80 from uterine cancer, kidney failure and other ailments in Chatsworth, California.
Waters' recording of "Stormy Weather" (1933) was honored by the Library of Congress. It was listed in the National Recording Registry in 2003.