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Singer
and actress was born in New York. Raised by her actress mother, Edna
Scottron Horne, by age 16 Lena was dancing at Harlem's Cotton Club.
Her stunning looks and electric voice captivated the audience and she
soon became a popular singer with bands such as those of Noble Sissle
and Teddy Wilson. Her popularity and talent eventually led her to her
performance in the musical Blackbirds (1939). By 1938 she was making
movies and she became the first African-American to be signed to a long-term
contract (although her scenes were sometimes excised for distribution
in the South). Due to her apparent talent the obtained a role in the
film Stormy Weather (1943), which soon after became her signature. After
her stunning performance she was blacklisted in the early 1950s. She
was being chastised was primarily for two reasons, one was for her relationship
with Paul Robeson and secondly for her outspokenness about discrimination.
but she performed in the musical Jamaica (1957) and later made several
movies. She toured Europe and the United States as a nightclub singer,
spoke out against racism, and published her autobiography, Lena (1965).
Lena
Horne, had an ageless beauty and a very appealing personality, however,
she was never really a jazz singer as much as a superior pop vocalist
(this is mostly because she did not improvise). Horne started performing
when she was six years old, she sang and danced at the Cotton Club as
early as 1934, and performed with Noble Sissle's Orchestra (1935-36).
Lena Horne recorded with Teddy Wilson in the late '30s and sang with
Charlie Barnet's big band during 1940-41. She also recorded with Artie
Shaw (1941) and made major impressions in the films Boogie Woogie Dream
(actually a jazz short), Cabin in the Sky and especially Stormy Weather.
Married to arranger/pianist Lennie Hayton, Horne has been a popular
attraction since the 1940s, but her connection with jazz (even when
she sings veteran swing standards) is peripheral. A Bluebird compilation
of some of her best early. Lena Horne (1917-present) was born on June 17, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Teddy Horne, was born into a prominent family in their black neighborhood. He had failed at many jobs and finally decided that he could make easy money gambling, so he started to do so illegally. When Lena was three years old, her father left Lena and her mother. Soon after, her mother, Edna Scottron Horne, left as well to find New York. Lena's grandparents then took care of her. Her grandparents were both eccentric and wealthy. Lena's grandmother influenced her to become involved in such organizations as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); a program designed to benefit African Americans in their troubles. In 1924 Lena went to live with her mother in New York. When she reached the ripe old age of fourteen, she dropped out of high school, and went to work at an "all whites" club. The "talent artist" of the place let her work there because she had talent and very light skin for an African American. After this, she went on a musical tour with Noble Blessie. Soon after this she advanced and maintained a major theatrical role. This was her big break. Also around this time she met her future husband and later had two children (one was named Teddy after her father). She then started into movies. After her acting career ended, she began to work in nightclubs, and managed to make a pretty hefty salary. She usually received about $10,000 a week, and at the most: $60,000 a week. Now Lena Horne currently resides in New York and is still living her life beautifully.
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