Susannah McCorkle born 1 January 1946

Susannah McCorkle (January 1, 1946 – May 19, 2001) was an American jazz and cabaret singer who performed in major clubs and concert halls throughout the world. She had 22 records releases with two of them done after her death. In addition to being an accomplished singer, she also was a published writer.

She was born in Berkeley, California, where her father taught anthropology, the family moving to other US cities as he took new university appointments. She studied Italian literature at UCLA, dropped out and then later returned to graduate. Disillusioned with the American political system, she looked for fulfillment in Europe, studying languages while taking translation and broadcasting jobs in Germany, France and Italy.

She also developed a genuine writing talent, winning prizes and contributing to the O Henry short-story anthology. Her non-fiction included well received profiles of Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith and Irving Berlin, published in the prestigious American Heritage magazine.

All of this was set aside once McCorkle heard Billie Holiday on record while in Paris. "Billie Holiday was the reason I started singing," she said. "It was her emotional directness that got to me." Following this Damascene moment, McCorkle rejected an offer to work as a translator for the European Community and moved to Italy, teaching English to pay the bills and pursuing every available opportunity to sing.

She came to London in 1972, encouraged by the vitality and extent of local jazz, and was soon taken up by altoist Bruce Turner and trumpeter John Chilton, with whose groups she appeared regularly, often at the lively Sunday lunch sessions at New Merlin's Cave in Kings Cross. She also formed a close relationship with pianist Keith Ingham, which blossomed on recordings devoted to the songwriters Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer.

Her growing ease in performance brought her engagements with visiting American stars like Ben Webster and the lyrical cornetist Bobby Hackett, who described her as "the best singer since Billie Holiday". With her light, clear voice, McCorkle could suggest something of Holiday's vulnerability; commentators and fans alike were drawn to her "singing without frills", as she concentrated on the great songs of the 1930s.

After a successful season at the Riverboat Room, Manhattan, in 1975, McCorkle returned to London to appear at Ronnie Scott's Club and the Pizza Express in Soho, also recording two solo albums. In 1980, she settled in New York and began to consolidate her position as a leading performer of classic popular numbers, in jazz-inflected style, albeit with limited improvisation, supported by the best musicians of the day.

                              

  Here’s “Fascinating Rhythm” From the album “No More Blues.”

Following an association with Inner City, which resulted in four albums, she moved to the mainstream Concord label, where she enjoyed her most fruitful period as a pop-jazz singer. 

Her many recordings confirmed her status as a distinctive songstress, her silky voice now deeper and more emotionally rounded, while also revealing her gifts as a lyricist with her translations of Brazilian songs, including many by Jobim.

She won three Album of the Year awards from Stereo Review, appeared at the Algonquin Hotel, devised her own cabaret shows, and performed in concert with Skitch Henderson at Carnegie Hall.

Clearly a troubled woman despite her many successes, McCorkle never concealed her difficulties, overcoming a compulsive eating problem and leading Freedom From Smoking clinics. A breast cancer survivor, McCorkle offered performances for children and music therapy for cancer victims. 

What pulled her through in large part was her music. Her particular gift was for interpreting songs, the buoyant as well as the rueful. In elegant evening gowns and a pixie haircut, she held the room with her smoky voice, delivering songs unadorned.

She had a history of clinical depression and in her last few weeks her career had also been dealt a double blow. She learned that her record company, Concord Jazz, was not releasing a new CD of hers, only a compilation of her past work. She also learned that the Algonquin Hotel, where she had performed for the last 11 years, was not renewing her annual engagement. To friends, this professional drought was one more hurdle for a woman with a long history of personal pain. She had been on and off antidepressants.

On May 19, 2001, she died at the age 55 by leaping off the balcony of her high-rise apartment at 41 West 86th Street in Manhattan. She was alone in her home at the time. The police immediately entered her home after identifying her body and found no foul play. Suicide was ruled the cause of death.  Although McCorkle might not have been quite famous, she was well above anonymous. She could fill rooms in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, but her emphasis on jazz as well as standards made her something out of the ordinary in cabaret.

(Edited from the Guardian, New York Times & Wikipedia)