Carol Sloane
Carol Sloane (born Carol Morvan; March 5, 1937 – January 23, 2023) was an American singer. She was described by critics as being one of jazz music's most underrated singers and was considered a successor to her predecessor, Ella Fitzgerald.
Sloane became interested in jazz listening to the radio as a teenager and started performing with a big band at age 14. She then joined Larry Elgart's orchestra in 1958 where she toured across the US and occasionally recorded. A performance at the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival was heard by Columbia Records who signed her to a contract the same year. The label released two albums of jazz material by Sloane: Out of the Blue (1962) and Carol Sloane Live at 30th Street (1963). She also made regular television appearances on television programs like The Steve Allen Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Her recording career waned as the decade progressed and she was dropped from Columbia by the mid 1960s.
Sloane had to take jobs outside of music to make ends meet but eventually returned to jazz after Japan rediscovered her. In the 1970s and 1980s, she made roughly ten albums for Japanese labels such as Sophisticated Lady (1977), Carol Sings (1979) and As Time Goes By (1982). She also lived in North Carolina during this time where she headlined routinely at the Frog and Nightgown club. However, Sloane was struggling financially again by the mid 1980s. She was then heard by singer Helen Keane who helped her sign with the US company, Contemporary Records where she recorded two albums, beginning with Love You Madly (1989). More albums were issued by Concord Jazz in the 1990s that brought renewed interest to her career and critical acclaim. Sloane continued recording and performing into the 2010s. Following her death, a documentary profiling her career was released titled Sloane: A Jazz Singer (2023).
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