In the Classroom

Betty Roche, a blues and bebop stylist in the ’40s and ’50s By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

If by chance and good fortune you have heard one of the most popular versions of Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train,” then you undoubtedly were enthralled by the voice of Betty Roche, and her marvelous interpretation of this classic.

But giving voice to an Ellington favorite is but one aspect of Roche’s remarkable singing career that was most evident in her jazz and blues recordings. She was born Mary Elizabeth Roach or Roche, depending on the source, on Jan. 9, 1918, in Wilmington, Delaware and raised by her grandparents in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Like Ella Fitzgerald, she zoomed onto the musical genre as a teenager after winning a contest at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Show in 1939. Two years later she was a featured vocalist with the Savoy Sultans. With this group she made her debut recording just before the ensemble disbanded. That song was entitled “At’s in There,” with no indication who At was. In 1943, she was in front of the Ellington orchestra, having replaced Ivie Anderson. A year later she appeared in “Reveille with Beverly” in a film with Count Basie and Frank Sinatra, in which she performed a version of “Take the A Train” but because of the AFM recording ban it did not make it to disc, a ban that disrupted her career and many others. She met a similar fate when she sang Ellington’s performance of “Black, Brown and Beige” at Carnegie Hall, delivering the blues segment of the composition, and by the time the ban was lifted she was no longer with the orchestra. Her reputation with Duke’s band made her available for several other notable leaders, including tenor saxophone immortal Lester Young and trumpeter Hot Lips Page in the mid-’40s. She was often on the bandstand at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem with such musical giants as Thelonious Monk and drummer Kenny Clarke. In 1944, Roche was again with a topflight band, joining Earl Hines and his group, where she also recorded. It is not clear why she took a seven-year hiatus from performing before rejoining the Ellington’s band in 1951, whereupon she recorded an extended version of “Take the A Train.” Three years later she left the band and embarked on a rather erratic odyssey, though she continued recording for Bethlehem and the Prestige labels. She settled in San Diego, Calif., working only occasionally in clubs with various groups. It was during this period she had a role in the recording of “The Complete Porgy and Bess.” Roche was a formidable stylist whether in an uptempo bebop tune or in a more soulful blues number. As one reporter noted, quoting Ellington, Roche “had a soul inflection in a bop state of intrigue and every word was understandable despite the sophisticated hip and jive connotations.” Her discography was reflective of a singer seemingly only half interested in promoting her career, including “Take the A Train” on the Bethlehem label in 1956; “Singin’ & Swingin’” for Prestige in 1960; and “Lightly and Politely” for Prestige in 1961. There were numerous occasions when her appearances were not reported and she was often in the company on tuneful journeys with such leaders as Clark Terry and pianist Charles Brown. On Feb. 16, 1999, Roche died in Pleasantville, New Jersey at 81, and was survived by several grandchildren.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

We are still in pursuit of information about Roche, especially her early years and how she became a vocalist.

DISCUSSION

After making such a considerable splash on the music scene, we wonder why she took a long hiatus.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

She was born during World War I and when the flu epidemic ravaged the nation and the globe and lived to almost make it into the 21st century..

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

April 25, 1917: Renowned singer Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Va. She died June 15, 1996, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

April 25, 1923: Blues legend guitarist Albert King was born in Indianola, Miss. He died in Memphis on Dec. 21, 1992.

April 27, 1968: Dr. Vincent Porter became the first African American certified in plastic surgery.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Leader Carl Heastie were unsuccessful.

Famously, the Black teenage boys that were labeled the Central Park Five and then the Exonerated Five were interrogated by cops for hours and held in custody until they got a confession out of them.

Bailey and Joyner also introduced Family Court Delinquency Discovery Reform (S4554/A4952) which would “provide rights in criminal proceedings that were put in place with the enactment of CPL Article 245.”

CPL Article 245 addresses the discovery process during court procedures.

Dawne Mitchell, attorney-in-charge of the juvenile rights practice at The Legal Aid Society, hopes Hochul and company hear their cries despite the current noise around City Hall.

“Our clients continue to suffer from decades of deeply flawed practices in both the juvenile legal and child welfare systems that forever shape the lives of Black and Latinx children and families,” stated Mitchell. “This package of legislation reinvests in children and families, and ushers in key overdue reforms. The Legal Aid Society calls on Governor Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and Speaker Heastie to enact these measures immediately this session.”

The Legal Aid Society wasn’t the only group that wanted Albany to know that they weren’t standing on the virtual sidelines either.

The New York County Defenders Services along with Legal Aid, The Bronx Defenders, The Queens Defenders, The Brooklyn Defender Services and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem have pushed legislators to pass the gaggle of criminal reforms before session ends in June.

Some of these legislations include the Treatment Not Jail Act introduced by New York State Senator Jessica Ramos and State Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest, and co-sponsored by Senators Cordell Cleare, Jabari Brisport, Michael Gianaris and Alessandra Biaggi. The legal groups are also advocating for the Clean Slate Act that addresses the sealing of records once someone has served their time.

In a statement the NYC Defenders said that these bills should be Albany’s priority.

“In the remaining weeks of the legislative session, lawmakers must prioritize and pass bills that will address root causes of criminal legal system involvement—reforms that decarcerate jails and prisons and create safer communities,” read their statement. “The heavy hand of law enforcement has never solved the many issues facing neighborhoods we serve; it has only exacerbated them by fueling mass incarceration. It’s time Albany advances measures that center investment and prevention.”