Ethel Waters - Am I Blue? 1929

1929 Song

Composed by Harry Akst

Lyrics by Grant Clarke

Published by M. Witmark & Sons

Featured in four films in 1929

Most noted with Ethel Waters in On With the Show

Ethel Waters

October 31, 1896 - September 1, 1977

American singer and actress

Genres considered - Jazz, Gospel, Blues

Noted performances in jazz, swing, and pop music on Broadway and in concerts

Well-known recordings - "Dinah," "Stormy Weather," "Taking a Chance on Love," "Chloe (Song of the Swamp)", "Heat Wave," "Supper Time," "Am I Blue?", "Birmingham Bertha," "Cabin in the Sky," "I'm Coming Virginia," & "His Eye Is on the Sparrow"

• Career Singing Highlights

Black vaudeville tours

Carnival traveling 

Performer in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s

Black Swan Records (American jazz & blues record label)

- 1921 to 1923

- Bought out by Paramount in 1924

- Remained with Paramount through 1924

Plantation Club on Broadway 

Toured with the Black Swan Dance Masters

"Dinah" - recorded for Columbia Records, 1925

"White time" Keith Vaudeville Circuit 

- Performances for a white audience

- Combined with silent film screenings

"Am I Blue?" 

- Arranged for the film, On with the Show

- Waters' signature song

• Career Film, Theater and Television Highlights

All-black film, Rufus Jones for President

- Featured child performer Sammy Davis Jr.

Featured role in the Irving Berlin musical, As Thousands Cheer

1942 film, Cairo

1942 all-black film musical, Cabin in the Sky

- Also starring Lena Horne

- "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe"

Academy-award nominated song

The Ethel Waters Show 

- 1939

- Included a dramatic performance of the Broadway play, Mamba's Daughters

• Honors 

Second African American to be nominated for an Oscar

- Best Supporting Actress for the 1949 film, Pinky

New York Drama Critics Circle Award win

- The Member of the Wedding 1950 play

First African American to star in her own television show

First African American to star a television series

- Beulah, 1950 - 1952

- First nationally broadcast weekly series starring an African American in a leading role

- Waters quit in 1951

Guest-starred in The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford (1957 & 1959) 

First African American to be nominated for an Emmy

- Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Series - "Goodnight Sweet Blues," 1962

• Awards & Honors

"Stormy Weather"

- Preserved in the National Recording Registry (2003)

Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (1983)

Inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame (2007)

Approved for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2004)

- Never installed

• Grammy Hall of Fame Awards

"Am I Blue?" - Inducted in 2007

"Stormy Weather" - Inducted in 2003

"Dinah" - Inducted in 1998

Hit Records

Filmography

Stage Appearances

(Wikipedia)