Ruby Elzy

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Ruby Elzy also appeared on Broadway in the musical "John Henry", in films ("The Emperor Jones", "Birth of the Blues"), on radio and on the concert stage.

She entertained at the White House, December 15, 1937, for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's luncheon for the wives of U.S. Supreme Court Justices. She appeared with Paul Robeson in the film of "The Emperor Jones", and also with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin in "Birth of the Blues", though neither of these were starring roles. She sang at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and in the Hollywood Bowl. Born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, educated at Rust College, the Ohio State University and the Juilliard School, Elzy rose above poverty and prejudice to become one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation, but her career lasted barely a decade. She died at the age of thirty-five in 1943, just as she was reaching the peak of her powers as a singer and about to achieve her greatest dream: to star in the title role of Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida".

In 2006, Elzy's biographer, David E. Weaver, produced a first-ever CD compilation of Elzy, featuring the singer in twenty rare recorded and broadcast performances. The CD, entitled "Ruby Elzy in Song," was released on the Cambria label.

References

* David E. Weaver, "Black Diva of the Thirties: The Life of Ruby Elzy", University Press of Mississippi, September 2004.
* "The Sweet Sound of Ruby Elzy," review of CD Ruby Elzy in Song by Pultizer Prize-winning critic Lloyd Schwartz on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air," broadcast 28 June 2007: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11510015