Chris Connor

The American jazz singer Chris Connor was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 8, 1927. She studied clarinet as a girl, and at the age of 18 she was given the opportunity to sing at a college graduation ceremony. The positive reception from the audience convinced her she should pursue a career as a professional singer. After moving to New York, a chance meeting with Joe Green, the manager of the well-known orchestra leader Claude Thornhill, Connor secured an audition with the band leader. Thornhill liked what he heard and Connor was recruited for his touring ensemble. The experience gained with Claude Thornhill's band helped the young singer secure a position in the up-and-coming Stan Kenton band. After recording a number of hits with Kenton performing on songs such as “All About Ronnie”, “Jeepers Creepers”, and “I Get a Kick Out of You”, Connors decided the punishing work schedule was too much and she left to begin her solo career. She went on to become the first white female jazz singer to be signed by Atlantic and her debut album for them, 1956’s Chris Connor, became a jazz standard with definitive readings of such classics as “I Wonder What Became of Me” and “It’s All Right with Me”, as well as the Cole Porter classics “I Get a Kick Out of You” and “Anything Goes”. She continued to work until the early 2000s and released her final record in 2002. She died from cancer on August 29, 2009 aged 81.