Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American blues, jazz and gospel
vocalist
and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on
the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in
the 1920s singing blues.
Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah",
"Stormy Weather", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Heat Wave", "Supper
Time", "Am I Blue?", and "Cabin in the Sky", as well as her version of
the spiritual "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Waters was the second African
American, after Hattie McDaniel, to be nominated for an Academy Award.
