Ruth Etting - Shaking The Blues Away 1927

Ruth Etting (Nov.23,1896 - Sept.24,1978) was an American singing star of the 1930s, who had over sixty hit recordings.

Rising to fame in the twenties and early thirties, Ruth Etting was renowned for her great beauty, her gorgeous voice and her tragic life. She starred on Broadway, made movies in Hollywood, married a mobster, had numerous hit-records, fell in love and was known as America's Sweetheart of Song.

Born in David City, Nebraska, Ruth left home at seventeen for Chicago and art school. She got a job designing costumes at a night club called the Marigold Gardens and when the tenor got sick, she was pulled into the show since she was the only one who could sing low enough. That led to dancing in the chorus line and eventually featured solos. Her career in costume design and art was soon forgotten.


The blond hair and blue eyes and stunning voice all led to her being dubbed the Sweetheart of Columbia Records, America's Radio Sweetheart, and finally America's Sweetheart of Song. She began to experiment with tempo and phrasing during this period in her career. Her trademark was to change the tempo - alternating between normal tempo, half-time and double-time to create and maintain interest.


Ruth Etting made her first record in 1926 and her last in 1937. Completely lacking in the performer's ego, she called her early recordings corny and kept none of her original 78's. In 1955 her story was made into a movie, ultimately nominated for six Academy Awards and winning the Award for Best Story.

Ruth Etting died on September 24 1978, in Colorado Springs.


Ruth Etting - Shaking The Blues Away (1927)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ruth
• Etting
• 1927
• 20s
• 30s

[SuperSimoholic]

@Chengetai2005 It's not her fault, back then that wasn't considered racist, there was no such thing in that time! At least she's saying "we should do what they do" and not "don't do it because they do it and it's disgusting".

[Edisonfans19]

Thanks for the recording. This is helping me to, open my mind to a lot of other great artists from the teens and twenties. I never realized how much great music there was back then. Especially songs I never even heard of before.

[scotbrad94]

People need to stop looking at the past in a present perspective, yes saying *darkies* is inappropriate nowadays but back in the 20s it was accepted. Perspective does change over time people need to understand that!

Just enjoy the music instead of getting flustered over things that happened 85 years ago.

[imamymay]

she's endorsing something not talking down. it maybe be a slight parody but not meant as an insult I don't think.

[56Edify]

@Chengetai2005 I am willing to bet you would be able to find recordings of this song recorded by Black around the same time. What are you suggesting? That everything in history that offends your half-assed sensibilities and political correctness by buried?

[GMYellowstone]

@auaiao9 Well said!

[Mistertinman]

I think the lyrics are cute. And I hear blacks today use the N word all the time. Nothing wrong with this song. It suggests the hue just like the term, "black". But, of course, it isn't the hue; it's what you do. And what the darkies do is shack the blues away. Another thing, what kind of sense does, "Do as the voodoos do," make?

[auaiao9]

@edwardjames50 Blacks also like to call whites, "white" while the whites are supposed to call the blacks, African American. Fair is fair, we should be called Caucasian.

[auaiao9]

@Chengetai2005 Yes she did and you can't change history. The lyrics have since been changed.

[edwardjames50]

@Chengetai2005 ~ Oh, grow up! It was a different time, and you can't judge yesterday's art by today's standards.

[Chengetai2005]

@SuperSimoholic

true that lol i was just shocked thats all ....do like the darkies do ...primitive and shiiiii lol thats what i heard  ...but i do get it ....it was acceptable at that time