Sarah Lois Vaughn was born on March 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey, to her parents Asbury Jake a carpenter, and Ada Vaughn. Sarah developed an early love for popular music on records and on the radio. In the 1930’s Newark had a very active live music scene and Vaughn frequently sawed local and touring bands in the city and at venues like the Montgomery Street Skating rink, by her mid teens Vaughn began venturing illegally into Newark nightclubs performing as a pianist and occasionally a singer at the Piccadilly Club and the Newark Airport USO; Vaughn was thrust immediately into stardom after a winning amateur night performance at the Harlem Zeus, Theater; she was frequently accompanied by a friend Doris Robinson on her trip into New York City. In the fall of 1942, Vaughn suggested …show more content…
Vaughn later decided to go back and compete herself as a singer, she sang “Body and Soul”, and won the contest. The prize was $10.00 and the promise of a week’s engagement at the Apollo Theater. After a considerable delay Vaughn was contacted by the Apollo in the spring of 1943, and was allowed to open for Ella Fitzgerald. Sometime during her week of performances at the Apollo, Vaughn spent the remainder of 1943 and part of 1944 touring the country with Earl Fatha Hine’s big band. She was later hired as a pianist; in 1945 she began her solo career by freelancing in clubs in New York’s 52th Street, clubs such as the Three Deuces, The Famous Door, The Downbeat and the Onyx Club. Sarah Vaughn became quite famous. In late 1980’s her health began to decline, although she rarely revealed any hints during her performances. She cancelled a series of engagements in Europe in 1989 citing the need for treatment for her arthritis in her hands; she completed a series of engagements in Japan. During a performance at New York Blue Note Jazz Club in 1989, she received a diagnosis of lung cancer and was too ill to finish the final day of what would turn out to be her final series of public