b. c.1954, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. After taking piano lessons as a child, Ryce tried various other instruments but it was as a singer that she entered the music business. She first worked professionally in Toledo, Ohio, singing to her own piano and guitar accompaniment. She worked on the Midwest club circuit for some years and while in Charlotte, North Carolina, was heard by pianist-arranger-composer-broadcaster Loonis McGlohon. Guided by McGlohon, Ryce refined her vocal style and began recording. Although Ryce consciously avoids stylistic influences, she admires singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter and Cleo Laine, while the writing and playing of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell have also made their mark. With a strong and liquid vocal sound, Ryce’s performances of slow and medium tempo ballads are particularly attractive, and she always sings with an underlying swing.