Annie Ross

One of the wittiest and most able practioners of the bop vocal style called vocalese, Annie Ross was born in England to Scottish vaudeville performers but was raised in Los Angeles by her aunt, singer Ella Logan. Ross came to prominence in 1952 with her hit, "Twisted," in which she set her original sardonic lyrics to a solo by saxophonist Wardell Grey. Following a mid-'50s sojourn in Paris with cabaret singers Blossom Dearie and Bob Dorough, Ross collaborated with bop vocalists Jon Hendricks and Dave Lambert on the landmark SING A SONG OF BASIE in 1957, and helped form the celebrated vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Ross left L,H & R in 1962 and has pursued an episodic solo and acting career since.