Joya Sherrill, the singer who died in late June at the age of 85, joined Duke Ellington and
his Orchestra in 1942 following her high school graduation. One of her features through the mid-forties was the Billy Strayhorn-Rex Stewart collaboration “Kissing Bug.” The song received a good deal of radio air play and in its V-disc version became a favorite of the troops as World War Two wound down. Here is the V-disc performance, followed by a brief take on Ellington’s “Carnegie Blues.” Ben Webster’s successor in the band, Al Sears, is the tenor saxophone soloist.
Ms. Sherrill worked off and on with Ellington for most of her performing life. She was with the Benny Goodman band that toured the Soviet Union in 1962. In the 1970s, she hosted the childrens program Time For Joya on one of my alma maters, WPIX-TV in New York City.
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
One of my all-time favorite singers, Ellingtonian or otherwise!
You can view an episode of “Time For Joya” at the following link:
http://www.tvparty.com/lostny2joya2.html
its no surprise that miss joya is gone to the pearly gates,and she usually bring the duke to her children’s show-joyas fun school. for years going back and forth to goldsboro,nc to new york,i cant get enough of her smooth velvet voice. at first i didnt know she sung with duke ellington. one wrote on youtube knew mr. b.b. who done the luther comic strip was last seen in londonm. im a singer,human rights advocate and entertainer. but its not so wiseful to lost a talent we knew her from jazz 798’s to tv. she was strfuly magnificent. i give my all to her brave courage to set her show for children over the middkle east in 1982. you are my favourite jazz chantuse and you always be rembered with a show many children like me to live with. i wish you are my mom. and you are the second black singer to do a children’s showe. i love my grandmother so much we talked a lot also-i missed her last year. thanks mama joya for the songs youn sang for us. goooodbye,sorry to leave, now it is time to say-good-bye. rip mama sherill.
Uhh….
Was listening to the Duke Ellington CD “Falling in Love with Duke” and was captured by the voice of the lady singing the song “All of a Sudden My Heart Sings” Wow! The linernotes identified her as Joya Sherrill, and a quick Google revealed she passed away earlier this year. Belated thoughts of comfort to her family and friends