born Jan. 9, 1918 Betty Roché "I Got It Bad"

Mary Elizabeth Roché (January 9, 1918 – February 16, 1999) was an American blues singer. Though she had a sporadic career, she became most noted for her version of “Take the “A“ Train“ with its composer Duke Ellington, and “was famous for her strong, dramatic way of putting across blues material“. Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 3 References 4 External links Biography Roché was born in Wilmington, Delaware, as Mary Elizabeth Roach, and was raised by her grandparents in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater after settling in New York City in 1939, and then joined the Savoy Sultans, with whom she made her first recordings in 1941. The following year, she joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra to make the film Reveille with Beverly, which also featured Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. She performed “Take the A Train“ in the film, but the AFM recording ban meant that she could n