Sarah Vaughan truly seated herself in the upper echelon of female jazz singers with her incredible voice and vocal innovation. Her range and vocal abilities in general were matched by few during her heyday and even fewer since. Born in New Jersey in 1924, Vaughan first found her voice the same way many young singers do, through church. After spending her youth harnessing her voice and learning to play the piano, Vaughan blew away the competition at an amateur contest at the famous Apollo Theater.

After being delayed by a musician's recording strike in early part of the 1940s, Vaughan made her recording debut with the help of friend Billy Eckstine. While a part of Eckstine's orchestra, she made the acquaintance of jazz legends Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, two men that would have a significant influence on her singing style.

In the mid ‘40s Vaughan broke out on her own as a solo artist. Her appearance may have held her career back if not for the most impressive pipes that anyone had ever laid ears on. She worked with both Gillespie and Parker in getting her foot in the door and the addition of bop-phrasing to her repertoire in the latter part of the decade helped her make significant progress as a vocalist.

Vaughan's popularity really began to grow during the early ‘50s while she was recording for Columbia. Her 1950 collaboration with Jimmy Jones and Miles Davis showed that she was ready to tango with the big boys. She would continue to record throughout ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, never losing a beat along the way. She faded away once the ‘80s rolled around, but it's safe to say that a solo career of over 40 years is more than admirable. Vaughan passed away in 1990, leaving a legacy of a magnitude that would be difficult for anyone to duplicate.