- Born: November 23, 1897 in David City, NE
- Years Active: 1924-1953
- Genre: World & Reggae
- Similar Artists: Bessie Smith, The Boswell Sisters, Annette Hanshaw, Freddie Keppard, Eddie Lang, McKinney's Cotton Pickers, Lee Wiley, Red Nichols, Connee Boswell, Adelaide Hall, Charlie Johnson, Irving Mills, Frank Teschemacher, Jimmy Blythe, Clifford Hayes, Sophie Tucker, Elisabeth Welch, Greta Keller, Tommy Ladnier, Isham Jones, Helen Kane, Jeanette MacDonald, Clarence Williams, The Original Memphis Five, State Street Ramblers, Vaughn DeLeath, Marion Harris, Blossom Seeley
One of the most popular singers of the late-'20s/early-'30s period, Ruth Etting was not really a jazz singer (unlike her contemporary, Annette Hanshaw) but a superior middle-of-the-road pop singer who was often accompanied by top jazz musicians. She recorded over 200 songs between 1926-1937, appeared on-stage, was in 35 film shorts and three full-length movies, and was a fixture on radio before her bad marriage cut short her career. She made a minor comeback in the late '40s and was still singing on an occasional basis in the mid-'50s when a semi-fictional Hollywood movie on her life (Love Me or Leave Me) was released. A superb torch singer with a cry in her voice even when she smiled, Etting recorded the definitive versions of "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide