Claire Austin

Claire Austin (November 21, 1918 - June 17, 1994)[1] (born Augusta Marie)[2] was an American blues and jazz singer and pianist from the Pacific Northwest.[2]

She was born to Swedish-American parents in Yakima, Washington.[2] She played in nightclubs throughout the northwest in the 1930s,[3] toured with the Chuck Austin Band in the 1940s across the U.S.[2] She had retired from professional singing by the early 1950s, and was working as an accountant for the state of California in West Sacramento;[4] after singing with Turk Murphy, she drove to San Francisco frequently for a couple of years to perform.[4] She remained active through the 1970s.[5] Her singing style has been compared to Peggy Lee.[6] She was married to Chuck Austin, with whom she had three children.

References

  1. ↑ "Claire Austin". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Blues Who's Who. ISBN 0-87000-425-5.
  3. ↑ Ron Wynn (1918-11-21). "Claire Austin | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Glackin, William (May 24, 1996). "REVISITING JAZZ GREATS: A FORCE THAT SHAPED THE MUSIC". The Sacramento Bee.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Claire Austin Sings When Your Lover Has Gone : Claire Austin". Concord Music Group. Retrieved 2014-07-12.