“Betty Roche was an unforgettable singer," Duke Ellington wrote of his former vocalist in 1973. “She never sounded like anybody but Betty Roche." Roche, the so-called “blues specialist" whom some consider to be one of the best vocalists Ellington ever had, replaced the popular Ivie Anderson in Ellington's band in late 1942, just as the American Federation of Musicians ban on commercial recordings was about to take effect; it was the first of several bad breaks that gave her an undeserved low profile on records.
