Singers

Jazz and blues singer Mary Ann Fisher joined Ray Charles back in 1955 and toured with his band and many other rhythm and blues groups until the 1970s. She still performed in Louisville at the time of the interview. She talks about her career, other singers and musicians, and nightclubs of the 1940s.

A native of Louisville who has achieved some fame as a jazz musician, Helen Humes discusses her childhood and parents; Bessie Allen's Sunday School at Ninth and Magazine Street in Louisville, the childhood training ground for many local jazz musicians.

Mr. Key was a musician. He was born in Louisville but really launched his career in Chicago before touring as a singer. In this interview, he discusses his career, including the stint he did in the U.S. Army in Asia and Europe. He also discusses the music "scene" in Louisville in the middle of the twentieth century, beginning with the nightclubs that were open in the 1920s-1940s, under segregation, and including an assessment of the clubs hosting live music in the 1970s. Mr. Key also assesses the local talent, and discusses the difficulty of making it as a performer in Louisville.