Shirley Witherspoon - Where Do I Sign

1. Strange Fruit 2:17
2. Please Send Me Someone To Love 10:03
3. Where Do I Sign 4:32
4. Live It Up 9:00
5. Fairy Tales For Two 5:27
6. One Hundred Ways 5:45
7. Save Your Love For Me 4:26
8. Stormy Monday Blues 3:36

Shirley Witherspoon: Vocal
Bobby Peterson: Piano
Jack McDuff: Organ
Tom West: Piano
Irv Williams : Sax
Tim Sparks: Guitar
Brian Mintz Violin
James Riccardo: Violin
Jay Young: Bass
Jay Epstein: Drums
George Avaloz: Drums
Daryl Boudreaux: Percussion
Diane Witherspoon, Gwen Matthews, Duane Witherspoon: Vocals
Recorded 1993

We acknowledge the life and times of Shirley Lee Witherspoon (April 30, 1942 - June 12, 2003); an African-American jazz vocalist.
From Minneapolis, MN Shirley Witherspoon was 28 when she performed her first song with Duke Ellington's band. This was at the presidential inauguration ball for Richard Nixon in 1969. In her mind, though, she still had a lot to learn. "I was a fool; I didn't know what I had [then]," she told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1989. With one daughter, Teal, and seven grandchildren living in Minneapolis, Witherspoon grew up on the north side of the city with eight other siblings who all sang. Her cousin was blues legend Jimmy Witherspoon.
After graduating from North High School, Witherspoon got her start singing in local jazz clubs such as the Blue Note. That led to stages where Duke Ellington spotted her. After her one-year stint with Ellington, she moved to California and withdrew from music. Moving back to Minneapolis in 1979, she sang with local bands (the Wolverines), in solo shows and in theatrical productions. She was similar in style to Etta James and Ruth Brown. Witherspoon was authentic musically and as a person. After living in Baltimore for several years, she returned to Minneapolis in 1989 and had a successful career in the theater.
Shirley Witherspoon was a jazz vocalist with a heavy gospel influence, who was often compared to blues shouter Etta James and jazz legend Dinah Washington. Her first big break came as a vocalist with Duke Ellington in 1969. Although the engagement was brief, it did include some memorable moments, including a performance at the inauguration of President Nixon. She spent the '70s in Los Angeles, but returned to her home of Minneapolis, MN, in the '80s, building a strong following and reputation through her own local showcases and tributes to Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith. She eventually recorded two albums of jazz standards, Where Do I Sign? in 1993 and Magic & Love in 1999. Health problems began to take their toll on the singer in the '00s, and she died of heart failure on June 12, 2003.