Dorothy "Dodo" Greene 1920-2006

[White Lightning]

Dorothy "Dodo" Greene, First Woman to Record for Blue Note, Dies

Written By: Roxana Hadadi

Dorothy “Dodo” Greene, a singer who recorded for the Blue Note label and was a staple of the jazz scene in her hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., died July 21 in her home after a long illness. Her family believes she was 86, according to the Buffalo News.

Greene made jazz history in 1962 when she became the first woman to record for Blue Note, releasing My Hour of Need with liner notes by Nat Hentoff. In 1996, Blue Note re-released that legendary album. More recently, Greene was a regular performer at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo and sang there every weekend for 14 years.

Greene grew up in Buffalo and performed at the Moonglow and Colored Musicians Club before leaving for New York City in 1959. She was soon featured in Jet and Cashbox magazines. She also performed regularly at the Cotton Club with Cab Calloway and became friends with pianist Al Tinney and fellow singer Ella Fitzgerald, who substituted for Greene one night when the singer had laryngitis, the Buffalo News reports.

During her 14 years at the Anchor Bar, Greene entertained countless audiences with ballads like “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Lover Man” and crowd-pleasers like “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.”

Greene is survived by a sister, Alice.

http://jazztimes.com/columns_and_features/news/detail.cfm

Edited August 8, 2006 by White Lightning

[EKE BBB]

RIP

[Hardbopjazz]

Sad News. I guess 86 is a good long life. I'll play "My Hour of Need" tonight. I really do enjoy that record, and why not, when you have Ike Quebec and Grant Green backing you.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Hardbopjazz

[Dan Gould]

I'm with Tom on this, I don't understand why people hate this record.

RIP, Miss Greene.

[JSngry]

Greene made jazz history in 1962 when she became the first woman to record for Blue Note...

What was Jutta Hipp, a transvestite?

(and I don't eveen pretend to know if there was anybody from the 78 era who qualifies...)`

[JSngry]

I'm with Tom on this, I don't understand why people hate this record.

I understand why, but I don't in any way share those feelings. It's a perfectly fine document of a certain "slice of life" from a certain time, far more honest as such than some might realize. It's hard to ask for more than that out of any record.

[Eric]

Whay catalog no. 9001? Seems out of order?

[Stereojack]

Why catalog no. 9001? Seems out of order?

Blue Note began a new series when they decided to record vocalists. There were only two releases in this series, the other (9002) was by Sheila Jordan.

[brownie]

Sad to hear of her passing away! That 'Hour of Need' was a very enjoyable album!

Wish I had a chance to hear her live!

[sidewinder]

Again, sad news. I've never heard the Blue Note album but the comments here make me want to check it out. RIP.

[BruceH]

That album looks good. Love to find a copy. (Wasn't a color cover a bit rare for 1962?) If it's half as good as the Sheila Jordan then it's worth having. RIP

[Swinging Swede]

Greene made jazz history in 1962 when she became the first woman to record for Blue Note...

What was Jutta Hipp, a transvestite?

I've seen this claim, that Dodo Greene was the first woman to record for Blue Note, before. But really, how can anyone overlook Jutta Hipp who had several Blue Note LPs under her own name? She's not a woman, because she's German?!

And if we include sideman sessions (or should I say sidewoman sessions), these women also had recorded for Blue Note:

Vivian Smith (p) on the Pigmeat Markham session in 1945.

Lorraine Geller (p) on one of the Best From The West sessions in 1954.

Jutta Hipp (p) in 1956 obviously.

Sarah Bavo (voc) on the Sabu Martinez session in 1957.

Dottie Dudley (org) on the Leon Eason 45 session in 1959.

Shirley Scott (org) on Stanley Turrentine's "Dearly Beloved" session in 1961.

In any case, I picked up the Dodo Greene Connoisseur several years ago and remember noticing an obvious Dinah Washington influence in her. And Dinah Washington is probably my favourite female singer. Haven't listened to the Dodo Greene in a long time though. Will have to rectify that soon.

[BruceH]

Greene made jazz history in 1962 when she became the first woman to record for Blue Note...

What was Jutta Hipp, a transvestite?

I've seen this claim, that Dodo Greene was the first woman to record for Blue Note, before. But really, how can anyone overlook Jutta Hipp who had several Blue Note LPs under her own name? She's not a woman, because she's German?!

I wondered about that myself. Just another example of a long-standing truism: When most journalists write about jazz they don't bother to get their facts straight.