Sallie Blair

American sultry jazz singer from the 1950's-60's.
Born April 27, 1934 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Died February 17, 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Married to pianist René DeKnight (1963-, divorce).
Sallie Blair drifted into music as a child. She took her stage name while at Douglass High School, then spelling it Sally with a Y, and gained experience singing with local bands that encouraged her to change her brunette hair to blonde. So in 1952 she made her first mark as the blonde, band singer with the Johnny Otis Band of Hand Jive fame.
Subsequently, she sang with the Illinois Jacquet and Duke Ellington bands. In July 1953, tired of one-nighters, she left the band business in Los Angeles to work as a single. Early in 1956, she began a solo career as Sallie Blair. In 1957, Cab Calloway signed her for his Cotton Club Revue. The show was a hit, and from then on, it was one triumph after another for the blonde bombshell.
Her sexy and intimate approach made her recordings ideal for radio programming and as a night-club singer. Walter Winchells column earned her spots on the Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson TV shows and she became an international star with appearances in South America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Blair didn't achieve success on the charts but gained a following for her sensual barefoot performances and became more known for her voluptuous figure and her sexy stage appearance than her music. Although her stage persona became more sophisticated in style of delivery, voice and dress with the years, one thing is for sure: Sallie Blair delivered more sex and surging, sultry emotion in a song than many singers in their whole careers.