Teddi King

Who was Teddi King?

Teddi King was an American jazz and pop vocalist. Born Theodora King in Boston, Massachusetts on September 18, 1929, she won a singing competition hosted by Dinah Shore at Boston's Tributary Theatre, later beginning work in a touring revue involved with "cheering up the military in the lull between the Second World War and the Korean conflict." Improving her vocal and piano technique during this time, she first recorded with Nat Pierce in 1949, later recording with the Beryl Booker trio and with several other small groups from 1954-1955. She then toured with George Shearing for two years beginning in the summer of 1952, and for a time was managed by the famed George Wein. King later began performing for a time in Las Vegas.

Ultimately signing with RCA, she recorded three albums for the label, beginning with 1956's Bidin' My Time. She also had some minor chart success with the singles "Mr. Wonderful", "Married I Can Always Get" and "Say It Isn't So". Her critically praised 1959 album All the Kings' Songs found her interpreting the signature songs of contemporary male singers like Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. In the 1960s, she opened the Playboy Club, where she often performed. After developing lupus, she managed to make a brief comeback with a 1977 album featuring Dave McKenna, and with two more albums recorded for Audiophile released posthumously. She eventually died of the disease on November 18, 1977. King's style, influenced by Lee Wiley, Mildred Bailey and Mabel Mercer, has won her a small but devoted cult following.