Lu Elliott
| Lu Elliott | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Lucy Elliott |
| Born | August 3, 1924 |
| Died | March 5, 1987 (aged 62) |
| Years active | 1940s–1980s |
| Associated acts | Duke Ellington Orchestra, Benny Carter And His Orchestra, BB King, Sam Williams Express, Robert Banks |
Lu Elliot (August 3, 1924 – March 5, 1987) was a jazz and blues singer and recording artist. She also recorded some soul songs. Some of the artists she worked with were BB King, The Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Sam Williams Express.
Elliott was born on August 3, 1924. She was a tuba player in her high school band. As a teenager she won first prize at the amateur night held at Harlem's Apollo Theater.
She was married to guitarist Horace C. Sims, who had played in a band called Afro Cubanaires. In 1952, she and her husband bought a 14-room house in East Orange, New Jersey.
During her career she had appeared on the Steve Allen Show and had spent a year working with BB King in the United States as well as touring Europe.
Her sister Billie Lee was also a singer.
In September 1949 and new on the scene, she provided the vocals on "He's The Greatest Thing There Is" with the Duke Ellington Orchestra that was recorded in New York. She appeared on another recording by the orchestra in late January 1950. Both she and Al Hibbler provided the vocals on "How High the Moon". She left the band in February 1950. For a period of time she was a singer in the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. It was revealed in the March 4, 1954 edition of Jet Magazine that she was the only woman tuba player in the musicians union.
In 1960, her single "One" / "Big Joe" was released on ABC Paramount. Billboard referred to it as an "Emotion packed" ballad.
In January 1967, it was reported that she was returning to recording, with a three-year contract that had just been signed with ABC-Paramount. In February, she began a nation-wide tour with BB King. In April 1967, Billboard reported that she had gone to Australia for six weeks of dates in hotels and theaters. Later that year, she appeared at the Chevron-Hilton in Sydney, Australia. She stayed there for an extra month. Her 1967 album Way Out From Down Under received a favorable review from Billboard. The album was arranged and conducted by Johnny Pate. It is quite possible that her time in Australia was an influence on the title of the album, which featured her with a kangaroo on the front cover.
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