Aida Ward (February 11, 1900 – June 23, 1984[1]) was an American jazz singer. Born in Washington, D.C., Ward rose to fame in the 1920s and 1930s in New York, on Broadway and at Harlem's Cotton Club.[2] She appeared alongside Adelaide Hall and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the hit Broadway musical revue Blackbirds of 1928.[3]
Throughout the 1930s, Ward appeared regularly at the Cotton Club, performing with Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway.[4] She was associated with the introduction of the songs "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea"[5] and "I've Got the World on a String"[6] at the Cotton Club in 1931-2. She also starred at Harlem's Apollo Theater.
- ^ Salamone, Frank; Wintz, Cary (2004). Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance: K-Y. Taylor & Francis. pp. 1234–5. ISBN 9781579584580. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Jessica Carney; Phelps, Shirelle (1996). Notable Black American Women, Book 2. Detroit: Gale Research. pp. 674–675. ISBN 0810391775. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ "Inside the Playbill: Blackbirds of 1928 - May 1928 at Liberty Theatre". Playbill Vault. Playbill, Inc. 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ "Obituaries: Aida Ward, Club Singer". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 26, 1984.
- ^ Jablonski, Edward (1996). Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues. Northeastern University Press. p. 365. ISBN 9781555533663. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ^ Jasen, David (2003). Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song. Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 9781135949013. Retrieved February 3, 2015.