Sarah Vaughan

The incomparable Sarah Vaughan - among the musical elite identified by first name alone (Sarah or Sassy) - was born in Newark, New Jersey. Her career spanned nearly 50 years, from winning first prize at age 18 at the Apollo Theater's famed amateur contest to receiving the Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989. Her recordings for the Duke Ellington Songbooks are widely esteemed, and in 1982, Vaughan won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocalist for her album, Gershwin Live!