A tribute to the jazz singer, Adelaide Hall, Google strives with today’s Doodle. She is considered the originator of the scat vocal style during the Harlem Music Renaissance of the 1920s. Born in the US, but based in Great Britain since 1938, she had a successful career on both sides of the Atlantic that spanned more than 70 years.

“Today’s Doodle honors US-born, UK-based jazz artist and singer Adelaide Hall, one of the world’s first female jazz singers and a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance.” Google emphasizes.

Adelaide Hall was born on October 20, 1901 in Brooklyn, New York. At the urging of her parents, she started learning the piano from a young age with her sister. After the tragic death of her father and sister, Adelaide had no choice but to support herself and her mother.

She began her career in 1921 by appearing in the popular Shuffle Along, an all-black Broadway musical that helped launch African-American show business. In 1925, Hall embarked on a major European tour with the musical theater troupe Chocolate Kiddies. The show was a huge success and played in many cities including Hamburg, Geneva, Paris and Vienna, before ending up in the Soviet Union the following year.

Later, Hall returned to New York and continued to perform on Broadway’s biggest stages. The big moment of her career came in 1927, when she sang a Duke Ellington tune in the scat style, which is the imitation of musical instruments with the voice. The great jazz player was enthralled by her wordless performance and asked her to record it with his band. A year later, the song “Creole Love Call” reached No. 19 on the US charts — and just like that, the scat song was born.

Soon after, Hall joined the cast of Lew Leslie’s musical Blackbirds. The musical ran for over 500 performances on Broadway and attracted over a million viewers before moving to the Moulin Rouge in Paris. The public in Europe welcomed her with open arms, so much so that she decided to move permanently to Great Britain in 1938.

Hall’s career spanned eight decades and to this day (2023) she holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s most enduring female artist. Her songs continue to move listeners with every note and verse and her legacy lives on in the hearts of many.

Adelaide Hall died on 7 November 1993 in London, aged 92. From 1924 until his death in 1963 she was married to sailor and later club owner Bertram Hicks.