12 Facts About Mabel Mercer

Mabel Mercer was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret.

Mabel Mercer was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the Carlyle, the St Regis Hotel, and eventually her own room, the Byline Club.

Mabel Mercer was born on 3 February 1900 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England.

Mabel Mercer's mother was a young, white English music hall performer, and her father was an itinerant black American musician, who died before she was born.

When Mabel Mercer returned on 4 July 1977 for her first performance in England in 41 years, the BBC filmed three evenings' performances and later broadcast them in a week-long late-night television program, a BBC first for an entertainer.

That same year, Mabel Mercer played at San Francisco's Club Mocambo to sold-out audiences, in celebration of her 78th birthday.

In 1982, Mabel Mercer teamed up with her friend Eileen Farrell in concert as part of the Kool Jazz Festival.

Mabel Mercer was the first guest on Eileen Farrell's new program on National Public Radio featuring great popular singers.

Mabel Mercer received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US's highest civilian medal, in 1983.

Mabel Mercer received two honorary Doctor of Music degrees: one from Boston's Berklee College of Music, the other from the New England Conservatory of Music.

Mabel Mercer died on 20 April 1984, aged 84, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and is buried at Red Rock Cemetery near Chatham, New York.

In 1985, the Mabel Mercer Foundation was established with the efforts of her long-time friend and professional associate Donald F Smith.