27 Facts About Morgana King

Maria Grazia Morgana Messina, better known as Morgana King, was an American jazz singer and actress.

Morgana King began a professional singing career at sixteen years old.

Morgana King was signed to a label and began recording solo albums.

Morgana King recorded dozens of albums well into the late 1990s.

Morgana King had roles in three additional films including her last performance in A Brooklyn State of Mind in 1997.

Morgana King was twice married to fellow jazz musicians, first to Tony Fruscella and later to Willie Dennis.

Morgana King died on March 22,2018, in Palm Springs, California.

Morgana King's parents were from Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy.

Morgana King grew up in New York City with five siblings.

Morgana King's family experienced a difficult financial period after her father died.

Morgana King's professional singing career began at age sixteen as Morgana King.

Morgana King appeared as herself in the television documentary The Godfather: Behind the Scenes.

Morgana King reprised the role in The Godfather Part II, where her character dies aged 62, due to natural causes.

Morgana King's repertoire contains more than two hundred songs on more than thirty albums.

Morgana King announced her retirement from performing during an engagement at the Cotton Club in Chicago on Friday, December 10,1993, and added that her recording would not be affected by the decision.

Morgana King continued to perform after that date at the Ballroom, Maxim's, Mirage Night Club, and Roosevelt Hotel's Cinegrill.

Morgana King had performed with both Gerry Mulligan and Charles Mingus and recorded the 1953 album release, Four Trombones on Mingus' record label, Debut Records.

Morgana King had toured extensively with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich.

Morgana King traveled to Brazil with Dennis to experience this "new" music style when he toured with Rich in 1960.

Morgana King accepted Frank Sinatra's offer to record three albums on his record label Reprise Records.

Morgana King died, aged 87, of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Palm Springs on March 22,2018.

Some have theorized that Morgana King's unique singing style was due, in part, to the singing of a cantor that she carried in her memories.

Morgana King continued to pursue new forms of expression and presentation by exploring current music trends, which can be heard and read from the list of songs and composers on more than thirty albums.

Morgana King ventured into new creative areas throughout her career, all the while keeping contact with her musical point of origin in jazz.

Morgana King has been credited with composing "Moe's Blues", a song recorded by Beverly Kenney on Beverly Kenney Sings for Johnny Smith, and "Simply Eloquent", with Monte Oliver, which appears on an album of the same title, initially released in 1986 by Muse Records.

Morgana King's signature song is "A Taste Of Honey", originally released on the album With A Taste of Honey.

Morgana King's most re-issued songs are "My Funny Valentine", from Everything Must Change, and the title track of For You, For Me, For Evermore.