McCorkle, Susannah

Susannah McCorkle, an American jazz/pop singer and a writer of fiction and journalism, was born in Berkeley, California on January 1, 1946. The daughter of an anthropologist who often switched jobs, her family moved regularly. She graduated from high school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. After a break from school to travel to Mexico, she received her Bachelors degree in Italian literature in 1969. She then moved to Europe, first to Paris, then to Rome, where she worked as a translator.

In Paris a friend played her a Billie Holiday record, and from that point on McCorkle committed to becoming a singer. (Her only previous singing experience had been performing in community theater while in high school.) She briefly studied voice in Rome and began sitting in with local musicians. She also took a job entertaining on a cruise ship, a memorable trip that inspired stories in her journals. McCorkle moved to London in 1973, where she immediately found work with musicians impressed by her knowledge of songs and her authentic Holiday-inspired sound.

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