She wasn't young, she wasn't glamorous and she didn't have a beautiful voice - but in 1956, a bespectacled suburban housewife rose from years of obscurity to become an overnight sensation as a consummate torch singer and nightclub performer. Her name was Roberta Sherwood and she made her professional debut at five in vaudeville. Though her powerful singing style always brought the house down, she chose to stop touring when she got married. They settled in Florida where she and her husband raised three sons but Roberta was widowed young. She struggled to keep the family going with occasional $15 or $25 a night appearances at local benefits.

Singing jobs were hard to come by because in those days '40' was considered old, but finally she got a job singing at a Miami Beach club. They didn't have a drummer, so for her rhythm songs, she took to beating a battered old cymbal with a wire brush - a technique that would become one of her most revered trademarks. She wore a sweater over her shoulders because of the air-conditioning and she kept her glasses on so she wouldn't trip walking to the stage. Once there, that magical husky voice and dynamic personality took over and became positively mesmerizing.

Roberta was soon becoming the talk of Miami and it wasn't long before a powerful Broadway columnist praised her in his syndicated columns and other critics echoed his praise. After 30 years of performing, the offers poured in. Roberta was signed by a major record label and was quickly headlining at top clubs like the Copacabana in New York, and Ciro's in Hollywood. Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, and every other major TV host fought for her services and just as rock and roll was taking over the country, this middle-aged housewife became Queen of the Jukeboxes with her haunting revival of the Hoagy Carmichael classic 'Lazy River'. Nobody had sounded like her before and no one has sounded like her since. Her style was described by Time Magazine as 'flashy, richly sentimental, as unsubtle as her crashing cymbal and as unpretentious as her $49.50 dress.' A star, as they say, was born.

This CD release features Roberta's first two albums - 'Introducing Roberta Sherwood' and 'Show Stoppers' with the addition of three bonus tracks taken from her single releases.

Additional Details

Label: Sepia Records

Genre: Adult Contemporary/MOR

Release Date: 09/04/07

UPC: 5055122110996