Ethel Waters was an American blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and gospel

Gospel music

Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.

Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah

Dinah (song)

"Dinah" is a popular song. The music was written by Harry Akst, and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. It was introduced by Eddie Cantor in Kid Boots in Pittsburgh...

", "Birmingham Bertha", "Stormy Weather", "My Handy Man", "Taking a Chance on Love

Taking a Chance on Love

"Taking a Chance on Love" is a popular song by Vernon Duke with lyrics by John Latouche and Ted Fetter, published in 1940 , which has become a standard recorded by many artists. It was introduced in the 1940 show Cabin in the Sky, a ground-breaking Broadway musical with an all black cast, where it...

", "Heat Wave

Heat Wave (song)

"Heat Wave" is a popular song. It was written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, and introduced in the show by Ethel Waters....

", "Supper Time

Supper Time

"Supper Time" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1933 musical As Thousands Cheer, where it was introduced by Ethel Waters.It is about a wife's reaction to news of her husband's lynching.-Notable recordings:...

", "Am I Blue?

Am I Blue?

"Am I Blue?" is a song written by Harry Akst and Grant Clarke in 1929, and was a big hit that year for Ethel Waters. It has become a standard and has been covered by numerous artists.-Other versions:...

", and "Cabin in the Sky", as well as her version of the spiritual

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

 "His Eye Is on the Sparrow

His Eye is on the Sparrow

"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a Gospel hymn. Although today it is a staple of African-American worship services, the song was originally written in 1905 by two white songwriters, lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel...

".