Linda Keene (1 December 1911 - 23 October 1981) was a jazz and blues nightclub singer who unfortunately never reached her full potential to be a star vocalist.
Linda was born Florence McCory in Taylorsville, Mississippi. When her mother died shortly before 1920 the family moved to Poplarville, then Shreveport, Louisiana where her father remarried. Not happy with this relationship Florence left home at the age of 16. By 1932 she had married a singer named Spurgeon Suttle, but the union soon soured. Linda’s dream was to become a professional singer and when her husband became a recluse she went to Chicago Her first advertised singing engagement under her married name on the 9th May 1936 at the Booker Cadillac Hotel in Detroit.
A separation agreement from her husband came in 1937.She wasted no time looking for a stage name and opted to call herself Linda Keene, named after Ginger Roger’s character in the film “Shall We Dance.” Keen moved up from one-night stands to a seven week residence at the Statler in Boston with the Nye Mayhew Band.
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| Linda with Red Norvo |
She was seen by Glenn Miller which lead to a short engagement in Atlantic City, from there she joined Bobby Hackett’s band with whom she recorded her first record “Blue and Disillusioned” on the 4thNovember 1938. The grueling one-nighter circuit was not a way of life that Keene enjoyed very much. She worked with the Will Farmer and Lennie Hayton bands during the latter part of the 30’s.It was with the Hayton band she recorded some more sides in December 1939 & February 1940. During the summer of 1940 she joined Red Norvo for a 6 month tour of the Midwest and southern states. She also found gigs with Red Nicholls and Mugsy Spannier in 1941. That year she was divorced from Suttle.
Upon moving to New York Keene decided to go solo with piano accompaniment and found work at the prestigious Famous door Club where she met Helen Humes who would have a profound influence on Keene’s work. At this time Keene was recording for the Black & White label which hardly promoted her, but her Famous door appearances finally attracted New York’s top critics which led to her return to RCA Victor Records with the Henry Levine Band.
Keene made at least three soundies at NBC with the Levine band during 1942. After which she returned to club work on West 52nd Street. During November 1944 Keene recorded with the Joe Marsala Band and some more sides with the Black & white label with Charlie Shavers and his outfit. Again lack of publicity and slow record production did nothing to bolster her career. When the War ended, many clubs were forced to close leading to a shortage of work. Keene had to accept whatever she could get.
In 1947 Keene married radio announcer Burleigh Smith in Shreveport, Louisiana and settled down in Los Angeles, but the marriage only lasted a year. Throughout the 50’s she worked at many clubs mainly on the East Coast.
Her last advertised engagement was at the Tic-Toc Club in Los Angeles during 1958. After which her trail ends until the last media notice for Linda Keene which was her very small obituary in Billboard magazine. She died from cancer in a Santa Monica hospital on October 23, 1981.
(Edited mainly from Doctor Jazz Magazine and a big thank you to Scott Henderson for the introduction)