As one of the finest cabaret singers of her era, Mabel Mercer had an intimate,
composed way of storytelling that made her an idol to millions and huge
influence on the likes of Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole. Born
in 1900 in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England, her father was a black
American jazz musician who died before she was born and her mother was a white
British vaudeville entertainer who played in music halls. By the age of 14 she
was performing as a dancer and touring across Europe with her aunt, but her
singing and precise, considered way of phras...