Biography of Jeri Southern

One of the top jazz-influenced pop singers of the 1950s, Jeri Southern was known for her memorable interpretations of standards and her subtle, expressive vocals. Some have considered her a jazz singer, but because she did very little improvising and favored heavily arranged recordings, it's best to think of Southern as primarily a pop artist. The German-American was born Genevieve Lillian Hering in Royal, NE, where she began studying the piano at the age of six. At first, she aspired to be a classical vocalist, but when she was in high school in the 1940s, the singer decided to pursue jazz-influenced pop. After high school, she moved to Chicago, where she sang with various big bands before moving to Los Angeles. It was in the early 1950s that the singer, who was going by Jeri Southern professionally, signed with Decca and started becoming well known. Southern, who recorded for Roulette, Jasmine and Capitol after leaving Decca, was at the height of her powers when, in the early 1960s, she retired from performing and recording at the age of 36. Southern's decision came as a major disappointment to her followers, but the singer (who had grown quite frustrated with the music industry) refused to change her mind and chose to put her energy into teaching voice and piano. Southern was only a day away from her 65th birthday when she died from pneumonia on August 4, 1991. ~ Alex Henderson