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The most deliciously irritating thing about Ethel Waters --singer, dancer, actress,
evangelist -- was that she could never be confined to one identity. As a singer, she played with styles, doing what you
might call vocal blackface and vocal whiteface. People still like to think that black and white styles
can be firmly categorized; for Waters, they were only parts of a persona. She was born illegitimate in
Chester, PA, on Halloween in 1896. She was a street kid whose highest aspiration was to be a lady's
maid. Instead, she found herself in vaudeville. As an actress, in films like "The Member of the
Wedding," Waters gave so-called mammy roles real edge and depth. To some, her life was as irritating
as her singing. She was a Catholic who could swear like a stevedore. She was a lesbian whose loud
fights with her lovers made more proper lesbians like Alberta Hunter label her a disgrace to the tribe.
In the early lOs she joined Billy Graham and toured the country. her signature song had been "Stormy
Weather, " but once she joined Graham, she never sang it again. My life ain't stormy no more, she
told people, which was good for her and bad for us.
-- Margo Jefferson
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