(November 23rd 1897 - September 24th 1978)

Born in David City, Nebraska in 1897 Ruth Etting was raised by her grandparents following her mother's death when she was only five. At sixteen she left home to attend art school in Chicago but dropped out to work as a costume designer at a local nightclub called Marigold Gardens. It was there that her rare vocal talent was discovered by accident when she was asked to fill in for the regular singer who was ill.

On July 17th 1922 Ruth married notorious Chicago mobster "Moe the Gimp" Snyder who became her manager. After an unissued test for Victor in 1924 she went on make her first recording for Columbia in February of 1926 and made her Broadway debut the following year in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1927". Dubbed "America's Sweetheart of Song" Ruth Etting continued to perform prolifically throughout the 1920s and '30s with signature songs including "Shine On Harvest Moon" and "Love Me or Leave Me" before retiring in 1937.