Joe Carroll
b. 25 November 1919, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 1 February 1981. Rooted in Louis Armstrong's singing style, but shaped by that of Leo Watson and the musical thought of Lester Young, Carroll was one of the first singers in jazz to fully assimilate bebop. He worked with Dizzy Gillespie from 1949-53, writing with him one of the bop vocal anthems, Oo-Shoo-Be-Do-Be. He made a number of recordings in the '50s and early '60s under his own name and in 1964 toured with Woody Herman. Carroll's hard-edged, rough-toned voice had a limited range but he compensated with his exuberant swing and inventive lines.