Doris Wants to Sing
Born in 1899 in a small, Appalachian town, what were the dreams that her parents, George and Mary Alice, had for her? Whatever they were, they certainly weren’t dreams of singing … but Doris wanted to sing desperately. So desperately that she would climb a bus to Pittsburgh with no money in her pocket, trusting that her voice would earn her a fare … and it did. She’d find her way to Pittsburgh, but the family would drag her back and drag her back, again and again, until they realized that they had to let go.
And when they did, she WENT! To New York to sing at the Cotton Club and Smalls Paradise, all along the touring circuit to DC, Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and perhaps as far as Cuba, to sing. These are some of the photographs from the project.
