"You can never lose a thing if it belongs to you..."
Abbey Lincoln (born Anna Marie Wooldridge on August 6, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois) was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. In 2003 she was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts' (NEA) Jazz Masters Award.
With Ivan Dixon, she co-starred in Nothing But a Man (1964), an independent film written and directed by Michael Roemer. She also co-starred with Sidney Poitier and Beau Bridges in 1968's For Love of Ivy. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for For Love of Ivy in 1969. Abbey Lincoln also appears in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It, for which she interpreted the theme song, working with Benny Carter. She sang on the 60's landmark jazz civil rights recording, We Insist! - Freedom Now Suite (1960) by jazz musician Max Roach and was married to him from 1962 to 1970.
She worked with many other great jazz musicians like Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry, Stanley Turrentine, Wynton Kelly, Cedar Walton, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, and Miles Davis and made albums with Stan Getz, Mal Waldron and Archie Shepp as well as her own groups.
From the 1980 album "Painted Lady" which was recorded in Paris, France with Archie Shepp:
The following version of Abbey's magisterial song "Throw It Away" was recorded in 2007 and released on her CD "Abbey Sings Abbey". It was her final recording:
