Happy Birthday, Lena Horne!

Born on this day in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lena Horne began her career at age 16 as a chorus girl at the Cotton Club in Harlem, appeared in the movies Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather and had a successful Broadway career culminating in her one woman show. Lena Horne also became a strong civil rights advocate, refusing to perform in clubs where African-Americans are not admitted and marched during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Lena Horne's Films include:

The Duke is Tops (1938; Million Dollar Pictures)
* Panama Hattie (1942; MGM)
* Cabin in the Sky (1943; MGM)
* Thousands Cheer (1943; MGM)
* Stormy Weather (1943; 20th Century Fox)
* I Dood It (1943; MGM)
* Two Girls and a Sailor (1944; MGM)
* Swing Fever (1944; MGM)
* Broadway Rhythm (1944; MGM)
* Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944; Official Films short subject)
* Till the Clouds Roll By (1946; MGM)
* Ziegfeld Follies (1946; MGM)
* Studio Visit (1946; MGM short subject)
* Words and Music (1948; MGM)
* Duchess of Idaho (1950; MGM)
* Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956; MGM)
* Death of a Gunfighter (1969; Universal Studios)
* The Wiz (1978; Universal Studios)
* That's Entertainment! III (1994; MGM)

Lena Horne's Albums include:

* "Moanin' Low" (1948 Victor Musical Smart Set)
* It's Love (1955; RCA)
* Stormy Weather (1956; RCA)
* At the Waldorf Astoria (1957; RCA)
* Jamaica [Original Cast Recording] (1957; RCA)
* Give the Lady What She Wants (1958; RCA)
* Porgy & Bess (1959; RCA) - with Harry Belafonte
* Songs by Burke and Van Heusen (1960; RCA)
* At the Sands (1961; RCA)
* Lena on the Blue Side (1962; RCA)
* Lovely & Alive (1963; RCA)
* Lena Goes Latin (1963; Charter)
* Sings Your Requests (1963; Charter)
* Here's Lena Now! (1964; 20th Century)
* Feelin' Good (1965; UA)
* Lena in Hollywood (1966; UA)
* Merry from Lena (1966; UA)
* Soul (1966; UA)
* Lena & Gabor (1970; Skye)
* Nature's Baby (1971; Buddah)
* Lena and Michel (1975; RCA)
* Lena: A New Album (1976; RCA)
* The Lady and Her Music (1981; Qwest) - Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
* The Men in My Life (1988; Three Cherries)
* We'll Be Together Again (1994; Blue Note)
* An Evening with Lena Horne (1995; Blue Note) - Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album
* Being Myself (1998; Blue Note)
* Seasons of My Life (2005; Blue Note; recorded 1999)