Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan
Last updated: 3 October 2026
Queen of Bebop is Elaine M. Hayes's biography of the jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, from her first performances at the Apollo to her later concerts with symphony orchestras. Hayes is a jazz historian with a doctorate in musicology, and she built the book on interviews with Vaughan's friends and former colleagues. On 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had the 419-page Ecco hardback, a US import, at £18.82 with 3 left in stock.
Buy Queen of Bebop on Amazon UK, £18.82
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What Queen of Bebop covers
The book follows Vaughan from Newark, New Jersey, to the Apollo in Harlem, then into the Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine bands during the Second World War. Those bands were where bebop took shape, and Vaughan sang in both. After that, Hayes tracks her records for Musicraft, Columbia, Mercury and Roulette, her marriage to her manager George Treadwell, and her later move into symphony concerts and Brazilian music.
Hayes also argues that Vaughan helped open American radio to Black artists in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In the publisher's words, that set "the stage for the civil rights activism of the 1960s and 1970s".
Who Elaine M. Hayes is
Hayes describes herself as a jazz historian who has spent a dozen years studying big band singers and women in jazz. She has a doctorate in musicology from the University of Pennsylvania, has edited Earshot Jazz magazine and has written for the Grove Dictionary of American Music. Her background and her blog about Vaughan are on her own site.
How it was received
Publishers Weekly and The Washington Post both named Queen of Bebop one of their books of 2017, and Booklist put it in its top ten arts books. Reviewing it for the jazz station WBGO, Bob Porter called it "highly readable". He also listed omissions and errors, and said it should not be taken as "the definitive word on Sarah Vaughan". Amazon UK shoppers gave it 4.5 out of 5 from 98 ratings when we checked.
Key facts
- Author: Elaine M. Hayes
- Publisher: Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins
- Published: hardback July 2017, paperback July 2018
- Length: 419 pages in hardback
- Other formats: paperback and audiobook
- ISBN: 9780062364685 (hardback)
- Price: £18.82 for the hardback on Amazon UK on 3 October 2026, RRP £22.30
Who it suits
- Jazz listeners: it walks through Vaughan's recordings label by label, so you can follow along with the records.
- Readers interested in civil rights history: Hayes sets Vaughan's career against the segregated music business of the 1940s and 1950s.
- Anyone who likes books about how music gets made: it pairs well with How Music Works by David Byrne, which looks at how venues, recording and money shape music.
The limits
Bob Porter's review for WBGO argues that Hayes compares Vaughan with pop singers like Doris Day, when her real rivals were Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. He also points to gaps in the coverage. So read it as a detailed account rather than the final word. On the practical side, both print editions are US imports in the UK, and stock on Amazon UK was low when we checked.
Where to buy it in the UK
Amazon UK had the hardback at £18.82 on 3 October 2026, sold by Amazon with 3 left. The paperback was £16.22 with 2 left, shipped from Amazon US.
FAQs
Who wrote Queen of Bebop?
Elaine M. Hayes, a jazz historian with a doctorate in musicology from the University of Pennsylvania. Ecco, part of HarperCollins, published it in 2017.
What is Queen of Bebop about?
It is a biography of the jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, covering her music, her career from the 1940s onwards and her part in opening American radio to Black artists.
How long is Queen of Bebop?
The hardback runs to 419 pages and the paperback to 432.
How much does Queen of Bebop cost in the UK?
Amazon UK had the hardback at £18.82 and the paperback at £16.22 on 3 October 2026. Both are US imports.
Is there an audiobook?
Yes. The audiobook is read by Allyson Johnson, and Amazon UK also lists it on MP3 CD.
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