HOUSTON — Fans are mourning the sudden death of legendary Houston jazz and blues singer Jewel Brown.
She was known as the "Jewel of the Third Ward."
Her cause of death is unknown. Brown was 86.
KHOU 11 News interviewed Brown in the past. She opened up about how her career started at the historic Eldorado Ballroom where she performed with the King of Jazz -- Louis Armstrong.
When Great Day Houston sat down with her a couple of years ago, she talked about learning the ropes of the business while performing non-stop at Jack Ruby's nightclub in Dallas in the late 1950s.
It wasn't easy being a Black woman in the industry at the time.
"I did not have one day off for a year and a half. The gentleman who wanted to give me $100 to sing 'Stormy Weather' didn't want to come up because he wasn't where he was supposed to be at and the young lady he was with didn't want to bring it to me, so they called Mr. Ruby to bring me the $100 and he said to me, 'OK, where's my half?' I said, 'Half of what? ... Mr. Ruby, if you can't respect me as a Black woman, you could at least respect me as your entertainer who been keeping your place packed every night.' I'm proud of me that I was already told about the traps. With his help, I dodged them and that made my mom and my dad, before they left here, proud of me," Brown said.