Elisabeth Welch, pioneering Broadway singer, succumbs at 99

Elisabeth Welch, the American-born singer who introduced the Charleston on Broadway and had show-stopping successes with Cole Porter's Love For Sale and Harold Arlen's Stormy Weather, died at a retirement home in north London. She was 99.

A woman of poise with a mellow voice, Welch spent much of her career on the musical stage.

Born in New York City to a Scottish-born mother and a father of African-American and American Indian descent, she sang from an early age in school productions and in the choir of St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church. In 1923, the choir was invited to sing in a Broadway show, Runnin' Wild.

Welch's first big part on Broadway was in the chorus in Blackbirds, which starred Adelaide Hall, Ada Ward and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. She later appeared in Porter's New Yorkers, singing Love For Sale, a song that caused scandal by referring to prostitution.

She settled in England, becoming a star of stage, film and radio. Her film credits included Song of Freedom in 1936 and Big Fella in 1937 with Paul Robeson, where they broke new ground for Black actors by having starring roles.

There are no known immediate survivors.