A high schooler, listening to a famous big band song on the radio, wrote lyrics for it and later sang them for the bandleader, who then hired the girl as his singer when she graduated. The song, a siren call for people to come to where life is "sweet", is the bandleader's signature tune. Who is the singer/songwriter?

Jasminebed

I think you are looking for Dorothy Fields, who wrote the lyrics to Sunny Side of the Street for Jimmy Hughes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Fields Aug 02 10, 3:37 PM

Datsmeharse

Actually I was looking for Joya Sherrill, who wrote the lyrics to "Take the A Train" for Duke Ellington's version, which is his signature tune. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_the_%22A%22_Train She was also one of the first African-American entertainers to visit Russia, touring with Benny Goodman's band in 1962. She died a few weeks ago. The song lyrics invite people to take the A Train to Sugar Hill in Harlem. Life was sweet in Sugar Hill, it was the richest neighborhood for African-Americans, and was home to Ellington among many others. Aug 02 10, 9:12 PM