Betty Roche had an oddly episodic career with its highpoints being two separate moments with Duke Ellington's Orchestra. She sang and recorded with the Savoy Sultans (1941-42) and had short stints with Hot Lips Page and Lester Young. Roche had the misfortune of being with Duke Ellington in 1943, a year when the recording strike kept all bands off records. However at Duke's premiere Carnegie Hall concert she sang the celebrated "Blues" section of his "Black, Brown & Beige Suite"; four decades later this was finally released by Prestige. After a period with Earl Hines, Roche spent time outside of music but she rejoined Ellington in 1952 and recorded a classic version of "Take the 'A' Train" that was later adopted by Ray Nance. She recorded three solo albums during 1956-61 but then went back into obscurity, having made her brief mark on jazz history. ~ Scott Yanow
---Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide