Born 1925 in Memphis, Othella Dallas can look back to a long and illustrious career. She was discovered by the iconoclast dance teacher Katherine Dunham and was awarded a scholarship to study with her in New York. After the war Othella became a permanent member of the Katherine Dunham dance company and a teacher at the Dunham School. She began her successful American singing career in New York, 1954 -- appearing alongside such greats as Sammy Davis Jr. at the Apollo, Duke Ellington, Sony Stitt and King Curtis, to name just a few.