Songstress Joyce Bryant

Dubbed as being the “black Marilyn Monroe,” Joyce Bryant made her way to stardom by way of her four-octave vocal range and her distinctive sex appeal. Starting off as an impromptu sing-a-long in a Los Angeles nightclub in the late ‘40s, Bryant’s singing career quickly soared after her performance alongside Josephine Baker. In fact, her signature metallic hair came from the performance with Baker. Bryant remembers feeling that she “didn’t want to be upstaged” by Baker’s eclectic moves so she decided to slather silver radiator paint on her jet-black hair before the show and the rest was history. Although Bryant made regular appearances in various magazines such as, JET and was labeled as “one of the most beautiful black women in the world”, many of her songs were banned from the radio such as “Drunk with Love” and “Love for Sale” because of its provocative content. Joyce Bryant’s unapologetic persona combined with her  shapely-fitting dresses makes her a trend-setting classic–Black American icon.

Source: All Music