Dardanelle, born Marcia Marie Mullen on December 27, 1917, in Avalon, Massachusetts, and also known professionally as Dardanelle Breckenbridge, was an American pianist and jazz singer. She started her music career in the 1930s and formed the Dardanelle Trio in the mid-1940s, performing at New York City's Copacabana nightclub. The trio's repertoire included a mix of hot numbers, blues titles, and jazz standards. Dardanelle recorded for Victor in 1946 and Columbia Records in 1951. She took a break from music to focus on her family but returned in the late 1970s with albums like Songs For New Lovers (1978) and The Colors of My Life. Her later work, New York, New York - Sounds of the Apple, was nominated for a Grammy. Dardanelle taught at the University of Mississippi before passing away on August 8, 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee.
