'Whispering' Jack Smith

Birthday: May 29th, 1896 Date of Death: May 13th, 1950 Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA

His distinctive "whispering" vocal delivery, for which he became famous, was caused when he fell victim to a poison gas attack during World War I. His voice never fully recovered and, unable to sing at full volume, he instead learned to make the best use of early microphone technology to record his soft vocal style.