Long acknowledged as one of the world's leading sopranos, Eileen Farrell (1920 – 2002) was comfortable in the spotlight of opera, jazz, and the blues. She began her career as a classical and operatic singer, and in the 1980s began performing pop. Of the change, Farrell said, "In opera there is a certain person you have to be. Doing pop, I can be whoever I want to be."