When she was 18, Anderson left Seattle, to tour for a year with the Johnny Otis band. In 1952, she went on tour with Lionel Hampton's orchestra. After a year with the legendary band, she settled in New York City, determined to make her way as a singer. Her appearance on Gigi Gryce's 1955 album "Nica's Tempo" (Savoy) led to a partnership with trumpeter Rolf Ericson for a three-month Scandinavian tour. Ernestine's first album in the United States was made after her debut album, recorded in Sweden and released here by Mercury Records under the title "Hot Cargo" (1958) the dean of America jazz critics, Ralph J. Gleason, began airing it on his hit-making radio show. In addition his nationally distributed "San Francisco Chronicle" jazz column, saying: "she is the best new jazz singer in a decade. She has good diction, time, an uncanny ability to phrase well, great warmth in her voice, a true tone and, on top of all that, she swings like mad", which created a huge sensation. In 1959 Anderson won the "Down Beat" "New Star" Award and recorded for Mercury to more acclaim, before dividing her time from the mid-'60s between America and Europe.