Summary:
During the big band era were also a handful of all-female bands. The Harlem Harlicans, formed by Lil Armstrong in 1932, Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears, the Parisian Redheads and others were famous in their time, yet none survived history as the International Sweethearts Of Rhythm. Their story is a complex one. The band was the first integrated female band, and the most famous female band of their time .
The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm
During the big band era, among the many big bands that were active, were also a handful of all-female bands. The Harlem Harlicans, formed by Lil Armstrong in 1932, Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears, the Parisian Redheads and others were famous in their time, yet none survived history as the International Sweethearts Of Rhythm. Their story is a complex one, especially as the founding members are now deceased, and no one knows who is right and who¡¦s wrong. One thing is for certain: The band was the first integrated female band, and the most famous female band of their time .
The sweethearts were formed in Piney Woods Country Life School near Jackson, Mississippi in 1937, by the school's principal, Laurence C. Jones, with the idea of creating a band that will tour the country and raise funds for the school. The school, consisting of a thousand boys and girls, many of them orphans, was extremely low-funded, and Jones was constantly in search of different ways to fund the school.
The sweethearts was one such project.
Most girls were already adequate musicians, as they were taught music since a young age, and playing in the school's marching band, but Jones had set a higher ramp for the sweethearts. They were taught the art of playing in a big band, and soon had concert dates in the area, playing high school dances in gymnasiums and dance halls.
The band was no more than a novelty school band in those days. They were taught to play chords, and read stock arrangements. With this limited repertoire they toured the south for almost a year .
.
As the tours got longer and longer, questions were raised, mostly by the girls themselves, about the value of touring, compared to learning a profession.
Jones assigned a chaperon and several teachers to tour with the band, yet the girls themselves claim they never studied something other that music . In the end it was Rae Lee Jones, their chaperon, who advised them to leave the school, and starts their own business, after it was rumored principal Jones will not let the girls graduate, and keep them in the school.
The band ran from Piney Woods in 1941, taking with them their uniform, instruments, and even the tour bus. Their run must have been quite a chase: they were being chased by state troopers, and were finally caught in Memphis, Tennessee, where they had to return the bus, as well as several band members, who were younger than sixteen .
The band relocated to Arlington, Virginia, where Rae Lee Jones bought a house. This was a major change for the band. They were no longer supported by the school, and were now on their own, trying to establish themselves as something more than a mere novelty act. The school faced some problems too: Although there was a secondary female big band ¡V The Swinging Rays of Rhythm ¡V they were basically understudies for the Sweethearts, and could not really perform on their own. Laurence Jones proved to be a great publicist, and had the band pose with such jazz legends as Earl ¡§Fatha¡¨ Hines, Mary Lou Williams, and Ella Fitzgerald . The Rays were becoming a major competition for the sweethearts.
Meanwhile, the Sweethearts were on their way to become a professional band. The band was sponsored, and every band member was a co-owner in ¡§The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Inc¡¨. They spent most of 1941 practicing in their new house in Arlington, Virginia, under the leadership of Eddie Durham. Durham was a veteran band member and arranger of bands led by noted musicians such as Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Jimmie Lunceford and others. Durham himself was not very pleased with the idea, but that was the only way he could stay out of the army. He later formed his own all-female band, often ¡§stealing¡¨ members of the Sweethearts to his band . Durham expanded the band¡¦s book and, because most girls did not improvise, wrote several solos in his arrangements .
When the band finally went on tour, they were greeted with great reviews, and even broke the record of attendance in their debut week at the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C.
The band was now recruiting professional musicians, and hired Anna Mae Winburn, a veteran territory bands musician in the area, and a leader of several bands on her own. Jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote "Blowtop Blues" for her .
In 1942 the band participated in a musical ¡§battle of the sexes¡¨, and the sweethearts were billed to face Fletcher Henderson¡¦s big band. A possible reason for Henderson¡¦s involvement is that his wife, Leora Meoux, was a trumpet player in the Sweethearts¡¦ lines . The sweethearts were also billed to face the Dorsey Brothers band, and other less-knows bands in a series of battles.
The band recruited more and more seasoned musicians, among them Oscar Pettiford¡¦s sister Marjorie on Saxes, and Lucille Dixon bass. Dixon was a classically trained bass player, who was the first white musician to join the Sweethearts.
Disputes between Durham and Rae Lee Jones, supposedly over the girls¡¦ wages, ended Durham¡¦s tenure, which was replace by Jesse Stone, Stone will later become a major figure in the transition to R&B (he wrote ¡§Shake Rattle & Roll). Stone¡¦s arrangements were very complex and required intense coaching. He also formed a singing quartet out of the band, who sang his songs during the concerts.
In 1944, Rozalind Cron was hired to replace Pettiford. Cron was a professional saxophone player from Boston, but being a Jewish girl in a crowd of mixed races caused many problems, mainly from outside the band, as tours in the south proved to be very complex, now that two members were white.
Under Stone¡¦s leadership the band reached its peak, but Stone was also replaced after arguing the band is underpaid.
AS WWII continued, and more men were sent to war, the Sweethearts' reputation and demand grew, and the band headed to California, where they recorded several "fillers" for movies, theaters, and recorded several concerts for GIs serving in the WWII fronts. The band backed up such legends as Lena Horne, Jimmy Durante, and other famous singers of the era. Through these concerts the band was invited to tour Europe, to support the troops. The tour lasted for almost six months, as the band returned to the states, where the recorded for Guild Records, and Rca Vicotor.
The success of the band and the constant touring were a burden to several band members, who decided to quit the band, get married and settle down, others grew tired of being underpaid, and joined Eddie Durham¡¦s all-female band, and other competing bands. Bebop was the new music, and there was no room for big bands in America. The band continued to play, but by that time, Rae Lee Jones was no loner touring with the band, as she became seriously ill while touring with the band. Soon after she died, at the end of 1948, the sweethearts disbanded.
In 1980 fifteen members of the band reunited at the third Women¡¦s jazz festival in Kansas City. Although backed up by male musicians, most were female. The band was featured alongside Mary Lou Williams, Betty Carter and other female musicians. Stories of the band¡¦s history resurfaced, and the sweethearts¡¦ story was relived.
Of all the female big bands, the sweethearts survived the years: several books were written about them, and a documentary of the band¡¦s history was made in 1986 ("). In 2004 the Kit McClure Band created a tribute to the Sweethearts, performing the original arrangements of the band. As I was researching for this paper, I found a lot of written material, but no recorded material. After searching in the New York and Queens Public library, as well the City University libraries, I found several sound recording and video footage of the band on the Internet . Most of the material is from Jesse Stone¡¦s tenure with the band, and his arrangements are simple yet beautiful. There are certain tracks in which the band sounds a little bit out of tune, but it may be because of poor recording, but the recording is proof enough that the band was swinging, as well as any other band of that time.
Works Cited
,,h Dickerson, James. Just For A Thrill: Lil Armstrong, First Lady of Jazz. Cooper Square Press. 2002
,,h Handy, D. Antoinette. The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm. The Scarecrow Press, INC, 1983. P. 174
,,h McPartland, Marian. ¡§The Untold Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.¡¨ Reading Jazz: a gathering of autobiography, reportage, and criticism from 1919 to Now. Ed. Gottlieb, Robert. Random House, 1996. P. 638-651
,,h The Vocal Group Harmony Web Site
http://www.group-harmony.com/JumpChil.htm
,,h The Kit McClure Band Sweethearts Project http://www.redhotrecords.com/sweethearts.html
This is the complete article, containing 1,464 words
(approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page).
