All-Girl Bands of the 40s

During WWII, big bands had to deal with many musicians and band leaders being drafted. Just as women began to fill jobs traditionally held by men, they also were sought for bands organized by men.

ALL-GIRL BANDS ... LED BY MEN

• Al D'Artega's All-Girl Band
• Herb Cook's Swinghearts
• Eddie Durham's All-Star Orchestra [In later years, Eddie Durham explained another motivation for organizing all-female bands -- to avoid being drafted into the military.]
• The Prairie View Coeds
• Count Berni Vici's All-Girl Theater Band
• Virgil Whyte's Musical Sweethearts

Phil Spitalny's Hour of Charm Orchestra

ALL-GIRL BANDS ... LED BY WOMEN

BERYL BOOKER TRIO

Bonnie Wetzel on base, Elaine Leighton on drums and Beryl Booker on piano.

BLANCHE CALLOWAY
In 1921, Blanche Calloway (the older sister of Cab Calloway) became the first woman to lead any band, the otherwise-all-male Joy Boys. As a bandleader who was both black and female in the 20th century, she battled both racism and sexism. That band broke up in 1930, after which she formed an all-female band in 1940. 


FRANCES CARROLL AND THE COQUETTES

DARLINGS OF RHYTHM

GLORIA GAYE ALL-GIRLS BAND
Born Marjorie Newman, Gloria led several all-female orchestras in Gloria Gaye and her Glamour Girls Band. At various times it was also billed as Gloria Gaye and her All-Ladies Orchestra, Gloria Gaye All-Girls Band and Sweet Music and Hot Rhythym. One member was Gracie Cole, who later played in Ivy Benson's all-female band before forming her own in the 50s.

HIP CHICKS
Mary Osborne, Marge Hyams & L'Ana Webster

INTERNATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM
The Sweethearts were the first integrated all-female band in the country. They were popular in the 40s, when they played places like the Apollo Theater, and for decades after. The group met and began playing while enrolled at the Piney Woods Country Life School in Mississippi in 1938 and by 1941 they turned professional. The band featured some of the best female musicians in the country and, in 1944, Downbeat Magazine named them "America's No. 1 All-Girl Orchestra."

Click here to listen to International Sweethearts of Rhythm

An integrated band faced many challenges during the era of Jim Crow. The Sweethearts toured by bus and, while in the South, segregation laws prohibited the women from staying in hotels and eating at restaurants as a group. The women ate and slept on the bus instead. During WWII, a letter-writing campaign by African-American soldiers in Europe led to the Sweethearts joining the USO and playing in France and Germany.

SWINGING RAYS OF RHYTHM

It was in early April 1941 that The International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Piney Woods Country Life School parted ways. In January 1941, in an exclusive interview with a Chicago Defender, had talked about The Swinging Rays of Rhythm, which was originally the training group for the Sweethearts -- when the latter group defected, the former group became its replacement"

"It's the largest "all-girl" sepia dance band in the world. The Rays have seventeen girls--a saxophone sextet....All of the Rays are versatile and full of their music. They are still happy little sepia junior debs, growing and developing in a school atmosphere and already called the greatest of all girl bands ["'Swinging Rays of Rhythm' Is Newest, Hottest Band on Tour," Chicago Defender, January 21, 1941, p. 20].

ADA LEONARD'S ALL AMERICAN GIRLS

RITA RIO AND HER RHYTHM GIRLS

Eunice Westmoreland (aka Donna Drake) was born in 1914. She had her all-girl orchestra from the 1930s to the 1940s. As with Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears, Rita was the focal point of the outfit being shapely, energetic and good looking -- always keeping the attention on her and drawing in the crowds. She married American costume designer, William Travilla, in 1944. The couple remained married until her death in 1989.

Rita Rio and Her Rhythm Girls

THELMA WHITE AND HER ALL-GIRL ORCHESTRA

One of the all-female bands of the Foxhole Circuit, They continued to perform for several years after the war ended. Today Thelma White is best recognized as Mae Coleman in the movie Reefer Madness (1936).

Thelma White and Her All-Girl Orchestra

ALSO ...

• Joy Cayler Orchestra
• Frances Grey's Queens of Swing
• Nita King and Her Queens of Rhythm
• The Marilyn Merle All-Girl Orchestra
• Betty McGuire's Sub-Debs
• Jean Parks and Her All-Girl Band
• Sharon Rogers All-Girl Band

All-Girl Bands of the 50s

GRACIE COLE & HER ORCHESTRA
From her flugelhorn-playing father, Gracie learned to play music. She began appearing on Manchester, England radio at the age of fifteen, performing the cornet with Foden's Motorworks' and Fairey Aviation's bands. At eighteen, she joined the all-female Gloria Gaye's Glamour Girls. She later joined Ivy Benson's all-female band, with whom she played for five years. In 1951 she married trombonist Gill Geldard. After a stint playing lead trumpet in the integrated band, The Squadronaires, she formed the all-female Gracie Cole & Her Orchestra. They performed from 1952 to 1956. In the 60s and 70s Gracie continued to lead bands until her retirement.

TINA DAVIS'S HELL DRIVERS
Comprised of International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Darlings of Rhythm and Prairie View Co-eds.

DINAH DEE ALL GIRL'S BAND

Dinah Dee All-Girls Band

LENA KIDD QUARTET
At age thirteen, Eleanor Kidd learned to play the accordion from the great Jimmy Shand -- her father was the drummer in Shand's band at the time. In 1945 she joined the Ivy Benson Band and stayed with them until 1953, when she joined the all-female Gracie Cole Orchestra. Lena formed the all-female Lena Kidd Quartet in 1956. They later expanded to the Lena Kidd Seven. In 1970 she married trumpeter Ray Willis.

THE KIM SISTERS
The Kim Sisters formed in South Korea but spend most of their career and enjoyed most of their success in the U.S. Sue (Sook-ja), Aija (Ai-ja) and Mia (Minja) Kim were the daughters of classical conductor Kim Hae-song and singer Lee Nan-Young. Mia's father was musician Lee Bong-ryong. They began performing western pop music in 1953 before transitioning to rock 'n' roll, which they were exposed to by American GIs. They began playing in Las Vegas in 1959 at the Thunderbird Hotel which led to performances on the Ed Sullivan Show, where they appeared at least 22 times.

The Kim Sisters

SARAH McLAWLER & THE SYNCOETTES
One of the last significant (but still obscure) all-female bands of the pre-Rock 'n' Roll era was the four-piece Sarah McLawler & The Syncoettes. In the 1950s they released several records on the Premium and King labels. Sarah played piano, organ and sang. Vi Wilson was on bass, Hetty Smith was on drums and Lula Roberts was on saxophone.

Sarah McLawler & The Syncoettes

RHYTHM RANCH GALS (aka The North Sisters)
Ardis Wells was born in 1917 to a family of carnies and circus folks. Before becoming The Yodeling Sweetheart, she wrestled professionally, danced, swam, rode elephants and swung on the trapeze. In 1956 she formed the all-female Rhythm Ranch Gals in Minnesota with Fern Dale on banjo, Patti Williams on bass and guitar and Jan (Northrup) North on accordion. Ardis played the electric guitar. Williams and North went on to release over a dozen records in the 1950s as The North Sisters.

Rhythm Ranch Gals

VADEL QUINTET

From Virgil Whyte's big band.