Ernestine "Tiny" Davis

Happy Birthday, Ernestine "Tiny" Davis...August 5, 1907-1994...When the International Sweethearts of Rhythm broke away from Piney Woods Country Life School in Mississippi to finally go professional they recruited some excellent new female talent and among them was Tiny Davis. Davis was known for her blazing trumpet and engaging vocals and ample size. Louis Armstrong himself was so great a fan he tried luring Davis away from the band at ten times her salary to no avail.

Davis got her first trumpet at the age of 13, taking her only lessons at school and practicing 3 to 4 hours a day-often to Louis Armstrong records. After moving to Kansas City in her 20's, she took jobs playing in local clubs for $2 a night, listening to and learning from the excellent musicians around her. In the 1930's she toured with the Harlem Playgirls before being drafted into The International Sweethearts of Rhythm in 1941.

The Sweethearts were unique in that they were not only an all female orchestra, they were also multiracial with African American, white, Asian, Latina and Indian members. They toured extensively and with a good deal of difficulty because of the segregation policies of the time. When they made infrequent tours in the Deep South, white members wore dark make-up in order to not be arrested on the band stand. Finding lodging was complicated and at times dangerous. Often members just slept on the bus.

The band was the most popular female band of the 40's and during the war years they were at the height of their popularity with Davis being a featured player and singer. They played to sold out crowds, breaking box-office records in Washington, D.C. the week they debuted, with 35,000 patrons, and engaged in "battle of the bands" contests with the likes of Fletcher Henderson and Earl Hines.When the war ended and male bands began taking over the bookings, the Sweethearts disbanded. Davis loyally stayed with the band for 10 years, rejecting any offers to play with other outfits.

Davis formed her own band, Tiny Davis and her Hell Divers where she met her lover and life partner, Ruby Lucas. The group played the Apollo and other New York clubs and toured in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Trinidad, finally ending up in Chicago. Davis and Lucas owned and ran Tiny and Ruby's Gay Spot in Chicago in the 1950's where the women continued to play.

In the decades after the women retired, they became adopted as cultural icons for the Gay Rights movement. The two were subjects of a 1988 documentary entitled: "Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women" which showcased their amazing stories and engaging personalities. When Tiny was asked about her talent she said," I don't like to hear that 'plays like a girl' or 'plays like a sissy'. I had more chops than most men...So, no,we never got the credit we deserved. But women have a hard time in anything. There's nothing you can do. Just keep on keeping on."