Gene Kelly

Happy Birthday, Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly...August 23, 1912-February 2, 1996...Born to a working class family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly never lost his sense of belonging to the streets. He brought dance into real life situations in his movies, performing most of the time in street clothes and everyday settings. "All of my dancing came out of the idea of the common man," he explained. His dancing had a casual grace, exciting athleticism and an earthy masculinity that had not been seen in films before. Besides a dancer, he was a singer, actor, film director, producer, choreographer and a major innovator of the musical on film.

Kelly was 8 when his mother enrolled him and his older brother in dance classes which led to a great deal of teasing by the neighborhood boys. Both brothers rebelled and Kelly used his natural athletic ability playing sports and dreaming of playing with the Pittsburgh Pirates instead. He returned to dance on his own initiative because in his words, "At 14 I discovered girls. At that time dancing was the only way you could put your arm around a girl. Dancing was courtship. Only later did I discover you dance joy, you dance love, you dance dreams."

While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Kelly taught dance classes at the two dance schools opened by his parents. In 1937 he decided to quit law school and head for New York to work as an entertainer and choreographer. He got his first part on Broadway in 1938 in the Cole Porter musical "Leave It To Me". Other small parts followed until his big breakthrough in 1939 in "The Time Of Your Life" where he danced to his own choreography for the first time. His leading role in "Pal Joey" in 1940 made him a star. In an effort to describe his style of dance to reporters he put it this way, "I don't believe in conformity to any school of dancing. I create what the drama and the music demand. While I am 100 percent for ballet technique, I use only what I can adapt to my own use. I never let technique get in the way of meed or continuity."

In 1941 Hollywood came knocking and Kelly made his first film with Judy Garland. "For Me and My Gal" was a popular movie and Kelly remained a big Judy Garland fan, calling her, "The finest all-round performer we ever had in America...There was no limit to her talent. She was the quickest, brightest person I ever worked with." Two more popular movies followed, "DuBarry Was A Lady" and "Thousands Cheer" where he got to dance with a mop in his own choreography for the first time on film.

In 1944 he created an innovative choreography, dancing with himself, in "Cover Girl" which lead to "Anchors Aweigh", a movie filled with a range of his own choreographed routines including a now iconic dance with the cartoon Jerry Mouse. The movie was the most successful film of 1945 and earned him his only Academy Award nomination for best actor. In 1946 Kelly teamed up with the other male dance icon of the era, Fred Astaire, in the film "Zeigfeld Follies". The two men got along well together. Kelly explained their dance differences this way, "It wasn't a battle of the dancers, but our different styles were purposefully made apparent. My style is strong, wide open; Fred's is intimate, cool, easy. He can give an audience pleasure just by walking across a dance floor. Fred Astaire represented the aristocracy, I represented the proletariat."

At the end of 1944 Kelly enlisted in the U.S. Navel Air Service and was sent to Washington, D.C. where he worked writing and directing documentaries; sparking his interest in working in the production side of film making. His first film after returning from duty was a flop but contained two innovative dance scenes, one with a very well trained dog and the other an exciting play on children's games that showed off Kelly's grace and athletic prowess. "The Pirate" followed, another disappointment at the box office, but it did contain a stunning routine with the Nicholas Brothers. Kelly worked steadily through the latter part of the 40's, always struggling to get his ideas about dance into his films. His big opportunity came when he was given the green light for "On The Town".

"On The Town" took dance out of the studio and integrated it with the story line and the place. Kelly directed the film and was the co-choreographer with Stanley Donen. "The film was a milestone," Kelly explained in 1977, "It was the first musical to be shot on location. We took the musical off the sound stage and showed that it could be realistic. The idea of doing such a thing was anathema to the studio moguls. We shot a lot of it in New York and showed sailors getting off their ship in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and singing and dancing through the streets of New York. You can't imagine how crazy everyone thought this was at the time, but it changed the face of musicals. The picture has dated a bit, but it's the closest to my heart." His next big films would secure Kelly's name in the pantheon of major figures in movie musicals.

"An American In Paris", made in 1951, won six Academy Awards, including best picture, and Kelly was given a special award for his contribution to film musicals and choreography. The film introduced Leslie Caron and the 17 minute ballet scene she danced with Kelly was the most expensive production number filmed up until that time and was hailed as a masterpiece.  "Singing In the Rain" came next in 1951, and although it was extremely popular upon release, it's gain in popularity came over time, eventually becoming the most beloved movie musical of all time. During the iconic "Singing in the Rain" sequence, Kelly was suffering from the flu with a 101 temperature. Two blocks of a back lot had to be covered with black tarps to achieve the desired effect of  nighttime and when it was set up Kelly insisted on doing the scene. It was done in one take with most of it improvised.

In an effort to help the general public understand the importance of dance, Kelly directed and choreographed two projects. "Invitation to the Dance", in 1956, was a plot-less, three part dance film that went nowhere in the box office. Movie musicals were on the wain and the timing was wrong. In 1958, "Dancing Is a Man's Game" was shown on NBC television as a way to introduce the sheer physicality, manliness and athleticism of male athletes as dancers to counter the effeminate connotations the art had for men in society in the 50's.

Kelly continued to make films through the 60's and 70's but spent more and more time behind the camera instead of in front of it, directing "Hello Dolly" and "The Cheyenne Social Club". He also spent time working in television and returned to Broadway. In his last performance onscreen he danced in roller skates in the movie "Xanadu" in 1980. Kelly's health declined precipitously during the 1980's. He died from complications of two strokes at the age of 83 in 1996.

Betsy Blair, Kelly's first wife described  Kelly's impact on the male performer in dance this way, "A sailor suit or his white socks and loafers, or the t-shirts on his muscular torso, gave everyone the feeling that he was a regular guy, and perhaps they too could express love and joy by dancing in the street or stomping through puddles...he democratized the dance in movies."

Count Basie

Happy Birthday, William "Count" Basie...August 21, 1904-April 26, 1984...Basie was one of the most important bandleaders of swing. He didn't compose like Ellington or lead as a soloist like Benny Goodman, his instrument was his tight, swinging band which had a profound effect on swing and jazz in general. Born in Red Bank, N.J., the young Basie soon surpassed what his piano playing mother could teach him. He had a knack for playing by ear all of the tunes he would hear at the local theater but his first love was the drums. When he realized his fellow Red Bank native, Sonny Greer, could best him on the drum set, Basie renewed his interest in the piano.

At age 16 he began playing at local parties and venues, moving on to Harlem in 1924 where he studied stride piano with some of the Harlem greats and organ with Fats Waller. Basie began his dream of a traveling life by joining the T.O.B.P. vaudeville circuit and later the Gonzelle White vaudeville show which eventually left him stranded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1927. After a brief stint playing piano in silent movie houses, Basie joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1928 where he met the blues shouter Jimmy Rushing, who would later play a big role in the early Basie orchestra. The Blue Devils were a snappy, bluesy band that mainly covered the Texas and Oklahoma territories. Basie stayed with the band until 1929 then join Benny Moten's band.

Moten's band played in the "Kansas City Stomp" style which had a preference for a 4/4 beat over the usual 2/4 beat of the time, resulting in a smoother sound, and played from head-memory rather than sight reading which also contributed to more improvisation. Basie stayed with the band until Moten's untimely death in 1935. Basie then formed his own band with many of the Moten players with the addition of Lester Young, playing in local Kansas City clubs and on the radio. In the fall of 1936 "Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm" moved to Chicago and took up residence at the Grand Terrace Room. John Hammond heard the group over the radio and hired them to make recordings of four sides which included "Shoe Shine Boy", "Evening", "Boogie Woogie" and "Oh, Lady Be Good". Hammond called the session, "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with."

New York was the next stop for the group in 1937 where they appeared at the Roseland Ballroom, the Apollo and the Savoy where they famously battled Chick Webb's band. Basie had Billie Holiday as his vocalist, Webb had Ella Fitzgerald and Metronome magazine described the outcome this way, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's". The band gained fan momentum and moved into a spot at The Famous Door, a mid-town club with a CBS radio feed. In 1939 they made a cross-country tour which included their first West Coast appearances. The movies came next.

From 1942-1943 Basie and the band made guest appearances in several films and shorts. They also began recording with RCA but the musician strike of 1942-44 and the constant over-turn of musicians because of the war took it's toll. The band was as swinging as ever but musical tastes were changing, the big band sound was no longer in vogue and crooners were taking over the popular music scene. Basie broke up the group in 1950, continuing to perform in smaller group settings.

Prompted by singer Billy Eckstine, Basie reformed a 16 piece band in 1952 and with the help of Norman Ganz, got bookings at Birdland and recorded on several record labels. Although he added some bebop to his arrangements he insisted that it "all had to have feeling". The band kept it's strong rhythmic pulse and Basie noted that, "...it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat." The band soon began touring again and made it's first trip to Europe in 1958. European cities were hungry for the sound of American jazz and many African American musicians and singers were happy to be away from the racial segregation they suffered at home. Europe became a viable alternative for many outstanding American jazz stars. The band also released several hit recordings during this time.

In the 60's Basie and band members were featured on numerous television shows and continued to tour and record. Las Vegas shows were especially popular and the band began playing on cruises. It was during that time that Basie adopted his trademark yachting cap. He made a few more movie appearances in the 70's, most notably in "Blazing Saddles" and continued the band up until the early 80's. He died at the age of 79 from pancreatic cancer.

During his tenure as a band leader, Basie nurtured the talent of of legends of young musicians and singers. As a musician, his heart was always with the blues but he was also fond of a smooth driving rhythm, "If you play a tune and the person don't tap their feet, don't play the tune." For nearly fifty years he remained consistent in his vision creating one of the unique and iconic voices of jazz.

Mae West

Happy birthday, Mae West...August 17, 1893-November 22, 1980...Little Mary Jane West spent her formative years visiting vaudeville and plays with her mother Tillie, reveling in the bright lights, dazzling costumes and make-believe world. It would be the famous Bert Williams who would influence her the most with his skill with double entendre and innuendo. Tillie had unrequited dreams of becoming an actress and she threw her energy into her precocious daughter who by the age of 7 was winning prizes in amateur shows. At 14, West was performing in vaudeville shows and when those bookings were scarce, she worked the burlesque circuit. She made a few small but memorable performances on Broadway before getting her first big break in a show called "Sometime" opposite Ed Wynn. Her character Mayme danced the brazen Shimmy and West was such a hit that her image appeared on the sheet music.

More plays followed but West was not content to play it straight and often rewrote and changed her characters to suit her own persona. She had her first starring role on Broadway in 1926 in a play she wrote, produced and directed  entitled "Sex". It was a hit with the Broadway audiences but the more conservative critics called it obscene. The show was raided and West was arrested, along with most of the cast, convicted on morals charges and spent 10 days in jail. It was the best publicity she could have asked for.

Her next production was called "Drag", which dealt with homosexuality, got rave reviews on the road but when she announced it would open on Broadway the Society for the Prevention of Vice vowed to ban it. Not wanting to tempt fate again, the play did not open in New York. West continued to write plays for the next several years, always involving adult subject matter and always skirting just outside what was considered acceptable. On several occasions the actors learned two scripts, one for general audiences and one for when the vice squad was rumored to be in the house.

In 1932 Hollywood came knocking. At 38 she was well passed the age when most new film actresses could command a starring role but West's beauty and persona convinced the studio otherwise. In 1933 she played the leading female character Lady Lou in "She Done Him Wrong" based on a play she had written earlier and starring a young Cary Grant. In the film she spoke her famous line, "Why don't you come up sometime and see me." The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture and helped save Paramount Studios from bankruptcy. Her next film "I'm No Angel" was also a huge success and by 1935, West was the second highest paid person in the U.S. behind William Randolph Hearst.

West's steamy productions caught the attention of not only the adoring public but the Motion Picture Production Code. Her scripts began to be meticulously checked for "inappropriate" material which made her even more creative with how she manipulated dialog and delivery. For the most part she got away with it but it became a struggle to maintain her own creative integrity. The movies that West made toward the end of the 30's were not as popular and an appearance as herself on Edgar Bergen's radio show further enraged the censors. Moral groups went after the show's sponsors and West was banned from further NBC productions.

In 1939, West was approached by Universal Pictures to do a remake of "Destry Rides Again" costarring W.C. Fields. West demanded creative control, wrote the script and despite tension between the stars (West was a tee-totaler while Fields was famously not) the movie was a comeback for both of them. Her last film of that era in 1943 when she was 50 did poorly in the box office and West did not make another until the 1970's when she appeared in Gore Vidal's "Myra Breckenridge" and, in 1979, her own film "Sextette".

In the 50's West went on the road with a variation of her stage act which featured hunky men fawning over her, song and dance numbers and her usual racy dialog. The show was a great success and ran for three years. She also appeared in Las Vegas and made made several record albums, among them a Christmas album which was not one of religious celebration. West went into retirement and wrote her autobiography, "Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It" recounting her experiences in show business. A year after her last film appearance in "Sextette" West died from complications of a stroke at the age of 87. When asked about all of the censorship she endured throughout her career, West replied in her usual witty way, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it."

Jeni Le Gon

Happy Birthday, Jeni Le Gon...August 14, 1916-December 7, 2012..."I danced like a boy-I did flips and knee drops and toe stands and all that kind of business. That Michael (Jackson) fella, they say he invented toe stands. All the girls from my era did that." Jeni Le Gon was one of the first African-American women to develop a solo career in tap dancing. She distinguished herself by wearing pants and low-heeled shoes which allowed her to showcase her acrobatic, energetic style, performing mule kicks and flying splits with excellent rhythm and precision. Growing up in Chicago, she learned the fundamentals in her neighborhood, getting her first job at the age of 13 in musical theater then moving on to be a chorus girl for Count Basie's orchestra when she was 16.

Shortly after, Le Gon joined the Whitman Sisters, the most successful act on the TBOA circuit. The all-black, women owned company gave a start to hundreds of young female dancers and Le Gon was a stand out. In 1935, while in Los Angeles performing with the company, Le Gon was offered her first role in a film in "Hooray for Love" appearing along side Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Fats Waller. Waller was so taken by her talent that he hired her as a vocalist and dancer with his band. In 1936 she traveled to Britain to perform in the review "Follow the Sun" and appeared as a cabaret dancer in the British film "Dishonor Bright" later that year. It was an eye-opening experience for a young woman who was used to the injustices of segregated America. "I experienced being a real person for the first time. On board the ship and in Europe I was referred to as Miss Le Gon and that had never happened to me before."

Le Gon went on to make 20 films for Hollywood, most of them cast as a maid. She played a maid in the Fred Astaire vehicle "Easter Parade" and remained angry with him for decades after he refused to acknowledge her on the set even though they shared a rehearsal studio a few years before. "I played every kind of maid, that's all I ever did," she stated, "I was an East Indian, West Indian, African, Caribbean and black American." Eventually the roles dried up by the early 50's.

She appeared on Broadway periodically and made guest appearances on the television show "Amos and Andy". In 1953 she quit Hollywood and began a serious study of African and Caribbean percussion instruments. She formed her own band, playing her own style of music she called Jazz Caribe. While on tour in Canada in 1969, she found the enthusiastic fans and community a welcome change from her struggles in the States and moved there permanently. Her work with Toronto's Pelican Players Neighborhood Theater as a dancer and choreographer brought her back to Britain in 1985 for theater and television appearances. Her last stage appearances in the United States came after a 20 year absence in the review "Jazz Tap!" with the Nicholas Brothers in 1989 at the age of 73. "I made a living as a tap dancers as a youngster. And now it looks like I'm going to be making my living again at tap. It's come full circle."


In 1999, The National Film Board of Canada released the documentary "Jeni Le Gon: Living in a Great Big Way." Le Gon continued to teach tap dance in Canada. She died in Vancouver at the age of 96.

Oscar Peterson

Happy Birthday, Oscar Peterson...August 15, 1925-December 23, 1997...Duke Ellington called him the "Maharajah of the keyboard" and many others call him one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. Born in Montreal, Canada, Peterson's father insisted that all of his five children learn a musical instrument and at age 5 Oscar began to learn trumpet. A bout of tuberculosis fortuitously sent Peterson to the piano instead and he quickly surpassed what his father and older sister Daisy could teach him. Under the tutelage of classical pianist Paul de Marky, Peterson's skills blossomed, as well as his interest in other music forms. His interest in rag-time and boogie-woogie earned him the childhood nickname "Brown Bomber of Boogie-Woogie".

In 1940, at the age of fourteen, he won the national music competition organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and dropped out of school to become a full time musician. He spent a few years with the Johnny Holms orchestra and then formed his own trio, gaining him popularity throughout Canada through live radio broadcasts from the Alberta Lounge in Montreal. It was the radio broadcasts that brought him to the attention of impresario Norman Grantz who presented his new found talent at a Carnegie Hall concert of "Jazz at the Philharmonic" in 1949. The relationship would continue throughout both of their lives.

Peterson joined Jazz at the Philharmonic as a full time touring member in 1950 at the age of 25 and was voted "Jazz Pianist of the Year" by the Downbeat Readers poll that same year, a title he would hold for the next consecutive 12 years. He toured the world with JATP as well as with his own trio. Peterson played with the best jazz musicians of his time, recording with Ray Brown, Joe Pass, Count Basie, Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry and Louis Armstrong to name a few. His beautiful understated recordings with Ella Fitzgerald and Roy Eldridge are regarded as some of his best.

Although he worked in duo, trio, quartet, small band and big band settings, he preferred his famous trio with Herb Brown and Ray Ellis, a group he called the "most stimulating". When popular solo albums by pianists Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner hit the scene in the late 50's, Peterson responded with solo efforts of his own which proved so popular that he continued to record solo throughout his career. He was also an excellent singer with a warm baritone voice in the vein of Nat King Cole.

Peterson was also active as a teacher, composer, discographer and and a firm defender of the rights of Canada's multicultural community. His activism on the part of racial minorities earned him  the Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor. His music awards and honors were numerous and included 8 Grammys and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1993, Peterson suffered a stroke which severely affected his left hand. That coupled with the arthritis he had suffered since youth restricted his playing at the end of his life but he continued to play, tour and record. He died quietly at home at the age of 82.

Stuff Smith

Happy Birthday,  Hezekiah Leroy Gordon "Stuff Smith"...August 14, 1909-September 25, 1967...One of the preeminent jazz violinists of the swing era, Smith was also a hard drinking character, often wearing a tattered top hat and a stuffed parrot during his performances. Smith understood the value of showmanship as well as musicianship when it came to entertaining his audiences. His risk-taking playing style also helped to elevate the violin as a formidable jazz instrument.

Smith first learned violin as a child in Ohio from his violinist/boxer father. At age 15 he won a scholarship to study classical violin at Johnson. C. Smith University but according to Smith, once he heard Louis Armstrong play he set his sights on jazz. By the mid-20's he left school to tour with the Aunt Jemima Revue. In 1926 he joined Alphonse Trent's band as a singer and violinist. He took a side job with Jelly Roll Morton's band but left because he feel the band drowned out his sound. In 1930 he formed his own band with hopes of breaking into the New York City scene.

His big break came when his band was booked into the Onyx Club on the strength of their novelty song "I's a-Muggin". Stuff Smith and His Onyx Club Boys had a regular gig at the club until 1938. Along the way they made several recordings including "Muggin", "Here Comes the Man With the Jive" and "You'se a Viper" which was also a hit for Fats Waller in 1943. Trying to find a way to amplify the violin was always a struggle. While at the Onyx Club, the National Dobro Company custom made the "Vio-Lectric" for Smith making him one of the first to use electric amplification  techniques on the instrument.

In 1939, Smith left for the West Coast with the intent of making it into films but the opportunity never materialized and he found himself back at the Onyx Club in 1944, moving on to Chicago by 1945. Smith was a heavy drinker and found himself at odds with club owners, musicians, bookers and managers which had a major impact on his career. In 1950 he appeared regularly on broadcasts by Chicago DJ Al Benson but he was fired for getting into a fist fight with his host on the air. In 1951 he toured with Dizzy Gillespie and in 1953 made a recording with Herman Poole Blount who would later be known as Sun Ra. In 1956 he joined Nat King Cole on his hit album "After Midnight".

Although Smith was not a fan of Be-bop his playing style complemented many of the musicians of that era. His wide vibrato, the ability to create sharp tones as well as bluesy wails and his harmonious adventurousness garnered him a good deal of admiration from many of the Be-bop musicians. His tours with Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie and collaborations with violinists Jean-Luc Ponty and Stephane Grappellie were very successful. In 1965 Smith relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark to further tour Europe but with half of his liver and stomach already removed as a consequence of his heavy drinking he would only last another two years before his death in Munich at the age of 58.

Anna Mae Winburn

Happy Birthday, Anna Mae Winburn...August 13, 1913-September 30, 1999...Ana Mae Winburn was a triple threat; Bandleader, singer and drop-dead gorgeous. As a bandleader, she had an eye for talent and a dogged determination to overcome racial and gender prejudices to lift her talented players into the jazz pantheon where they belonged.

Born in Tennessee but raised in Indiana, Winburn entered a talent contest in her teens and won a spot on a local radio station singing for a white band. From there she moved to Nebraska where she sang and played guitar in several territory bands lead by Red Perkins. She moved on to lead Lloyd Hunters Serenaders but the draft during WW2 decimated their ranks and they were disbanded. The Kansas City Blue Devils, which included among them the amazing Charlie Christian, were looking for a leader and Winburn took over the job, changing the name to Anna Mae Winburn and her Cotton Boys. The band was touring successfully throughout the Midwest when once again, Winburn found herself adrift. As she told it, "We were a tremendous hit, packing in crowds everywhere until one night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when jazz producer and entrepreneur, John Hammond, came through town with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. They were playing a benefit and some of my musicians asked me if they could sit in  and show them what they could do. I told them they could as long as they didn't disrupt the dance." Hammond was so impressed that he hired them on the spot and took them back to New York.

It was at that time she was approached by the owner of the Dreamland Ballroom, Jimmie Jewel, to lead the all-female orchestra The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. At the time the band was made up primarily of  18 young female musicians from the Piney Woods Country Life School in Mississippi and Winburn was reluctant. Winburn said of her first meeting, "What a bunch of cute little girls, but I don't know if I can get along with that many women or not." But she soon changed her mind, "When I first saw those girls I was really amazed. They were very young and composed of many different races and nationalities. Some of them were mulattoes and some were part Italian or Chinese. When they came onstage in their colorful gowns they looked like a beautiful bouquet of mixed  flowers."  And with the addition of some new professional players, they could also swing as hard or harder than their male competition.

Much of their touring took place throughout the South and Midwest where the good-old-boy network keep their exposure to a minimum. Audiences in the Northeast were in mostly black venues and ballrooms which also kept their profile low. That, and the fact that bookings dried up after the war when the male players returned, closed the chapter on possibly the greatest all-female band of all time. "We never got the recognition we deserved. Men would say. 'Oh, they're a bunch of cute girls but they really can't play.' They were wrong. I'd put put some of those girls up against any man. People are now just realizing how good those girls really were."

Winburn retired from jazz in the 50's. "The International Sweethearts of Rhythm were way ahead of their time and they did a lot to break down racial and sexual prejudice in this country," Winburn said. "We were a close knit family of 18 girls who helped bring people together through the International language of jazz."

Gladys Bentley

Happy Birthday, Gladys Bentley...August 12, 1907-January 18, 1960..."If you're looking for quiet, soothing music that will lull you to sleep, put a record on your phonograph and spend the evening at home. But if you want to hear singing that will make the blood pound in your pulse, listen to the Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Song at Mona's Club 440. Her name is Gladys Bentley and she's as gifted with the piano keys as with her vocal chords." That's how San Francisco Life described the amazing Ms. Bentley in the early 1940's.

 Bentley was open about being a lesbian and used her gender bending act to great advantage during the "anything goes" 1920's. Born in Pennsylvania, she left home at 16 to make her way to New York to be part of the Harlem Renaissance and to find a more tolerant community to thrive in. In her words, "It seems I was born different. At least, I always thought so...From the time I can remember anything, even as I was toddling, I never wanted a man to touch me...Soon I began to feel more comfortable in boys clothes than in dresses."

She got her start singing at rent parties and buffet flats, moving on to speakeasies and night clubs eventually headlining at the Clam House (one of New York's most notorious gay speakeasies) and the Ubangi Club. She wowed audiences in her signature top hat and spotless white tuxedo, using her powerful voice to belt out raunchy parodies of  popular blues songs and show tunes in front of a chorus line of drag queens. She was openly flirtatious with the women in the audience and made the gossip columns often, even claiming to have married a white woman in Atlantic City, N.J.

During the Depression, many of the clubs of "Jungle Alley" in Harlem closed and the social climate was less tolerant of personalities outside what was considered the social norm. Bentley moved with her mother to Los Angeles in 1937 and was able to continue performing successfully, especially during World War 2 in the bars on the West Coast that catered to gays and lesbians in the  service. She was a popular performer among lesbians at Joquin's El Rancho in Los Angeles and Mona's 440 Club in San Francisco despite her frequent run-in's with the law for wearing men's clothing. She also made many successful recordings but they were incredibly tame compared to her live act and never used her lesbian lyrics.

By the 50's, the pall of McCarthyism in U.S. politics made being openly gay a dangerous proposition. For Bentley, who had been one of the most open performers about her sexuality, it was a serious issue. With an aging mother to support and fear for her own survival, she started wearing dresses and toning down her act. She claimed to have married newspaper columnist J.T. Gibson (who denied they had wed) and in 1952 she did marry a man 16 years her junior who she would later divorce. She also wrote a desperate article for Ebony magazine claiming to have been cured of her homosexuality by taking female hormones. Through it all, she continued to perform until her death from a flu epidemic in 1960 at the age of 52.

Lucky Millinder

Happy Birthday Lucky Millinder...Auguest 8, 1910-September 28, 1966...A dancer and a master of ceremonies at the start of his career, Millinder couldn't read or write music, couldn't play an instrument and could barely sing but he lead one of the greatest big bands to have played rhythm and blues.

Born in Anniston, Alabama and raised in Chicago, Millinder fronted his first band for an RKO theater tour using his first and middle names, Lucius Venable, in 1931. He soon changed his name to "Lucky" and did freelancing until 1934 when he took over the leadership of Mills Blue Rhythm Band whose regular slot at the Cotton Club brought him to wider attention. His professional relationship with Sister Rosetta Tharpe also began at that time. Tharpe's gospel vocals and rhythmic, energized guitar playing would set the stage for Millinder's later R&B recordings.

In 1940 he formed a new group, taking up a residency at the Savoy Ballroom and recording with Decca. Dizzy Gillespie can be heard on Millinder's first hit on the charts, "When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World). Other hits like "Apollo Jump" and "Sweet Slumber" would follow. By the mid-40's the band was venturing into Rhythm and Blues. Millinder recruited singer Wynonie Harris and had the band's biggest hit in 1945 with "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well". When Harris left for a solo career, Millinder had his own hit singing vocals on "Shorty's Got To Go." The band was extremely popular and toured and recorded often but without any big hits until 1951 with "I'm Just Waiting For You" with Annisteen Allen on vocals.

As the 50's wore on, Millinder's style of music began to fall out of favor. In 1954 he took over the leadership of the house band at the Apollo Theater then retired from performing a year later. He spent some time as a disc jockey, then in the music publishing business and then in public relations for a whiskey distillery before dying from liver disease at the age of 56.

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."