"Cats Who Swing and Sing: Women Singer-Pianists of the 1940s and

[ghost of miles]

Nellie Lutcher, a star pianist and singer of the late 1940s who mixed boogie and swing riffs on the keyboards with sly and humorously suggestive lyrics, once remarked that it was 1930s performer Cleo Brown who’d “sort of started a trend for girl piano players and vocalists” with her recording of the song “It’s a Heavenly Thing.” There had been an even earlier, blues-oriented practitioner of the style, Kansas City’s Julia Lee, in the 1920s, but she wasn’t widely heard on records until the late 1940s. Cleo BrownWith the commercial success of singles such as Lutcher’s “Hurry On Down” and Lee’s “King Size Papa,” these performers were able to gain a larger audience, and to showcase vocal and instrumental skills that drew on deeper musical nuance and artistry than their risque hits sometimes seemed to suggest.

In addition to Lutcher, Brown, and Lee, we’ll also hear music from singer-pianist Hadda Brooks, a mainstay of the 1940s Central Avenue club scene in Los Angeles. Brooks can be seen and heard performing in Humphrey Bogart’s 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place; in the early 1950s she also became the first African-American woman to host her own television show. Musically she alternated between boogie-woogie (”Swingin’ the Boogie”) and a slow, torch/club-blues style (”That’s My Desire”). All of these artists elevated the profile of women musicians at a time when it was very difficult for female instrumentalists in the jazz world, particularly after the “all-girl bands” of the World War II years had dispersed; by combining their piano-playing with vocals, they were able to enjoy the spotlight of a singer and to put their keyboard talents on display as well.

Cats Who Swing and Sing: Women Singer-Pianists of the 1940s and 1950s airs this evening at 11:05 p.m. EST on WFIU-Bloomington and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It also airs Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. It will be posted for online listening Monday in the Night Lights archives.

Next week: Betty Carter.

Edited March 23, 2010 by ghost of miles

[marcello]

On a related note ( and thank you David for another fine program) this is a book that is worth having for the stories about some of the same type of entertainers:

[John L]

Sounds interesting. It is unusual to use the word "cats" for women. Maybe that was a deliberate twist? (Of course, we don't want to use the word for a female cat here!)

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I'm going to have another go at listening to Night Lights, now I've found out that my wife played me a sneaky trick with the volume on the laptop

I hope that the fact that you didn't mention Una Mae Carlisle and Camille Howard doesn't mean you forgot about them! Una Mae had the #1 most bedroomy voice of all time! And she swung!

MG

[jazzbo]

I like all these women. . . but Una Mae. . . .

[ghost of miles]

JohnL, yes, the use of "cats" in the show's title was a deliberate twist.

MG, never fear--in this week's show I mention the previous Night Lights program, Why Don't You Do Right: Una Mae Carlisle and Lil Green, which can be listened to at that link. And glad to hear that part of the problem was a simple volume-control adjustment!

EDIT: there's also a fullblown program devoted to Lutcher from last summer, Nellie Lutcher's Real Gone Rhythm, with no musical overlap.

Edited March 23, 2010 by ghost of miles

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Oh, I'd forgotten about Lil Green.

MG

[ghost of miles]

"Cats Who Swing and Sing" is now archived for online listening.

Edited March 23, 2010 by ghost of miles

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Good - I'd forgotten about this while my PC has been down. Must catch up tomorrow.

MG

[Big Beat Steve]

Just a somewhat belated hint and/or suggestion:

Any chance that in a radio program like this we'd get to hear any recordings by Dardanelle (Breckenridge) and her 40s trio?

Though her 40s discography isn't immense, she's one of those chicks who seems to get overlooked constantly though she must have been a constant fixture in 40s jazz clubs as a pianist, vibraphonist, singer AND arranger.

[BillF]

"Cats Who Swing and Sing" is now archived for online listening.

Listening to it now. Tremendous stuff!

[ghost of miles]

Steve, I was aware of her and wanted to include her, but couldn't get a hold of any recordings in time for the show. I'm hoping to include her in a future program.

[ghost of miles]

"Cats Who Swing and Sing" is now archived for online listening.

Listening to it now. Tremendous stuff!

Thanks much, BillF...glad you were able to get on the site (it was down earlier today).

[ghost of miles]

Nellie Lutcher, a star pianist and singer of the late 1940s who mixed boogie and swing riffs on the keyboards with sly and humorously suggestive lyrics, once remarked that it was 1930s performer Cleo Brown who’d “sort of started a trend for girl piano players and vocalists” with her recording of the song “It’s a Heavenly Thing.” There had been an even earlier, blues-oriented practitioner of the style, Kansas City’s Julia Lee, in the 1920s, but she wasn’t widely heard on records until the late 1940s. Cleo BrownWith the commercial success of singles such as Lutcher’s “Hurry On Down” and Lee’s “King Size Papa,” these performers were able to gain a larger audience, and to showcase vocal and instrumental skills that drew on deeper musical nuance and artistry than their risque hits sometimes seemed to suggest.

In addition to Lutcher, Brown, and Lee, we’ll also hear music from singer-pianist Hadda Brooks, a mainstay of the 1940s Central Avenue club scene in Los Angeles. Brooks can be seen and heard performing in Humphrey Bogart’s 1950 film noir In a Lonely Place; in the early 1950s she also became the first African-American woman to host her own television show. Musically she alternated between boogie-woogie (”Swingin’ the Boogie”) and a slow, torch/club-blues style (”That’s My Desire”). All of these artists elevated the profile of women musicians at a time when it was very difficult for female instrumentalists in the jazz world, particularly after the “all-girl bands” of the World War II years had dispersed; by combining their piano-playing with vocals, they were able to enjoy the spotlight of a singer and to put their keyboard talents on display as well.

Cats Who Swing and Sing: Women Singer-Pianists of the 1940s and 1950s airs this evening at 11:05 p.m. EST on WFIU-Bloomington and at 9 p.m. Central Time on WNIN-Evansville. It also airs Sunday evening at 10 p.m. EST on Michigan's Blue Lake Public Radio. It will be posted for online listening Monday in the Night Lights archives.

We re-aired this program last week and it is available for online listening:

Cats Who Swing and Sing: Women Singer-Pianists of the 1940s and 50s

Edited March 23, 2010 by ghost of miles

[AllenLowe]

I love Nellie Lutcher - I once compared her piano playing to a pinball game -

[ghost of miles]

I love Nellie Lutcher - I once compared her piano playing to a pinball game -

I quoted your remark in the program.

[AllenLowe]

that'll be 10 cents, please....

[ghost of miles]

that'll be 10 cents, please....

Do I get a dance with Anita O'Day too?