Who Is This Woamn Singing? She Looks Familiar.

[JSngry]

 

[rostasi]

I'm so confused...

There is no such thing as an "apidastra" or "asspidastra"
or whatever else is being written or said (or "woamn" for that matter) 

I believe they are referring to an "Aspidistra."

 

[Big Beat Steve]

Leo Walker's "Big Band Almanac" lists these girl singers with the Messner band:

Gladys Tell
Jeanne D'Arcy
Mindy Carson

Take your pick.

She doesn't look linke Mindy Carson, though.

And she's also on here:

Compare the voice of Jeanne D'Arcy here: Does not sound like her IMO.

 

[JSngry]

She looks familiar.

[Big Beat Steve]

17 hours ago, JSngry said:

She looks familiar.

Well, she does look a bit like Raquel Rastenni (Danish band vocalist from the swing era who also worked and recorded in Sweden and later had a pop career in Denmark) but I doubt it was her you were thinking of.

 

FWIW, Johnny Messner looks familiar too: Like an ofay Cab Calloway.

Quite a character.

And looking at him and the girl singer in that soundie you posted (and others by the band), it really is extremely difficult to define what must have been the "color line" in those times. These two could easily have passed as very lightly-skinned "colored" persons.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by Big Beat Steve

[kinuta]

I've no idea who the singer is but have learned something new about the Aspidistra.

They were common fixtures of British homes in the Edwardian period and I remember seeing them in various great aunts and uncles homes when I was little.

Time has blurred my memory as I was under the mistaken impression that they were similar to rubber plants.

These are pictures of aspidistra and it looks nothing like a rubber plant.

This plant is very common in Japan and you can see them all over. To my great surprise we even have one in our living room although the leaves are a bit thicker than the ones in the photos.

[JSngry]

Those plants look familiar, and so does that lady singing.

[jazzbo]

This is an interesting novel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying

[kinuta]

Aspidistra, doilies and antimacassars were essential household fixtures for aspiring genteel folk once upon a time.

Orwell was no doubt using the aspidistra as a symbol of the bourgeoisie.

I agree, it's a very good book. Still have no idea who the singer is though.

[bluenoter]

I too found it to be an enjoyable novel, and it, along with the rest of George Orwell's works, is available online for free:

http://www.george-orwell.org/Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying/index.html

http://www.george-orwell.org/

Edited October 1, 2017 by bluenoter

[Big Beat Steve]

13 hours ago, kinuta said:

Still have no idea who the singer is though.

As for the list of female vocalists Walker lists with the Messner band and just for an aural comparison, here is Gladys Tell singing:

 

 

Edited October 2, 2017 by Big Beat Steve

[JSngry]

Having looked at her for a while now, she looks even more familiar.

[duaneiac]

I don't know anything about the woman, but every time I look at that still frame used for the online video I keep expecting to see Junior Samples and Grandpa Jones come out to join that quartet.

[jazzbo]

Why is it I only saw the typo in the thread title now?