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Tag: 1930s Big Bands

The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm-Ina Ray Hutton

She had rhythm, she had style and she was the leader of the first all-female swing band to be recorded and filmed during the 1930’s. World meet Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears!

1930s Vintage Photo of All feamle swing band leader Ina Ray Hutton
1930s Vintage PHoto of Ina ray hutton and her melodears -first all-female swing band to be recorded and filmed during the 1930's.

For further reading please check out all the posts I have done on the subject, “Women of the Big Band Era Everyone Should Know“. (Jan 2024 update)


The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm-Ina Ray Hutton

First up a little bit of information on Ina’s early years:

* Hutton was actually born Odessa Cowan in 1916.

*She grew up with her half-sister June (also a successful singer) in a black neighbourhood on Chicago’s south side.

*Historians have theorized that she and her family were of mixed white and African-American ancestry. When Hutton was a child, United States Census records called her and her family “negro,” and “mulatto,” when the Bureau used that term.

*Her mother, Marvel Ray was a local pianist and entertainer in Chicago.

*Iva would go on to study dance with Hazel Thompson-Davis and received a rave revue in the Chicago Defender when she was only 7.

*In 1930, at age 14, she made her Broadway debut with Gus Edwards at the Palace Theater in New York.  As Ina Ray, at age 16, she was a featured singer and dancer in George White’s “Melody;” at 17, she joined the Ziegfeld Follies (Source).

1930s vintage photo of female singer Ina Ray Hutton in a showgirl outfit.
Source: Alchetron

The Melodears…

In 1934 at the age of 18 she was approached by Irving Mills to lead an all-girl orchestra called the Melodears. At the same time she was also encouraged to change her last name to Hutton, to take advantage of the notorious reputation of the Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton (Source).

1930s Vintage Photo of Orchestra Leader and creater Ina Ray Hutton in a 1930s evening gown.

THE BAND IS A HIT! and would go on to tour solidly for five years and became one of the first all-girl bands to be filmed for Paramount shorts. Those shorts were:

  • Feminine Rhythm (1935)
  • Accent on Girls (1936)
  • Swing, Hutton, Swing (1937)

The Glamorous Style of Ina Ray

The band and Ina’s style never made them wallflowers. The Melodears’ outfits ranged from boyish trousers to long, ultra-feminine, sequined outfits. Downbeat magazine reported that Hutton’s stage wardrobe included 400 gowns (Impressive!).

1930s Vintage Photo of All feamle swing band leader Ina Ray Hutton in a 1930s sequined evening gown.
1930s Vintage Photo of All feamle swing band leader Ina Ray Hutton
Vintage Photo of All feamle swing band leader Ina Ray Hutton in a sequined evening gown.

The end of the Melodears but not the end of Hutton’s career….

1939 saw Ina disband the Melodears, due to being tired of being seen as a ‘Novelty Act’ and also being tired of “all the glamour”. She formed an all-male band in 1940 and dyed her hair brunette to really emphasis the “done with glamour” part (that will do it! Ha Ha). This new band would perform together till 1949 and would even appear in the 1944 movie ‘Ever Since Venus‘.

1940s Vintage Photo of All feamle swing band leader Ina Ray Hutton as a brunette.

The ‘Ina Ray Hutton TV Show’

From 1951 to 1956, Ina had her own TV show that saw the return of her All-Girl Orchestra (yay!) and the return to being blonde as well.

1950s vintage photo of The 'Ina Ray Hutton TV Show'

From 1951 to 1956, Ina had her own TV show that saw the return of her All-Girl Orchestra
Ina and some of the band. Source: Ebay

Here is Ina on her show with her singer sister (who had a good career herself), June Hutton (Link to video).

The Music of Ina Ray Hutton

Hutton’s last recorded performance came in the 1975 film ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?’.

Throughout her career Ina did not cut very many records, but she did have a lot of radio play, which has allowed future generations to be able to enjoy her talent. Below is a sampling of her songs and a link to where you can buy her collection of music.

Ina Ray Hutton collection of music 1930s to 1940s
  • What’s the Good of Moonlight
  • Truckin’
  • Georgia’s Gorgeous Gal
  • Witch Doctor
  • How’s About Tomorrow Night
  • Tess’ Torch Song
  • PLUS MANY MANY MORE! Buy/listen to her collection HERE

Her Personal Life

She married and divorced Lou Parisotto, Randy Brooks and Michael Anter (seen below in their 1958 wedding photo).

Ina Ray Hutton marriage photo 1950s
Source: eBay

Her fourth husband, Jack Curtis, preceded her in death. Ina died in 1984 at the age of 67 from complications from diabetes.

Ina’s Legacy

While Ina’s story may not be as well-known to the world (I’m helping to fix that!), you cannot deny that she paved the way for a wave of female bands who took off in the 40s, as well as being a pioneer in fashion and television. She was a true talent and an amazing light in the world of music and was truly “The Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm”.

What did you think of Ina friends? Wasn’t she just remarkable? I will be adding her to my collection of swing music greats, that is for sure.

FURTHER READING:

Liz


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from  eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

Guy Lombardo-Canada’s Famous Big Band Leader

During this holiday season, if you listen to vintage Christmas tunes you will at one point run across Guy Lombardo, particularly at New Years Eve with the famous song ‘Auld Lang Syne. But did you know that this famous Big Band Leader was a Canadian? Yes Mister Lombardo was born in London, Ontario the same city where my mother was born and raised and 1 hour from my hometown of Sarnia.

Vintage Photo of Big Band Leader Guy Lombardo

Guy Lombardo-Canada’s Famous Big Band Leader

Guy (Gaetano Alberto) was born in London, Ontario, June 19, 1902 to Italian immigrant parents and was the eldest of seven children—five boys and two girls—born between 1902 and 1924. His father, who had worked as a tailor, was an amateur singer with a baritone voice and had four of his five sons learn to play instruments so they could accompany him (Guy learned the Violin).

Lombardo and his brothers formed their first orchestra while still in grammar school and rehearsed in the back of their father’s tailor shop (Source).

1917 was the year that Guy would trade in the Violin for a conductor’s baton and in the summer of 1919 the band (which still included some of his brothers) fulfilled its first significant engagement at an outdoor dance pavilion in Grand Bend, Ont.

A new name is formed and a new Country adopted

After a couple of different gigs in Ontario, 21-year-old Guy decided that the group was wasting its time in Canada. Within a few weeks he left London and headed to Cleveland, Ohio in the winter of 1923. This move would forever change the band by helping them to find their distinct sound and start them onto a path of success that Guy and the band never thought would happen in Canada.

Vintage Photo of Big Band leader, Guy Lombardo first recording session
Source: Times Past Old Time Radio

To attract more followers (outside of paid gigs in clubs), Guy paid for air time on US radio’s. A move that helped build his audience and boost his popularity. By 1924 the bands agent wanted to dress the band members in Canadian Mountie uniforms to enhance their look, but Lombardo balked and countered with a proposal of his own: calling the band the Royal Canadians (Source).

Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians is born

Vintage Poster for Big Band leader Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians

Success came quickly for the band after that and they were coined by the Chicago Tribune in 1928 as having ‘the sweetest music this side of Heaven’.

33 year residency is acquired

In 1929 the band began a 33-year residency at the Roosevelt Grill in New York. This is where the famous annual broadcasted New Years celebrations would begin for the band.

Vintage Postcard for The Roosevelt Grill - The Winter Home of Guy Lombardo
Source: Card Cow

Youngest Sister Joins the Band

Guy and his brothers asked Rose Marie to join the Royal Canadians as a singer and she began performing with the band in 1941 at age 16 (source).

1940s Vintage Photo of Guy Lombardo and his sister and brothers.
1940s Vintage Photo: Portrait of Carmen Lombardo, Rose Marie Lombardo, Guy Lombardo, and Don Rodney, Starlight Roof, Waldorf-Astoria, New York, N.Y., ca. July 1947
Portrait of Carmen Lombardo, Rose Marie Lombardo, Guy Lombardo, and Don Rodney, Starlight Roof, Waldorf-Astoria, New York, N.Y., ca. July 1947

Winter Wonderland

In 1934 Guy and the Royal Canadians performed one of the most successful recordings of Winter Wonderland. It actually was a top 10 hit at the time of introduction. Then in 1946 it was brought back with the Andrew Sisters at the Helm and Guy and his band accompanying them for a more Boogie Woogie Version.

I honestly prefer the Andrew Sisters version the best (but you take a listen and let me know what you like).

Andrew Sisters Version

Possible Canadian Mention in “Christmas Island” with the Andrew Sisters

Working with the Andrew Sisters on the song Christmas Island the sisters sing the choruses song as, “Aloha – eh!“. It’s rumored that it was a node to Guy’s Canadian Roots (source).

Side Note: I have not been able to find this version with the “eh” but it was still fun to add to this post.

Andrew sisters Guy Lombardo White christmas Album
Source: Music Stack

Over 100 million records sold Between 1927 and 1954. AND between that time there wasn’t a single year the band didn’t produce a record that hit the charts, many of them going to No. 1 (21 number-one hits to be exact).

Guy Lombardo hits

The band also set an audience attendance record at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom. It was 1930 and 3,715 paying customers saw Guy Lombardo play the famed Ballroom (Source).

Further Reading: 91st Anniversary of the Savoy Ballroom-Home of the Happy Feet

Vintage Photo of a Crowd Outside the Savoy, Harlem
Source: 100 Treasures

Not just a big band leader….

Guy was also a well-known Speed boat racer and won many awards including winning the 1946 Gold Cup race on the Detroit River (plus many more after that).

Vintage Photo of Guy Lombardo with his Speed Boat

Auld Lang Syne

He became an institution hosting televised New Year’s Eve broadcasts from New York, making his rendition of  “Auld Lang Syne” a national standard and his lasting legacy.

The Guy Lombardo New Year’s Eve Party premiered at New York’s Roosevelt Grill on December 31, 1929 and would play there until around 1959 (note: this date has changed several times in my research) where he went on to have his New Years celebrations at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel until 1976.

It’s also important to note for those who might not be aware that Guy Lombardo New Years parties were originally heard live on the CBS Radio Network before midnight Eastern Time, then on the NBC Radio Network after midnight.

On Dec. 31, 1956, the Lombardo band did their first New Year’s TV special on CBS; the program included a live segment from Times Square showcasing the arrival of the New Year. This would carry on till 1976.

Variety once described Guy Lombardo as “the only Canadian ever to create an American tradition” (Source).

Only Canadian to have three stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame

Comedian Bob Hope is the only one that has more. The practice of giving out more than one star has been discounted (source).

Guy Lombardo Hollywood Walk of Fame
Source: As times go by

Never forgot his roots

In 1937, a great flood deluged parts of London. Lombardo cancelled a performance in nearby Detroit to return home to play a benefit concert for the victims.

Between 1955 and his death in 1977, Lombardo appeared in London nearly 20 times (Source).

Guy Lombardo London Ontario

He also came back to Canada to play in other venues during his career, like in Toronto at the CNE in 1937.

Further Reading: ‘Let’s Dance’: The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Dance Tent

Vintage Photo of Guy Lombardo's Big Band playing at Toronto's CNE

Canada Post even issued him a stamp in December 1999 (Yes we love him that much).

Guy Lombardo Postage Stamp
Source: Canadian Coin News

Guy suddenly passed away in November of 1977 (the year I was born).

In the end you make think of Guy Lombardo as “cheesy” as it was often joked that he was but you really honestly cannot deny that he knew what he was doing as a Band Leader and brought us music that is still listened to today. AND by the way…Louis Armstrong LOVED his music (source) which makes him even cooler in my mind now.

Vintage Photo of Guy Lombardo on New Years Eve

I hope you enjoyed this post on Guy Lombardo, including some fun tunes to tap your toes too.

I personally enjoyed learning about this Canadian Icon and was glad I could share his story with others.

Please share any thoughts you have on good old Guy, in the comments section below.

Thanks for dropping by!

Liz