Viola Smith

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Viola Smith (born November 29, 1912 in Mount Calvary , Fond du Lac County ) is an American drummer and is known for her participation in orchestral works , swing bands and pop music of the 1930s and 1940s. She was one of the first professional female drummers.

Life

biography

Viola Smith grew up in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin . She had seven sisters. Her parents ran a concert hall in Mount Calvary.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Viola played with the Schmidt Sisters , a family orchestra that her father founded in Wisconsin. As the band grew in popularity, they received offers for ever larger gigs across the country. Her breakthrough, according to her nephew Dennis Bartash, was when she and her sisters played on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show in the 1930s .

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Smith played in the Coquettes , an all-women orchestra, with her sister Midred Bartash, who played the clarinet and saxophone.

At the height of her career, she starred with musicians like Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb, and in films alongside Bud Abbott and Lou Costello . In 1942 she joined Phil Spitalny's Hour of Charm , a commercially successful women's big band from the swing era.

She played with the Kit Kat Band , which was part of the original Broadway production of the 1960 musical Cabaret .

Private

Viola Smith celebrated her 100th birthday in Costa Mesa on November 29, 2012 after moving from New York, where she had lived for the past 65 years, the previous year. She lives in Costa Mesa with the Piecemakers, a Christian group founded by her cousin Marie Kolasinski.

plant

Film appearances
Television appearances
Broadway musicals

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Zildjian Wishes Artist Viola Smith a Very Special Happy Birthday . In: Zildjian . Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 7, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / zildjian.com
  2. ↑ Joanna Clay: Still jazzing it up at 99 . In: Daily Pilot , November 26, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 
  3. ↑ a b c Jeremiah Dobruck: Still keeping time at 100 . In: Daily Pilot , November 29, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 
  4. ↑ a b When Women Called the Tunes . In: The New York Times , August 10, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Jane Glenn Haas: Centenarians getting more common . In: The Orange Country Register , November 19, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 
  6. ↑ Viola Smith . In: NAMM . NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants. October 23, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  7. ^ Conversation with Viola Smith
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Viola
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American drummer
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Mount Calvary , Fond du Lac County