Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

vocalist and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues o ...

who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, she is best known for having directed the

International Sweethearts of Rhythm The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...

, an all-female

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

that was perhaps one of the few – and one of the most – racially integrated dance-bands of the

swing era The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been arou ...

Career

Indiana and Nebraska

Her first known publicized performance was singing with the studio band of Radio WOWO,

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Cens ...

. She worked at various clubs in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, including the Chateau Lido in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

(where she appeared under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Anita Door). From there she moved to

North Omaha, Nebraska North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ea ...

, where she sang and played guitar for a variety of

territory band Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s. Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven n ...

s, or groups whose touring activities and popularity were geographically limited to several adjoining states, that were led by

Red Perkins Frank Shelton "Red" Perkins (December 26, 1890 – September 27, 1976) was an American jazz trumpet player, singer, and bandleader. Perkins led of one of the oldest Omaha, Nebraska-based jazz territory bands, The Dixie Ramblers, and saw his gre ...

. During that time Winburn was a collaborator of

Lloyd Hunter Lloyd Hunter (May 4, 1910–month and date unknown, 1961) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from North Omaha, Nebraska.(nd"Jammin’ For the Jackpot: Big Bands and Territory Bands of the 30s" New World Records, p. 10. . Biography Hunt ...

, frequently singing for Hunter's "Serenaders". She also led the Cotton Club Boys out of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

, a group that at one point included the amazing guitarist

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nat ...

. When many of the musicians were lost to the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

, Winburn joined the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Soon she went to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

and led bands for a short while. It was there that she led

Eddie Durham Edward Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie ...

's "All-Girl Orchestra", which eventually earned her an invite to join the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm

had been the composer for the International Sweethearts of Rhythm for two years before leaving to join

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

's band. After being recommended by Jimmie Jewel, who owned North Omaha's

Dreamland Ballroom The Jewell Building is a city landmark in North Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1923, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 2221 North 24th Street, the building was home to the Dreamland Ballroom for more than 40 years, a ...

, Winburn became the leader of the band in 1941. She was reportedly hired for her attractive figure, with the intention of doing little actual composing or singing. In the 1986 documentary film ''

'', Winburn reported of her first meeting, "I said 'What a bunch of cute little girls, but I don't know whether I could get along with that many women or not.' " Despite rumors of

Betty Carter Betty Carter (born Lillie Mae Jones; May 16, 1929 – September 26, 1998) was an American jazz singer known for her improvisational technique, scatting and other complex musical abilities that demonstrated her vocal talent and imaginative inte ...

being groomed to take her place after her marriage, Winburn was the leader of the band until it folded in late 1949. Winburn formed other incarnations of the International Sweethearts for the next 10 years, often billing her name before the band's. However, those bands never regained the notoriety of the early years. Anna Mae Winburn and Her Sweethearts performed at the eighth

Cavalcade of Jazz The Cavalcade of Jazz was the first large outdoor jazz entertainment event of its kind produced by an African American, Leon Hefflin, Sr. The event was held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, Lane Field in San Diego and the last one at the Shrine Audi ...

concert held also at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. in Los Angeles on June 1, 1952. Other featured artists were

Jerry Wallace Jerry Leon Wallace (December 15, 1928 – May 5, 2008) was an American country and pop singer. Between 1958 and 1964, Wallace charted nine hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, including the No. 8 " Primrose Lane" that was later used as the them ...

Toni Harper Toni Harper (born June 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, California), also known as Toni Dunlap, is an American former child singer who retired from performing at the age of 29. After learning dance under Maceo Anderson, Harper was cast by the choreograp ...

, Roy Brown and His Mighty Men,

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

, and

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

Family

Anna Mae Winburn was born in

Port Royal, Tennessee Port Royal is an unincorporated community on the border of Montgomery and Robertson counties, Tennessee. It is home to Port Royal State Park and is located at the confluence of the Red River and Sulphur Fork Creek. Early history Port Royal was ...

, to Andrew Jackson Darden (1881–1956) and Lula Carnell ''(maiden;'' 1882–1929), a musical family. Her family moved to

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in Indiana and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard County, the Kokomo-Peru CSA, which include ...

, when she was young. She was the fourth oldest of 9 siblings – five brothers and three sisters: # Lloyd W. Darden (1904–1977) # Gus Darden (1905–1995) # Matilda "Mattie" Ruth Darden (1909–1993) # Carnell Andrew Darden (1914–1996) # Easter Marie Darden (1917–1989) # James Edwin Darden (1918–1979) # Julia "Judy" Mae Darden (1920–1975) # Morris Briggs Darden (1923–1955)

Marriages

On January 2, 1930, Anna Mae Darden married Charles Raymond Winburn (1910–1960) in

Howard County, Indiana Howard County is one of 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,658. The county seat is Kokomo. Originally named Richardville County, it was renamed in 1844 to commemorate General Tilghman Ashu ...

. In 1947, Anna Mae Winburn was granted a divorce by the Howard County Circuit Court in Kokomo. In the divorce proceedings, she testified that Charles abandoned her in June 1934. Around 1948, Winburn married "Duke" Pilgrim ''(né'' Eustace Michael Pilgrim; 1921–1970) around 1948. They had four children. They lived in Elmhurst, New York, among many Harlem transplants and jazz greats. Duke Pilgrim, before marrying Anna Mae, had been divorced from Albertha Adams ''(maiden;'' 1910–2005), a dancer whom he married April 27, 1940, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Sisters

Mattie, Judy, and Easter were also performers. Mattie married William Hughes. Judy sang with groups around

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

. She was married to Frank Shelton Perkins Jr. (1915–1985), a pianist and son of

. Sometime around 1961 Judy married saxophonist and bandleader Percy Caesar Hughes (1922–2015) of Minneapolis.Percy Caesar Hughes, Jr.
. USTA.com. Retrieved 5/5/08. Judy, then known as Julia Mae Hughes, died of lung cancer on January 1, 1975. Easter married

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

and

vibist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...

"Jeep" Stewart (born William Alfred Stewart around 1920), and after divorcing him, later married James Elias Overton (1922–1986). Easter has been twice married before, first, in 1936, to Samuel L. Thurman, and second, in 1943, to Ulysses Grant Waldon, Jr. (1912–1978).

Death

Winburn died on September 30, 1999, in

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, o ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Photographs
Anna Mae Winburn with Maurice King

Anna Mae Winburn
at piano
Anna Mae Winburn

International Sweethearts of Rhythm Collection Spotlight, Because of Her Story, Smithsonian Institution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winburn, Anna Mae 1913 births 1999 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz singers Big band bandleaders American women jazz singers Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska People from Omaha, Nebraska People from Montgomery County, Tennessee 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers People from Robertson County, Tennessee Jazz musicians from Tennessee Jazz musicians from Nebraska People from Elmhurst, Queens International Sweethearts of Rhythm members Jazz musicians from New York (state)