Hour of Charm Orchestra
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The Hour of Charm Orchestra was an American musical group led by
Phil Spitalny Phil Spitalny (November 7, 1890 – October 11, 1970) was a Russian Empire-born American musician, music critic, composer, and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s. He rose to fame after he led an all-female orchestra, a nov ...
. Popular in the 1930s and 1940s, it was an all-female orchestra in an era when most orchestra members were male. The group was also known as Phil Spitalny's All-Girl Orchestra.


Background

Inspired by witnessing a 1932 concert that featured "an electrifying performance by a brilliant female violinist," Spitalny disbanded a male orchestra that he directed and began a tour of the United States, seeking female musicians for a new orchestra. His expenditure of $40,000 and auditions of 1,500 women produced a 32-member orchestra that debuted at the Capitol Theatre in New York City in 1934. The musicians usually ranged in age from 17 to 30, and most were single. A retrospective newspaper article about Spitalny published in 1958 noted "ridicule from all sides in show business and ... sour comments from his musician brothers that he was 'crazy'" as he created "the first all-girl band of any consequence ever organized."


Style

The orchestra's specialty was music familiar to its audiences. In an article in the January 7, 1945, issue of ''Radio Life'' magazine, Spitaly described the group's style as "between symphonic and popular." Arrangements, which were done by three members of the orchestra, usually featured piano, harp, and strings more than saxophones, trombones, and trumpets. Sherrie Tucker, in her book, ''Swing Shift: “All-Girl” Bands of the 1940s'', described "the orchestra's trademark effects of quivering strings, dramatic brass fanfares, galloping rhythms, and sweeping flurries from the harp." Spitalny stressed class and decorum in the group's performances, in contrast to the "blatant sex appeal" of a contemporary all-female orchestra,
Ina Ray Hutton Ina Ray Hutton (born Odessa Cowan; March 13, 1916 – February 19, 1984) was an American singer, bandleader, and the elder sister of June Hutton. She led one of the first all-female big bands. Biography A native of Chicago, Hutton began da ...
's
Melodears There were two independently created and independently operating groups known as the Melodears or Melo-Dears in the 1930s and 1940s, one a band, the other a vocal trio, with similar names only by coincidence. There is no known connection between th ...
. He required the musicians to dress in formal evening gowns. The dresses, usually white, were uniform in design. The purchase of one lot of dresses in the mid-1940s cost $18,000.


Personnel

Nearly all of the musicians were single, and their contracts required them to give six months' notice if they planned to marry. Most of them were graduates of conservatories. Versatility was a key element of the orchestra. Some members sang solos, and all of them formed a vocal chorus. Each was proficient on at least two instruments; one, Jan Baker, could play 12. Evelyn Kaye, whom Spitalny met at the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
in New York, became the orchestra's first violinist and
concertmistress The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signif ...
. She joined him on the audition tour, seeking other members for the group. She was billed as "Evelyn and Her Magic Violin", with the violin being a Bergonzi. made in 1756 and given to her as an award from the Arts Club of America upon her graduation from Juilliard. The core orchestra that played in the studio for radio broadcasts consisted of 45 women. On tour, however, Kaye noted in a 1978 interview, "we added 25 players because we needed a bigger sound for the auditoriums and halls where we played.". Spitalny had a policy of billing the orchestra's members only by first name.


Organization

The orchestra was set up as a stock company, with each member owning a number of shares of stock based on her role. At year's end, profits were distributed based on each person's shares in addition to their regular salaries. A five-woman committee governed the group, making decisions on matters such as whether or not member were allowed to go out on dates.


Film

Spitalny and the musicians from ''
The Hour of Charm ''The Hour of Charm'' is an American old-time radio music program. It debuted on CBS on May 18, 1934, and had its final broadcast on CBS on May 2, 1948. The program also was broadcast on Armed Forces Radio, and after its network broadcasts ended, ...
'' appeared in two feature films. In ''
When Johnny Comes Marching Home "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Roud 6637), sometimes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", is a popular song from the American Civil War that expressed people's longing for the return of their friends and relatives who were fighting in the ...
'' (1942), the group portrayed substitute musicians who filled in for male musicians who were abroad during World War II. In ''
Here Come the Co-Eds ''Here Come The Co-Eds'' is a 1945 American comedy film starring the comedy team Abbott and Costello. Plot Oliver Quackenbush, Molly McCarthy and her brother Slats who acts as her publicity agent work for the Miramar Ballroom as taxi dancers. Sla ...
'' (1945), the women portrayed residents of a girls' dormitory who played and sang music. The group also made
short subjects A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, mostly for
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
-- "more short subject films than any other all-girl band except for Ina Ray Hutton and her Melodears." The productions included ''Moments of Charm'' (1939), ''Musical Charmers'' (1936), ''Big City Fantasy'' (1934) and ''Phil Spitalny and His Musical Queens'' (1934).


Critical reception

Paul Denis, in a review published in the October 25, 1941, issue of the trade publication ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', noted that the orchestra's performance at the Strand Theatre in New York, was "strong on fine melodious singing and instrumental music, but weak on comedy and surprise."


Recognition

In 1937, the Radio Committee of the Women's National Exposition of Arts and Industries recognized the orchestra with its third annual Achievement Award for the most distinguished work of women in radio.


References


External links

{{commons category, Hour of Charm Orchestra
The Hour of Charm Orchestra plays ''People Will Say We're in Love'' from ''The Army-Navy Screen Magazine'' Number 22Recordings by The Hour of Charm Orchestra from the Internet Archive
Musical groups established in 1934 Big bands 1934 establishments in New York City