International Sweethearts of Rhythm

Women’s History Month

Hello, Golden Divas!

Let’s kick off this phenomenal month with a little swing and jazz by celebrating the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

If you didn’t know who these beautiful ladies were, you’re about to find out exactly who they are in this post.

The International  Sweethearts of Rhythm graced the stage as the first integrated all-female jazz band to tour nationally. While women had been recognized as singers in popular American culture, rarely were they recognized as instrumentalists, much less as brass aficionados. Operating from 1938 to 1946, their boom in popularity came during World War II, when many male jazz artists were serving overseas, leaving an opportunity for women to shine their talents at home.

Over time, the group attracted some of the country’s strongest female jazz instrumentalists of the era. One of the group’s standout performers was trumpeter Ernestine Carroll, better known as “Tiny Davis,” who was affectionately referred to as the female Louis Armstrong. Armstrong, in fact, was counted among her fans. 

They played swing and jazz on the national circuit that included the Apollo Theater in New York City, the Regal Theater in Chicago, and the Howard Theater in Washington DC.

After a performance in Chicago in 1943, the Chicago defender announced the band was…

“One of the hardest stage shows that have ever raised the roof of Theater!”

They have been labeled “the most prominent and probably best female aggregation of the Big Band era.” During feminist movements of the 1960s and 70s in America, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm became popular with feminist writers and musicologists who made it their goal to change the discourse on the history of jazz to include both men, women, and musicians of color.

Members from different races including Latina, Asian, Caucasian, black, Indian, and Puerto Rican lent the band the caveat “international”. Composed of 14 to 19-year-olds, the venues where they perform predominantly, if not only, for black audiences. If you are whites, whatever your age, chances are you may never have heard of the Sweethearts.

There were also several lesbians in the band, including Tiny Davis and her partner, Ruby Lucas, who were later the subject of a documentary Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin’ Women. In March 2011, six of the surviving members of the band donated memorabilia and artifacts from their touring years to the National Museum of American History.