- 40 Best · 2017
- 40 Best · 2017
- 40 Best · 2017
- 40 Best · 2017
- 40 Best · 2017
- The Burning Spider · 2017
- The Complete Columbia Recording Sessions, Vol. 1 - 1929-1937 · 2017
- The Complete Columbia Recording Sessions, Vol. 1 - 1929-1937 · 2017
- The Complete Columbia Recording Sessions, Vol. 1 - 1929-1937 · 2017
- The Complete Columbia Recording Sessions, Vol. 1 - 1929-1937 · 2017
- Swing and Sweet : Songs from the 30's and 40's · 2016
- I'm Afraid of Myself (Remastered) - Single · 2015
- Mildred Bailey (Doxy Collection Restored Remastered) · 2014
- 2016
Artist Playlists
- Peppy or poignant, she sang jazz sides with undisguised heart.
Appears On
- Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra & Mildred Bailey
- Teddy Wilson, The Paul Baron Orchestra, Paul Baron & Mildred Bailey
- Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra & Mildred Bailey
- Bob Crosby featuring Mildred Bailey & Muggsy Spanier
- Benny Goodman
About Mildred Bailey
An early jazz singer with a sweet voice, Mildred Bailey balanced a good deal of popular success with a hot jazz-slanted career that saw her billed as Mrs. Swing (her husband, Red Norvo, was Mr. Swing). Born Mildred Rinker in Washington state in 1907, Bailey began performing at an early age, playing piano and singing in movie theaters during the early '20s. By 1925, she was the headlining act at a club in Hollywood, doing a mixture of pop, early jazz tunes, and vaudeville standards. Influenced by Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and Connie Boswell, she developed a soft, swinging delivery that pleased all kinds of nightclub audiences in the area. After sending a demonstration disc in to Paul Whiteman in 1929, she gained a spot with one of the most popular dance orchestras of the day. The added exposure with Whiteman soon gave Bailey her own radio program. She had already debuted on a recording date with guitarist Eddie Lang in 1929, but in 1932 she gained fame by recording what became her signature song, "Rockin' Chair" -- written especially for her by Hoagie Carmichael -- with a Whiteman small group. While recording for Vocalion during the 1930s, Bailey often utilized her husband, xylophonist/vibraphonist Red Norvo. She also appeared on his recordings of the late '30s, and the arrangements of Eddie Sauter proved a perfect accompaniment to her vocals. Though she and Norvo later divorced, Bailey continued to perform and record during the 1940s. She appeared on Benny Goodman's Camel Caravan radio program, and gained her own series again during the mid-'40s. Hampered by health problems during the late '40s, she spent time in the hospital suffering from diabetes and died of a heart attack in 1951. ~ John Bush
- HOMETOWN
- Tekoa, WA, United States
- BORN
- 27 February 1907
- GENRE
- Jazz