Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs "For Sentimental Reasons", "It's So Peaceful in the Country", "Doin' The Uptown Lowdown", "Trust in Me", "Where Are You?", "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart", "Small Fry", "Please Be Kind", "Darn That Dream", "Rockin' Chair", "Blame It on My Last Affair", and "Says My Heart". She had three records that reached number one on the popular charts. She grew up on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Idaho, where her mother was an enrolled member. The family moved to Spokane, Washington when she was 13. Her younger brothers also became musicians. Her brother, Al Rinker, started to perform as a singer with Bing Crosby in Spokane and became a member of The Rhythm Boys. As adults, Charles Rinker was a lyricist, and Miles Rinker was a clarinet and saxophone player who later became a booking agent. |
Birth and Death Data: Born February 27, 1907 (Tekoa), Died December 12, 1951 (Poughkeepsie)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: soprano vocal, songwriter
Notes: Sister of vocalist Al Rinker.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 54 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-70611 | 10-in. | 10/4/1931 | When it's sleepy time down South | Mildred Bailey ; King's Jesters ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and male vocal trio | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70612 | 10-in. | 10/4/1931 | Can't you see (How I love you?) | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70619 | 10-in. | 10/6/1931 | My goodbye to you | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70623 | 10-in. | 11/24/1931 | Too late | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70624 | 10-in. | 11/24/1931 | Georgia on my mind | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70625 | 10-in. | 11/24/1931 | Concentratin' (On you) | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70630 | 10-in. | 11/28/1931 | Home | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70631 | 10-in. | 11/28/1931 | Lies | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | LBVE-70632 | 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) | 11/30/1931 | George White's Scandals | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal chorus and female and male solos | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70633 | 10-in. | 11/30/1931 | 'Leven pounds of heaven | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | LBVE-70635 | 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) | 12/1/1931 | Popular selections | Mildred Bailey ; Jack Fulton ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Romancers | Jazz/dance band, with female and male vocal solos and male vocal ensemble | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BVE-70636 | 10-in. | 12/1/1931 | All of me | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BRC-71906 | 10-in. | 3/1/1932 | Dear old Mother Dixie | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Rhythm Boys | Female vocal solo, with male vocal quartet and jazz/dance band | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | CSHQ-71907 | 12-in. | 3/2/1932 | Dance selections from Hot-cha | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male and female vocal solos | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | LSHQ-71908 | 10-in. (33-1/3 rpm) | 3/2/1932 | Dance music from Hot-cha and Face the music | Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female and male vocal solos and male vocal trio | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BRC-71910 | 10-in. | 3/3/1932 | Stop the sun stop the moon (My man's gone) | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BRC-71911 | 10-in. | 3/3/1932 | Strangers | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BSHQ-73190 | 10-in. | 8/10/1932 | I'll never be the same again | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band (take 3); with female vocal solo (takes 1 and 2) | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BSHQ-73191 | 10-in. | 8/10/1932 | We just couldn't say good-bye | Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band (take 3); with female vocal solo (takes 1 and 2) | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-73304 | 10-in. | 8/18/1932 | Rockin' chair | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-73305 | 10-in. | 8/18/1932 | Love me tonight | Mildred Bailey | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | BS-027216 | 10-in. | 9/23/1938 | Jump jump's here | Elisse Cooper ; Eddie De Lange Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | songwriter | |
Victor | D7VB-0154 | 10-in. | 2/20/1947 | That ain't right | Mildred Bailey ; Ellis Larkins Trio | Female vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Victor | D7VB-0155 | 10-in. | 2/20/1947 | I don't wanna miss Mississippi (anymore) | Mildred Bailey ; Ellis Larkins Trio | Female vocal solo, with guitar, piano, and string bass | vocalist, soprano vocal | |
Columbia | W152702 | 10-in. | 2/2/1934 | Junk man | Benny Goodman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | vocalist, soprano vocal |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bailey, Mildred," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103960.
Bailey, Mildred. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103960.
"Bailey, Mildred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Mildred Bailey
Discogs: Mildred Bailey
Allmusic: Mildred Bailey
Grove: Mildred Bailey
IMDb: Mildred Bailey
Britannica: Mildred Bailey
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Bailey, Mildred - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82164703
Wikidata: Mildred Bailey - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q257389
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/46945480
MusicBrainz: Mildred Bailey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e079ff65-ad41-48e9-b6ce-8cdb0db64802
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