People, Locations, Episodes

Willie Mae Wong, Musician born

*Willie Mae Wong was born on this date in 1920. She was an African Asian-American musician. From Greenville, MS., Wong had a Chinese father and a mixed-race mother. Willie Mae, also affectionately known as “Rabbit,” was one of the original members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. They were the first multi-racial, all-female big band in […]

Anne Kennedy, Classical Pianist and Professor born.

*Anne Kennedy was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black classical pianist and piano professor. Anne Lucille Gamble was born in Charleston, West Virginia, to Dr. Henry Floyd Gamble and the former Nina Hortense Clinton. She was the younger of two children born into that union. Gamble had two older step-siblings as […]

Dr. Yusef Lateef born

On this date in 1920, Yusef Lateef was born. He is an African American musician specializing as

Marian Bruce Logan, Cabaret Singer, and Activist born

*Marian Bruce Logan’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1920. She was a Black cabaret singer, civil rights advocate, and former New York City Commissioner of Human Rights. During her career in show business, she sang using the stage name Marian Bruce. In the 1940s and 1950s, she starred in the first all-Black show […]

Clark Terry, Trumpeter born

*Clark Terry was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black trumpeter, a jazz flugelhorn pioneer, and a composer and educator.   Clark Virgil Terry Jr. was born to Clark Virgil Terry Sr. and Mary Terry in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Vashon High School and began his professional career in the early 1940s, playing in local clubs. He […]

Evelyn White, Choral Vocalist born

*Evelyn White was born on this date in 1921. She was an African American vocalist, choral instructor, author and educator.

Matthew Kennedy, Choral Conductor born

*Matthew Kennedy was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black classical pianist, professor, choral director, composer, and arranger of Negro Spirituals. Matthew Washington Kennedy was born in Americus, Georgia, and was the fourth child of Royal Clement Kennedy and Mary Magdalene Dowdell. His father was a postal worker and died of a heart attack […]

Robert McFerrin Sr., Operatic Baritone born

*Robert McFerrin, Sr. was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black operatic baritone and the first African American man to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

The Sunset Café (Chicago) Opens

*The Sunset Café is celebrated on this date in 1921. Also known as The Grand Terrace Café, the Sunset Café was a jazz club in Chicago, Illinois.  It was one of the most important jazz clubs in America. Chicago became a creative capital of jazz innovation and again during the emergence of bebop in the […]

Vivian Dandridge, Singer, Dancer and Actress born.

*Vivian Dandridge was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black singer, actress, and dancer. Vivian Alferetta Dandridge was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cyril Dandridge. She was the older sister of actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge and the daughter of actress Ruby Dandridge. Her parents separated shortly before the birth of her […]

Black Swan Records is Formed

*On this date we remember Black Swan Records, the first Black-owned record label in America.

Billy Taylor, Pianist born

*Billy Taylor was born on this date in 1921.  He was an African American composer, educator, broadcaster and piano player.

From Greenville, NC, William Billy Taylor, Sr. graduated from Virginia State College in 1942. He moved to New York and played with such major musicians as Ben Webster, Eddie South, and Slam Stewart among others.   In 1944 he recorded with Stuff Smith. In 1951 he was the house pianist at Birdland and soon afterward Taylor formed his first of many trios.

Buddy Collette, Musician, and Educator born

*Buddy Collette was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. William Marcel Collette was born in Los Angeles and raised in Watts, surrounded by people of different ethnicities. He lived in a house built by his father in an area with cheap, plentiful land. The neighborhood in which […]

Jon Hendricks, Jazz Vocalist born

*On this date in 1921, Jon Hendricks was born. He is an African American singer and writer.

Chico Hamilton, Bandleader born

*Chico Hamilton was born on this date in 1921. He was an Afro Mexican jazz drummer and bandleader.   He was born Forestorn Hamilton in Los Angeles, CA. His father, Jesse, was Black and white (Scottish) and worked at the University Club of Southern California. His mother, Pearl Lee Gonzales Cooley Hamilton, was a school dietitian. […]