Women in the Music Industry
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jo Stafford had a remarkable career as both a big band singer and as a solo recording artist after the swing era. Her career included a string of hit popular songs such as...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Margaret Whiting was a popular singer who had a number of hit recordings in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her father was the noted songwriter Richard Whiting who penned...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lena Horne was a popular singer and actress who was dedicated to the Civil Rights movement beginning in the 1950s. She began her career singing in the chorus line at the...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Martha Tilton was a famous singer during the Big Band Era best known for her vocals on the Benny Goodman hit record "And The Angels Sing." Known as The Liltin' Martha...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Peggy Lee was an elegant jazz vocalist who started singing with Benny Goodman's Orchestra and went on to record standard jazz albums and hit songs in the 1950s and 60s....
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Helen Forrest was often called the Sweetheart of the Big Band Era and may be the only vocalist to have recorded a million seller with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Harry...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bea Wain was a singer with the big bands during the great swing era of the 1940s. She began singing with Artie Shaw's orchestra in 1937. Her greatest success came as she...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Connie Haines was a noted singer during the Big Band Era. When auditioning for an engagement with the Harry James Orchestra, the famed bandleader and trumpeter liked her...
Sue Smith met her future husband, Craig, when they were both teenagers, working part-time demonstrating Wurlitzer organs at Karnes Music in the Chicago area. Craig was the senior member of the "Whiz Kids", (talented organ students that performed at fairs and outside promotions) and Sue was a...
Women’s role in the music industry has progressively grown and developed over the years. When the NAMM Oral History program began, many of the women interviewed kept the books of their retail store. However, the role women have played in the industry grew to include more and more women in top...