Anna Mae Winburn

Anna Mae Winburn (née Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African-American, she is best known for having directed the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all-female big band that was perhaps one of the few – and one of the most – racially integrated dance-bands of the swing era. In 1944, the band was named as the country's favorite all-female orchestra in a DownBeat magazine poll.

Early life Anna Mae Darden was born in Port Royal, Tennessee, to Andrew Jackson Darden (1881–1956) and Lula Carnell (maiden; 1882–1929), a musical family. Her family moved to Kokomo, Indiana, when she was young.

She was the fourth oldest of nine siblings, with five brothers and three sisters. All three of her sisters also became performers. Winburn never finished high school but turned to music as a way to help support her large family after her mother had died.

Career Midwestern United States Winburn's musical career began when she entered a talent contest at the Isis Theater in Kokomo, Indiana, placing second after singing the Ethel Waters song "Lovey Joe" and accompanying herself on guitar. Winburn adopted the stage name so she could pass as Spanish, despite not knowing the language, in order to get more work than she could if club owners and customers knew she was African-American.

From there she moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where she sang and played guitar for a variety of territory bands, or groups whose touring activities and popularity were geographically limited to several adjoining states. Red Perkins hired her as a vocalist for his band.

At a time when many American male musicians were lost to the World War II draft, in late 1941, Winburn was hired to join the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm

Eddie Durham had been the composer for the International Sweethearts of Rhythm for two years before leaving to create Eddie Durham's All-Star Girl Orchestra. After being recommended by Jimmie Jewel, who owned North Omaha's Dreamland Ballroom, Winburn became the leader of the band in late 1941. She was reportedly hired for her attractive figure, with the intention of doing little actual composing or singing, but within a short time after joining the band, she was not only singing but also fronting the group.

The Sweethearts were immensely popular from 1940 through 1946. They had a breakout performance at Harlem's Apollo Theater in 1941, and later that year played the Savoy Ballroom. In 1942, the band toured the United States twice, performing from coast to coast primarily for African-American audiences. They participated in multiple "battle of the sexes" concerts with other prominent big bands of the time, including those of Fletcher Henderson, Erskine Hawkins and Jimmy Dorsey. They broke attendance records at the Chicago Regal Theater that previously had been set by Count Basie and Louis Armstrong. In 1944 and 1945, they were featured several times on Armed Forces Radio, which led to requests from black soldiers for the Sweethearts to be included in USO tours. Starting in July 1945, the group spent six months performing in post-war France and Germany and was one of the most popular USO acts. Winburn was the leader of the band until she left to get married in mid-1948. The group disbanded in 1949.

In 1953, Winburn re-formed the group as an octet, and later tried to restart the big band. In 1947, she was granted a divorce by the Howard County Circuit Court in Kokomo. In the divorce proceedings, she testified that Charles abandoned her in June 1934.

In 1948, Winburn married "Duke" Pilgrim (né Eustace Michael Pilgrim; 1921–1970). They had four children between 1948 and 1956. The family lived in Elmhurst, New York.

Death Winburn died on September 30, 1999, in Hempstead, New York.