Stuff You Gotta Watch: The Girls in the Band
In the 1930s and ’40s, hundreds of female jazz musicians took the US by storm, playing both in all-girl bands and alongside their male counterparts. While some, like Melba Liston or Mary Lou Williams, managed to escape obscurity, by the 1950s most of them had been forgotten—until recently, that is.
The Girls in the Band is a fascinating documentary detailing the lives and artistry of those women who dared to defy gender norms in order to pursue a passion. As Clora Bryant, Roz Cron, Peggy Gilbert, Billie Rogers, and many others guide us through their upbringing and careers, we are introduced to a world where joy and talent reigned supreme despite the sexism, racism, and other types of oppression they endured. Besides the invaluable first-person testimonies, we are also treated to superb archival footage of the era, including performances from all-girl big bands such as Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears, Ada Leonard’s All-American Girl Orchestra, and Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Produced and directed by PBS documentarian Judy Chaikin, The Girls in the Band demonstrates how history often needs to be rewritten to reflect music genres and scenes more accurately, and how–in the process–it can provide inspiration to those who keep fighting the senseless barriers society imposes on them.
Review by Ana Leorne. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.