Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Florence Mills: The “Queen of Happiness” Who Lit Up the Stage Too Briefly
Florence Winfrey was born on January 25, 1895, in Washington, D.C., and from the moment she could carry a tune, it was clear something special was happening. By age six, she was already performing duets with her two older sisters, and soon the trio formed a polished vaudeville act they called “The Mills Sisters.” The act did well enough to draw audiences, but eventually her sisters chose different paths, leaving the stage behind.
Refusing to Give Up the Dream
Florence, however, was determined to pursue a career in show business—quitting simply wasn’t in her vocabulary. She joined forces with Ada Smith, Cora Green, and Carolyn Williams to form a group called the “Panama Four,” which achieved moderate success on the vaudeville circuit. But Mills was destined for something bigger.
The Show That Changed Everything
Her breakthrough came in 1921 when she landed a role in the groundbreaking Broadway musical Shuffle Along. This wasn’t just another show—it’s widely credited with igniting the Harlem Renaissance, proving that Black artists could create commercially successful, artistically excellent work that appealed to integrated audiences. Mills’ performance captivated theatergoers and critics alike.
From there, her star ascended rapidly. She played the legendary Palace Theatre—the ultimate goal for any vaudevillian—and became an international sensation with the hit show Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds, where her signature song “I’m a Little Blackbird Looking for a Bluebird” became an anthem of hope and aspiration that resonated far beyond the footlights.
“The Queen of Happiness”
Mills became known as the “Queen of Happiness” for her effervescent stage presence, delicate yet expressive voice, and winsome, wide-eyed beauty that seemed to radiate joy. She graced the pages of Vogue and Vanity Fair—extraordinary recognition for a Black performer in the 1920s, when such visibility was rare and hard-won.
She wasn’t just entertaining audiences; she was breaking barriers and changing perceptions about what Black artists could achieve on the world stage.
A Tragic, Premature End
But success came at a devastating cost. By 1926, after more than 250 grueling performances of Blackbirds in London, Mills’ health began to fail. Exhausted and weakened, she developed tuberculosis—a disease that was particularly deadly in that era. Then, in a cruel twist of fate, she contracted an infection following an appendicitis operation.
On November 1, 1927, Florence Mills died at just 32 years old, her brilliant light extinguished far too soon.
A Legacy That Endures
Her death sent shockwaves through the entertainment world and the Harlem community. Duke Ellington memorialized her in his haunting composition “Black Beauty,” while Fats Waller paid tribute with “Bye Bye Florence”—both testament to the profound impact she had on her fellow artists.
The residential building at 267 Edgecombe Avenue in Harlem’s prestigious Sugar Hill neighborhood bears her name, ensuring that residents and visitors alike remember the woman who helped put Harlem on the cultural map. And in 2012, author Alan Schroeder introduced a new generation to her story with the children’s book Baby Flo: Florence Mills Lights Up the Stage, published by Lee & Low.
What Might Have Been
It’s impossible not to wonder what Florence Mills might have achieved had she lived longer. At 32, most performers are just hitting their stride. Instead, we’re left with recordings that only hint at her magic, reviews that describe her incandescent presence, and the knowledge that for a brief, shining moment, she was the brightest star in the sky.
The “Queen of Happiness” brought joy to millions but didn’t live long enough to fully enjoy the kingdom she helped create. Her story is both inspiring and heartbreaking—a reminder that talent and determination can change the world, even if the world doesn’t get to keep you as long as it should.
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Bernard Etté was born on September 13, 1898 in Kassel, Germany. The son of a hairdresser, he studied music formally at the Louis Spohr Conservatory in Kassel. He initially worked with Carl Robrecht as an instrumentalist, playing piano and banjo in addition to violin.
In the early 1920s he assembled his own ensemble, and took up a residency in Berlin, Germany and performed on radio. The group also recorded in the 1920s, often with traveling American musicians. During the 1930s, as the Nazi party rose to power, Etté shifted away from jazz to light music, and led a large orchestra during World War II.
He played for wounded soldiers on behalf of the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt in 1940 and for prison overseers at Auschwitz in 1944. After the war, he moved to the United States but was unsuccessful in adapting to new stylistic trends when he attempted a new career.
Returning to Germany, he led bands for luxury retreats in the East Frisian Islands and schlager and operetta backing bands in central Germany. By the end of the 1950s he quit actively playing music, and lived out his last years in an old folk’s home.
Bernard Etté, jazz and light music violinist and conductor died on September 26, 1973 in Mühldorf, Bavaria, Germany.
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Freddie Moore was born on August 20, 1900, in Washington, North Carolina. Here’s some more information about Freddie Moore: He began playing drums in 1912 at the age of 12 and started his career in traveling shows, picking up much experience in variety shows and on vaudeville. He was with Charlie Creath in 1927 in St. Louis, Missouri and recorded with King Oliver from 1929-30, touring with him from 1931-32. He played in New York City with Wilbur Sweatman from 1928-31.
He went on to lead his own band with Peter Brown and Don Frye in Detroit, Michigan from 1933 to 1937. He feelanced for the next 20 years with Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, Art Hodes, Eubie Blake, John Kirby, Bob Wilber and Conrad Janis along with many others. The drummer was with Wilbur DeParis’ New New Orleans Jazz Band from 1952-54 and played in Europe with Mezz Mezzrow from 1954-55. He had associations with Sammy Price, Tony Parenti and even Roy Eldridge in 1971.
In the 1980s and the early 1990s he stayed active, playing with various bands in the New York area and often doubled on washboard. He was a colorful performer, often mugging and adding showbiz effects to the music. Moore, who appeared on a Rahsaan Roland Kirk record playing Sweet Georgia Brown, led his only record date for the New York Jazz label in 1981.
Drummer and singer Freddie Moore, whose long career finally came to an end after seven decades of playing with so many notable musicians, died on November 3, 1992 in New York.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Clarence Holiday was born Clarence Halliday on July 23, 1898 in Baltimore, Maryland and attended a boys’ school with the banjo player Elmer Snowden. Both of them played banjo with various local jazz bands, including the Eubie Blake band. At the age of 16, he became the unmarried father of Billie Holiday, who was born to 19-year-old Sarah Fagan, but rarely visited them. He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he was 21 years old.
Holiday played rhythm guitar and banjo as a member of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra from 1928 to 1933. He went on to record the following year with Benny Carter, then Bob Howard in 1935 and worked with Charlie Turner, Louis Metcalf, and the Don Redman Big Band between 193 and 1937.
Exposed to mustard gas while serving in World War I, he later fell ill with a lung disorder while on tour in Texas. Refused treatment at a local hospital when he finally managed to see a doctor, Clarence was only allowed in the Jim Crow ward of the Veterans Hospital. By then pneumonia had set in and without antibiotics, the illness was fatal.
Guitarist and banjoist Clarence Holiday died in Dallas, Texas on March 1, 1937.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Frederick L. Guy was born in Burkeville, Virginia on May 23, 1897 and was raised in New York City. He played guitar and banjo with Joseph C. Smith’s Orchestra.
In the early 1920s, Guy joined Duke Ellington’s Washingtonians, switching from banjo to guitar in the early Thirties. He remained with Ellington’s orchestra until 1949.
Retiring from music he moved to Chicago, Illinois and for twenty years ran a ballroom. On December 22, 1971 he committed suicide. He was 74 years old.