Anna Mae Winburn, née Darden was an African-American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s.
Background
Anna Mae Winburn was born to a musical family in Portuguese Royal, Tennessee, and migrated to Kokomo,, at a young age. Her mother"s maiden name was Canell. Judy sang with groups around Minneapolis, and was once married to Frank Perkins, a competent pianist and son of "Red" Perkins.
Career
She is best known for having directed the, 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. Anna Mae had three sisters: Matilda, Judy, and Easter
Julia Mae (Judy) Darden (b December 20, 1920). Sometime around 1961 Judy married a saxophonist and bandleader Percy Caesar Hughes of Minneapolis.
Judy, then known as Julia Mae Hughes, died of lung cancer on January 1, 1975.
Easter Darden; Easter married drummer and vibist William "Jeep" Stewart, and after divorcing him, later married James Overton. Anna Mae married Eustace "Duke" Pilgrim (b 1921 as Eustace Michael Pilgrim.
Doctorate 1970) around 1948. Together, they had four children.
They lived in Elmhurst, New York, among many Harlem transplants and jazz greats. Duke Pilgrim had a prior marriage to Alberta Adams.
Death
Winburn died in 1999 in Hempstead, New New York Her first known publicized performance was singing with the studio band of Radio WOWO, Fort Wayne.
She worked at various clubs in, including the Chateau Lido in polis (where she appeared under the pseudonym Anita Door).
From there she moved to, 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, that were led by Red Perkins. During that time Winburn was a collaborator of Lloyd Hunter, frequently singing for Lloyd Hunter"s "Serenaders". She also led the Cotton Club Boys out of Omaha, a group that at one point included the amazing guitarist Charlie Christian.
When many of the musicians were lost to the World World War II draft, Winburn joined the Soon she went to Oklahoma City and led bands for a short while.
lieutenant was there that she led Eddie Durham"s "All-Girl Orchestra", which eventually earned her an invite to join the
Eddie Durham had been the composer for the for two years before leaving to join Count Basie"s band. After being recommended by Jimmie Jewel, who owned "s Dreamland Ballroom, Winburn became the leader of the band in 1941.
She was reportedly hired for her attractive figure, with the intention of doing little actual composing or singing. Winburn formed other incarnations of the International Sweethearts for the next 10 years, often billing her name before the band"son
However, those bands never regained the notoriety of the early years.