DESCRIPTION:
Mildred Bailey & Paul Whiteman's Orchestra -- All Of Me, Victor 1931

NOTE: Mildred BAILEY (nee Rinker) b. 1907 in Tekoa, Washington -- d. 1951 in Poughkeepsie, New York - American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". Her number one hits were "Please Be Kind", "Rockin' Chair" and "Says My Heart". Her mother, Josephine, was half Coeur d'Alene Indian and her father, Charles, played fiddle and called square dances. Her mother played piano every evening after supper and taught Mildred to play and sing. Her brothers were the lyricist Charles Rinker and the vocalist and composer Al Rinker (the later, was one of The Rhythm Boys, the male trio that accompanied Paul Whiteman's Orchestra in the 1920/30s). At the age of seventeen, Bailey moved to Seattle and worked as a sheet music demonstrator at Woolworth's. She married and divorced Ted Bailey, keeping his last name because she thought it sounded more American than Rinker. With the help of her second husband, Benny Stafford, she became an established blues and jazz singer on the West Coast. In 1929-33 she sang with Paul Whiteman's band, her first two records were as uncredited vocalist for an Eddie Lang Orchestra session in 1929 ("What Kind O' Man Is You?", an obscure Hoagy Carmichael song that was only issued in the UK) and a 1930 recording of "I Like To Do Things For You" for Frankie Trumbauer (This rare recording is available in You Tube http://youtu.be/M9JlSxQ_TFY ). Mildred Bailey was Whiteman's popular female vocalist through 1932 (recording in a smooth crooning style), when she left the band due to salary disagreements. She then recorded a series of records for Brunswick in 1933 (accompanied by The Dorsey Brothers), as well an all-star session with Benny Goodman's studio band in 1934 that featured Coleman Hawkins.
In the mid 1930s, she recorded with her third husband Red Norvo. A dynamic couple, they earned the nicknames "Mr. and Mrs. Swing". Despite their divorce, she and Red would continue to record together until 1945. Suffering from diabetes and depression (during her adult life Bailey was overweight), she only made a few recordings following World War II.