[ Indiana Five ]
I'm not sure that 'The Original Indiana Five' ever saw Indiana. The name was an attempt to sound like other bands of the day. The band played mainly in New York City, and did some radio broadcasting. They were active from the late 'teens to 1929. They also recorded under the name of 'John Sylvester and his Orchestra'. My knowledge of the 'Indiana 5' is filled with much speculation

Like all bands, the 'Indiana 5' had personnel changes. I can't 'nail down' who originally organized the band but at one time pianist Harry Ford was the leader, another time pianist Newman Fier was the leader and still another time trumpet guy Johnny Sylvester led the band.

At various times the personnel consisted of: Tom Morton-drums, Johnny Sylvester or James Christie-trumpet, Vincent Grande or Pete Pellizzi-tuba, Nick Vitalo-clarinet, Harry Ford or Newman Fier-piano; Tony Colucci-banjo.
The BigBands Database Plus thanks Mr. Verne Buland for this entry on the Indiana Five.

[ Red Ingle and the Natural Seven ]
Red played sax for the Ted Weems orch., and later with the Spike Jones band. In the mid-1940's, he recorded "Cigareets, Whuskey, and Wild Wild Women", (535 kb) and (as a courtesy for the drunk in the above tune) here's a highly satirical version of "Temptation". with vocalist "Cinderella G. Stump", -otherise known as Jo Stafford.

[ International Sweethearts of Rhythm ]
WWll drafted many of our best male musicians into the Services. This gave women musicians some new opportunites. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an excellent and popular womens band, was formed in 1939 at the Piney Woods Country Life School (Mississippi), and made it's debut at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.

In 1941, Anna Mae Winburn, who had been fronting the Lloyd Hunter Serenaders, joined the "Sweethearts" as leader and stayed til the they dis-banded in the late 1040's. They had excellent arrangements by Eddie Durham and Jesse Stone.

The personnel consisted of: Ernestine "Tiny" Davis, Ray Carter, Johnnie Mae Stansbury, and Edna Williams on Trumpets; Marge Pettiford, Amy Garrison, Helen Saine, Grace Bayron; Viola Burnside, and Willie Mae Wong on saxophones; Judy Bayron, Helen Jones and Ina Bell Byrd on Trombones; The rhythm was supplied by Lucille Dixon on bass; Roxanna Lucas on Guitar; Johnnie Mae Rice on Piano; and Pauline Braddy on the Drums. The vocalists included Evelyn McGee, and Carline Ray. (This link is to Carline's entry on our April Musical Calendar.) Anna Mae Winburn was the Leader and Vocalist, too. In this Sweethearts Photo, Anna Mae is the lady standing in the top center.

Viola Burnside on tenor sax and Ernestine "Tiny" Davis on the trumpet, made great soloists. It was the first racially integrated women's band and it lasted for over a decade, playing to primarily black audiences in theaters and ballrooms across the country. At the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., the band set a new box office record of 35,000 patrons in one week of 1941.

Here's the "International Sweethearts of Rhythm", as they appeared in the 1946 film short "International Sweethearts of Rhythm". This photo was also used on the Lobby Poster for the film.

[ Andy Iona and his Islanders ]
né: Andy Iona Long
Here's a photo of Andy, who was very active during the 1930's, leading one of Hawaii's most popular bands. Composer, songwriter and conductor Andy Iona was one of Hawaii's most influential musicians, and his music was a perfect mix of traditional Hawaiian, Hapa Haole and Pop Standards of the day. Listen to 'Andy Iona & His Islanders' (Coumbia 3137 D -rec'd: 1934) playing Beulah", -digitally re-engineered by Mr Verne Buland. Various configurations of 'The Islanders' included: Sam Koki, Danny Stewart, Splash (or Freckles) Lyons, Allen Kila, Gary Speare, George Archer, Harry Baty, and Joe Nawahi.

Andy was educated at Kamehameha School for Boys and Henri Berger's Private School of Music in Honolulu (where he learned the Arthur Lange Method of Arranging). For awhile, he was a member of the radio station KHS staff orchestra. Andy subsequently formed his own group, Andy Iona and His Islanders, which went on to world wide acclaim, appearing in hotels and theatres and on records.

In addition to recording hundreds of tunes, he also appeared in some Hollywood films including I Cover Chinatown (1936 -he played the leader with 'His Recording Hawaiians'), Honolulu, (1939 -again playing the part of a Hawaiian bandleader). Andy composed the song "Sweeter All the Time" heard in the 1936 film Racing Lady , (credited as 'Andy Iona Long'). For the 1943 film Rhythm of the Islands, he was an uncredited lyricist for some songs. (The film starred Betty Grable.) For twelve years, he toured with ice skating star Sonja Henie's troupe.

Among his other popular-song compositions are "Blue Mist", "How'd Ya Do?", "At Night by the Ocean", "South Sea Island Magic", "Aloha Beloved", "Maui Moon", "South Sea Lullabies", "Kuu Ipo", "At Night By the Ocean", "Million Moons Over Hawaii", "Polynesian Hula Love Song", "Naughty Hula Eyes", "Saronga", "Hula Rockabye", "Mahalo I Thank You", "March On Hawaii", "The Palm Trees Sing Aloha", and "Andy Iona's Songs of Hawaii". In 1940, Iona joinied ASCAP

During his career, Andy also recorded with the Sol Hoopii Trio, as well as working in some shows with Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. On March 24, 1937, he recorded with Louis Armstrong. Andy is a member of the Royal Hawaiian Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame And Museum.

[ Imperial Band ]
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