OPEN POST: Happy Manor Music Monday (and Indigenous People Day) With The Marvelous Mildred Bailey!

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"Xest sx̣lx̣alt," music hors, or "Good day" in the highly-endangered Salishan Indigenous American language. After all, it's Indigenous People Day in the U.S. (Columbus who? We don't know her). Confused? Curious? If it makes you horny, don't worry, you're a hussy and you're in the right place. Welcome to another edition of Manor Music Monday, today with a lass who popularized the swooning, bluesy, "Lover Come Back To Me" in 1938, though it was her versions of "Georgia On My Mind" and "Rockin' Chair" that really made her famous. DJ Li'l Scratch and I just love her to bits, and tonight at the Manor's "Pink And Sloppy" bar and taco dinette, he'll be spinning her tunes for all to savor. 


So rejoice jazz fans  - and Indigenous Americans, too! Mildred Bailey, a jazz chanteuse extraordinaire who was known as "The Queen Of Swing" in her day, is here at last. Born in northwestern Idaho on the Coeur D'Alene Reservation - it still has over six-thousand residents - she grew up in a musically gifted family, many of whom became professional musicians later in life. And Mildred? She didn't stay on the reservation for long. By 1925, she was already on the road as a blues and jazz singer, kicking it with the likes of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and more. Moreover, she was a noted mentor to Billie Holiday and influenced her childhood friend, Bing Crosby, to pursue his own career (Bing also bailed her out when she hit a few financial bumps later in life) (thanks, Bing!).

It wasn't long before she hit the big-time. You'll hear why in "Mildred Bailey, The Rockin' Chair Lady," a terrif sampler of her hit singles. Her warm, loose - yet technically precise - vocals captivated nightclub and radio audiences nationwide, and she was the very first big bang swing singer to be featured with major bands. But her battles with diabetes and early death at age forty-eight cut short her rise to superstardom.


She was also noted during her lifetime for, how shall we say, her bitchiness, or knowing exactly what she wanted to achieve in a recording studio, and some music executives chose not work with her because of this. But given the time period, and how most determined women were (and still are) derided as "bitchy," let's take that with a gargantuan grain of salt, shall we? At the very least, we know that Mildred did not put up with fools. 

She was practically forgotten by even dedicated jazz aficionados until the mid-1990s, when many of her singles were collected and released on CD for the first time. Also, In 2012, the Coeur d'Alene Nation honored her with a resolution recognizing her heritage and promoting her induction into the Jazz at Lincoln Center Hall of Fame. At last, Mildred is back for good. Click through below to hear her at her best (and if you can't get into the older recordings because of their lesser quality, just skip ahead about 5 songs). You'll be glad you did, and Happy Indigenous People Day! For our delightful Canucks, Happy Thanksgiving!


What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: Getty Images; Universal Music Group

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