American Indian Jazz: Mildred Bailey and the Origins of America’s Most Musical Art Form by
Chad S. Hamill, PhD
ethnomusicologist and spokan tribal descendant
I
n March of 2012, the Coeur d’Alene tribe of Idaho introduced concurrent resolution no. 49 in the Idaho House of Representatives, seeking to right the historical record and bring home Mildred Bailey, one of jazz’s first female vocalists. For over eighty years, Bailey–a member of the Coeur d’Alene tribe–had been known primarily as a “white jazz singer.” Lost within discussions of the origins of jazz was Bailey’s Indian identity, left to linger like a neglected crop within the Coeur d’Alene farmlands where she learned to walk, talk, and sing. Although she could certainly be forgiven if she chose to hide her Native ancestry within a racially stratified 1930s America, Bailey never sought to do so. To the contrary, it was a source of personal pride she readily shared with those around her. Mildred Bailey was “white” because she was cast that way within a jazz narrative that has left no room for Indian jazz musicians. The “white jazz-singer” misnomer matters for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Bailey exerted considerable influence within the jazz and pop worlds, pioneering the vocal “swing” style that countless singers sought to emulate, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, and Tony Bennett. Rather than crediting her contemporaries, Bailey pointed to the Indian songs of her youth as shaping a voice that is still heard throughout the world, sixty years after it was recorded for the last time. Bailey belonged to a family lineage of Coeur d’Alene singers, insuring that traditional songs would be woven into the fabric of her indigenous identity. At right, known as the “Rockin’ Chair Lady” for her song “Rockin’ Chair,” composed by Hoagy Carmichael, Mildred Bailey poses for a publicity shot. Photo courtesy of the Rinker Family Archives.
10 t Nostalgia Magazine t December 2015