Viola Smith, Drums, Percussions, Here Come The Co-Eds, 1945.

Hello Everyone. Please Subscribe To My Channel: American Drummer, Viola Smith. RIP. Born: 29 November 1912, Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, United States - Died: 21 October 2020, Costa Mesa, California, United States. The music for this incredible dance number is provided by Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra. Whilst not directly featured in this movie, the importance of the drummer is always important for a dancer as it is for any artist. What do you think about this number? Peggy Ryan in Here Come The Co-Eds, 1945, performing in “Jumping on a Saturday Night.” Choreographer: Louis DaPron. Percussions - Viola Smith. Whilst women have been playing instruments in orchestras for a long time, rare was it to see in the 1940s an all female orchestra. Even rarer would you see women standout on their own such as Viola Smith on percussions. Miss. Smith was possibly more famous then her counterpart at the time, Mary McClanahan. In fact, Miss. Smith was known as the female version of Gene Krupa. Miss. Smith had been playing since 1925 professionally in dance orchestras. Although it wasn’t until 1942 that Miss. Smith joined Phil Spitalny orchestra. Prior to joining Phil Spitalny orchestra, Miss. Smith along with her sister Mildred had setup a very successful band “The Coquettes,” between the years 1938 to 1941. So popular and successful was Miss. Smith on percussions, she made the cover of Billboard, 24th February, 1940. She talks how she ended up joining Phil Spitalny...