Peggy Gilbert, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Peggy Gilbert

American musician

Date of Birth: 17-Jan-1905

Place of Birth: Sioux City, Iowa, United States

Date of Death: 12-Feb-2007

Profession: conductor, singer, bandleader, saxophonist, jazz musician

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn


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About Peggy Gilbert

  • Peggy Gilbert (January 17, 1905 – February 12, 2007), born Margaret Fern Knechtges, was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa.
  • When she was seven years old, she played piano and violin with her father's band; she later discovered jazz and started to play the saxophone.
  • After high school, she performed in local theatres and resorts and became a performer on radio and television. In 1928 she moved to Hollywood, where she appeared in movies and toured with Fanchon and Marco vaudeville shows.
  • In 1933 she founded her own all-female jazz band whose name changed often, from "Peggy Gilbert and Her Metro Goldwyn Orchestra" to "Peggy Gilbert and her Symphonics".
  • She performed on saxophone, vibes, piano, and vocals.
  • In the 1930s and 1940s Gilbert and her band performed in the most famous nightclubs in Hollywood, including the Cocoanut Grove.
  • At one of these clubs, she met and fell in love with Kay Boley, a vaudevillian and contortionist.During this period, she appeared in films, toured Alaska with a USO troupe, and began to be an advocate for women musicians.
  • After a difficult period following the Second World War, in the 1950s Gilbert had success on radio and television programs.
  • In 1974, at 69 years old, she created her last great all-female band, The Dixie Belles, with musicians from vaudeville and the Big Band era.
  • The group performed on TV and at jazz festivals, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and in the 1980 Rose Bowl Parade.
  • In 1985 the band recorded the album Peggy Gilbert & the Dixie Belles.
  • Gilbert lived until the age of 102 and died in Burbank, California.

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