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Gilbert (Peggy) Collection
SC.PG
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Peggy Gilbert Collection
Creator:
Gilbert, Peggy, 1905-2007
Identifier/Call Number: SC.PG
Extent:
5.66 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1920-2007
Abstract: Peggy Gilbert was a saxophonist and
band leader. From the 1930s through 1996 she led several all-girl orchestras and bands. An
advocate for women musicians, she arranged for bookings and contracts. She was an active
member in Local 47 of the Musician's Union. The
Peggy Gilbert
Collection
contains the personal music scores, scrapbooks, and photographs of Peggy
Gilbert, with a few items from her youth. The audio materials in the collection include an
interview with Peggy Gilbert and a program about her life which aired on the BBC in
2007.
Language of Material: English
Peggy Gilbert (1905-2007) was a saxophonist and band leader. From the 1930s through 1996
she led several all-girl orchestras and bands. An advocate for women musicians, she arranged
for bookings and contracts and was an active member in Local 47 of the Musicians' Union.
After playing with an all-girl band, Boots and Her Buddies, in the 1930s, Gilbert formed
her own band in 1933 which played in Honolulu. She changed the name of her musical groups
frequently. They played in Hollywood films and in clubs such as the Coconut Grove, Garden of
Allah, and in 1937, Hollywood's Second "Swing Concert" at The Palomar in Los Angeles. Her
band played on radio and toured with the USO during the 1940s, and from 1949 to 1970 she
worked at Local 47 as a secretary.
After retiring, Gilbert continued to serve on Local 47's board of directors and wrote a
column called "Tuning in on Femme Musicians" for the union's monthly publication,
The Overture. In 1974, at the age of 69, she formed a new band, the
Dixie Belles with whom she performed at numerous events and jazz festivals, including an
appearance on the
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1981 and
two appearances on episodes of
The Golden Girls in 1982 and
1988. She stopped performing in 1996 and died at the age of 102 in 2007.
The
Peggy Gilbert Collection documents the life and career of
female jazz saxophonist and bandleader Peggy Gilbert. The collection documents the bands and
orchestras she led and various groups in which she played during the 1930s and 1940s, her
time spent working for the Los Angeles musicians union, Local 47, throughout the 1950s and
1960s, the various movies and TV shows she appeared on, accolades bestowed upon her, and the
formation of her all-girl band the Dixie Belles from 1974 to 1996. The collection contains
Gilbert's scrapbooks, photographs, newspaper clippings, posters, plaques, awards, Compact
Discs, correspondence, and musical scores. The collection has been divided into four
series:
Scrapbooks (1920-2007),
Music and
Notes
(1936-2006),
Plaques and Other Awards (ca.
1929-2007), and
Card Files and Compact Discs (1986-2007).
Series I,
Scrapbooks, consists of eleven of Peggy Gilbert's
personal scrapbooks which document over eight decades of Gilbert's life and career, and make
up the bulk of the collection. They document some of her early bands from the 1930s and
1940s, including her participation in the all-woman group Boots and Her Buddies as well as
her own bands and orchestras. It includes posters and news articles advertising and
describing her bands' performances at venues such as the Coconut Grove, Garden of Allah, and
Orpheum Theatre, as well as various movies in which she appeared including
The Wet Parade in 1932 and
Start Cheering
in 1938. Additionally, this series documents the time she spent working at Local 47
of the musicians union in the 1950s and 1960s, and contains copies of her column "Tuning in
on Femme Musicians," which she wrote for the union's monthly publication,
The Overture, from 1979 to 1984. The series includes extensive
photographs, articles, and correspondence regarding the Dixie Belles. The series is arranged
in loosely chronological order.
Series II,
Music and Notes, contains Gilbert's musical scores
and instrumental parts ranging from a tune entitled "Dixie Belle" by Anthony Horowitz to a
musical co-written by Gilbert in the 1950s titled
Mr. Chick
Tapp,
detailing the story of a tap-dancing chicken. The series also includes
various songs, a manuscript, a sketchbook, certificates of copyright registration, jazz
charts, CDs and press kits for Barabara Schottenfeld and Denise Wells, correspondence with
composer Bob Nichols, and a notebook entitled "Sex or Sax. My Book Notes" which contains
Gilbert's reminiscences. The series is arranged alphabetically.
Series III,
Plaques and Other Awards, includes various awards
that Peggy Gilbert received throughout her life. The majority of these plaques and awards
were presented to Gilbert later in her life, including a 1989 "Life Member of the Year"
award from the Musicians' Union Local 47 of Southern California, a 1982 "Golden Mask Award"
from the Hollywood Appreciation Society, and a 2005 City of Los Angeles Resolution wishing
Peggy Gilbert a happy 100
th birthday. Additionally, this series
includes a film poster of Peggy Gilbert and Her All Girl Band, some large photographs from
1920s-1950s, and a frisbee hand painted with a picture of Gilbert dressed in Dixie Belle
attire and playing the saxophone. The series is arranged by format.
Series IV,
Card Files and Compact Discs, contains a large
number of Tune-Dex cards, which are 3 x 5 inch index cards with the melodies and chord
changes of popular tunes found on one side, and the corresponding copyright information
found on the reverse. This series also includes invitations for the Pioneer Musicians of Los
Angeles Luncheon and Concert held in 1986, an audio interview of Peggy Gilbert conducted in
1998, and a BBC program about her life from 2007. The series is arranged by format.
Series I: Scrapbooks, 1920-2007
Series II: Music and Notes, 1936-2006
Series III: Plaques and Other Awards, ca. 1929-2007
Series IV: Card Files and Compact Discs, 1986-2007
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Jeannie Pool, 2008
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Tony Gardner
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiovisual materials
Documents
Photographs
Scrapbooks