Guide to the Peggy Gilbert Collection, 1920-2007
Special Collections & Archives
Oviatt Library
California State
University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff St.
Northridge, CA 91330
URL: http://library.csun.edu/SCA
Email: oviattsca@csun.edu
Phone: (818) 677-2832
Fax: (818) 677-2589
© Copyright 2012 Special Collections & Archives. All rights reserved.
Overview of the Collection
Collection Title: Peggy Gilbert Collection
Dates: 1920-2007
Identification: SC/PG
Creator:
Gilbert, Peggy, 1905-2007
Physical Description:
5.66 linear feet
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Special Collections
Abstract: 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. 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.
Biographical Information:
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.
Access Terms
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Genre/Form of Material:
Audio recordings
Paper records
Photographic material
Scrapbooks
Personal Name:
Gilbert, Peggy
Topical Term:
Saxophonists -- United States
Women musicians -- United States
Administrative Information
Processing Information:
Tony Gardner
Conditions Governing 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.
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Arrangement of Materials:
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
Scope and Contents
The Peggy Gilbert Collection (1920-2007) 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 100th 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.
Collection Contents
Series I: Scrapbooks and Photo Album, 1920-2007
Box 1, Folder 1
Scrapbook 1, Boots and her Buddies,
1931
Box 1, Folder 2
Scrapbook 1, Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 3
Scrapbook 1, Films, Start Cheering,
1938
Box 1, Folder 4
Scrapbook 1, Local 47,
ca. 1930-ca. 1939
Box 1, Folder 5
Scrapbook 1, Manila Hotel
Box 1, Folder 6
Scrapbook 1, Melody Girls,
1927
Box 1, Folder 7
Scrapbook 1, News Clippings,
1930-1939
Box 1, Folder 8
Scrapbook 1,
Newsletter,
1928 December 1
Box 1, Folder 9
Scrapbook 1, Peggy Gilbert's Parents, Photographs
Box 1, Folder 10
Scrapbook 1, Venues,
1935-1939
Box 1, Folder 11
Scrapbook 1, Venues, Los Angeles Breakfast Club
Box 1, Folder 12
Scrapbook 1, Venues, Penn Albert Hotel
Box 1, Folder 13
Scrapbook 1, Venues, Zenda Ballroom
Box 1, Folder 14
Scrapbook 2, Local 47,
1942
Box 1, Folder 15
Scrapbook 2, News Clippings,
1945
Box 1, Folder 16
Scrapbook 2, Overture, "Women in Music",
1947
Box 1, Folder 18
Scrapbook 2, Venues, Garden of Allah
Box 1, Folder 19
Scrapbook 3, Dixie Belles,
1974
Box 1, Folder 20
Scrapbook 3, Hollywood Canteen, Service Award,
1967
Box 1, Folder 21
Scrapbook 3, Local 47,
1967
Box 1, Folder 22
Scrapbook 4, Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 24
Scrapbook 4, News Clippings
Box 1, Folder 25
Scrapbook 4, Press Releases, Dixie Belles
Box 1, Folder 26
Scrapbook 4, Tournament of Roses,
1980
Box 1, Folder 27
Scrapbook 4, Tuning in on femme musicians
Box 1, Folder 28
Scrapbook 4, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 1, Folder 29
Scrapbook 4, Women in Media and the Performing Arts,
1975
Box 1, Folder 30
Scrapbook 4, Research on Women Composers
Box 2, Folder 2
Scrapbook 5, Correspondence
Box 2, Folder 3
Scrapbook 5, Correspondence,
1981
Box 2, Folder 4
Scrapbook 5, Correspondence,
1982
Box 2, Folder 6
Scrapbook 5, News Clippings
Box 2, Folder 8
Scrapbook 5, Television Script
Box 2, Folder 9
Scrapbook 5, Tuning in on Femme Musicians
Box 2, Folder 10
Scrapbook 5, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 2, Folder 11
Scrapbook 5, Venues, Dixie Belles, Annual Los Angeles Street
Scene
Box 2, Folder 12
Scrapbook 5, Venues, Dixie Belles, Johnny Carson Show,
1981
Box 2, Folder 13
Scrapbook 6, Congress of Strings
Box 2, Folder 14
Scrapbook 6, Correspondence
Box 2, Folder 16
Scrapbook 6, International Congress on Women in Music
Box 2, Folder 17
Scrapbook 6, News Clippings
Box 2, Folder 18
Scrapbook 6, Tuning in on Femme Musicians
Box 2, Folder 19
Scrapbook 6, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 3, Folder 1
Scrapbook 7, Correspondence
Box 3, Folder 4
Scrapbook 7, Music Scores
Box 3, Folder 5
Scrapbook 7, News Clippings
Box 3, Folder 6
Scrapbook 7, Pioneer Women Musicians of Los Angeles
Box 3, Folder 7
Scrapbook 7, Press Releases
Box 3, Folder 8
Scrapbook 7, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 3, Folder 9
Scrapbook 7, Venues, Forum Theatre
Box 3, Folder 10
Scrapbook 8, Awards and Honors
Box 3, Folder 11
Scrapbook 8, Awards and Honors, Local 47
Box 3, Folder 12
Scrapbook 8, Awards and Honors, Sigma Alpha Iota
Box 3, Folder 13
Scrapbook 8, Congress of Strings
Box 3, Folder 14
Scrapbook 8, Correspondence
Box 3, Folder 16
Scrapbook 8, Interview, Overture,
May 1988
Box 3, Folder 17
Scrapbook 8, News Clippings
Box 3, Folder 18
Scrapbook 8, News Clippings,
People
Magazine
,
1989
Box 3, Folder 19
Scrapbook 8, Press Releases
Box 3, Folder 20
Scrapbook 8, Television Script,
Golden
Girls
Box 3, Folder 21
Scrapbook 8, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 3, Folder 22
Scrapbook 9, Awards, Honors
Box 3, Folder 23
Scrapbook 9, Awards, Honors, International Association for Jazz
Education,
2002
Box 3, Folder 24
Scrapbook 9, 100th Birthday
Box 3, Folder 25
Scrapbook 9, 101st Birthday
Box 3, Folder 26
Scrapbook 9, Christmas,
1997
Box 3, Folder 27
Scrapbook 9, Correspondence
Box 3, Folder 29
Scrapbook 9, Dixie Belles Stationary
Box 3, Folder 30
Scrapbook 9, Films, Peggy Gilbert and Her All Girl Band
Box 3, Folder 32
Scrapbook 9, News Clippings
Box 3, Folder 34
Scrapbook 9, Press Releases
Box 3, Folder 35
Scrapbook 9, Venues, Dixie Belles
Box 3, Folder 36
Scrapbook 9,
You Bet Your Life
Box 8, Folder 1
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1932-1935
Box 8, Folder 2
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1936-1938
Box 8, Folder 3
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1940-1946
Box 8, Folder 4
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1960-1974
Box 8, Folder 5
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1975-1980
Box 8, Folder 6
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1981-1983
Box 8, Folder 7
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1984
Box 8, Folder 8
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1985-1986
Box 8, Folder 9
Scrapbook 10, Venues, Dixie Belles,
1985-1986
Box 8, Folder 10
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1987-1989
Box 8, Folder 11
Scrapbook 10, Birthdays, 100th-102nd,
1990-2007
Box 8, Folder 12
Scrapbook 10, News Clippings,
1990-2007
Box 8, Folder 13
Scrapbook 10, Recordings,
1990-2007
Box 9, Folder 1
Scrapbook 11, Peggy Gilbert and Her Dixie Belles
Box 9, Folder 2
Scrapbook 11, Dixie Belles, Snapshots of Venues
Box 9, Folder 3
Scrapbook 11, Retirement Party,
ca. January 1970
Series II: Music and Notes, 1936-2006
Box 4, Folder 3
Don't Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve
Box 4, Folder 5
I Found My Love in the Yellow Pages
Box 4, Folder 7
If You Don't Think I'm Leaving
Box 4, Folder 8
Is There Room in Your Heart for Me
Box 4, Folder 10
Mr. Chick Tapp, Copyright Registration
Box 4, Folder 11
Mr. Chick Tapp, Drawings by Peggy Gilbert
Box 4, Folder 12
Mr. Chick Tapp, Manuscript
Box 4, Folder 13
Mr. Chick Tapp, Music Score, "Ballet de Square Egg"
Box 4, Folder 14
Mr. Chick Tapp, Music Score, "Put the Pots on"
Box 4, Folder 15
Mr. Chick Tapp, Music Score, "The Belles are on their Way"
Box 4, Folder 16
Mr. Chick Tapp, Music Score, "Who Parked the Car"
Box 4, Folder 17
Mr. Chick Tapp, Music Scores, "Chick Tap, Kitten without Mittens, I See
Pink People"
Box 4, Folder 20
Mr. Chick Tapp, Story Outline
Box 4, Folder 21
Mr. Chick Tapp, Typescript
Box 4, Folder 22
My Lonely Heart, Correspondence with Composer Bob Nichols
Box 4, Folder 24
Press Kit, Hot and Sweet, Barbara Schottenfeld
Box 4, Folder 27
Sex or Sax, My Book Notes
Box 4, Folder 31
"You Can't See Me in My Jammies"
Box 4, Folder 32
"You Just Drive Me Screwy"
Series III: Plaques and Other Awards, ca.
1929-2007
Flat File Cabinet 2, Folder 1, Item 1
County of Los Angeles Commendation
Flat File Cabinet 2, Folder 1, Item 2
City of Los Angeles Resolution on Peggy Gilbert's 100th
Birthday,
2005 January 17
Flat File Cabinet 2, Folder 1, Item 3
California Legislature, Assembly Resolution on Peggy Gilbert's 100th
Birthday,
2005 January 17
Flat File Cabinet 2, Folder 1, Item 4
Film Poster, Peggy Gilbert and Her All Girl Band
Flat File Cabinet 2, Folder 2
Oversize Photographs,
ca. 1920-ca. 1949
Series IV: Card Files and Compact Discs,
1986-2007
Box 7, Folder 2
Card File for Pioneer Musicians of Los Angeles Luncheon and
Concert,
1986
Box 7, Folder 3
Peggy Gilbert Interview by Sherrie Tucker, Studio City,
California,
1998 September 22-1998 September 23
Scope and Contents
6 compact disks
Box 7, Folder 4
BBC Program,
Brief Lives: Obituary of Peggy
Gilbert
by Jeanne Poole,
2007 March 3
Scope and Contents
21:00 - 25:00
