Ida James

Photo of Ida James

  • Birth Name

    Ida May James

  • Born

    June 1, 1920
    Southbridge, Massachusetts

  • Died

    September 1986 (age 66)
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Orchestras

    Erskine Hawkins
     Earl Hines

Best remembered for her baby-talk singing voice, modern audiences seem fascinated by Ida James, much more so than her contemporaries. James was at most a minor celebrity. She rarely recorded, never had a hit song, and didn’t have a presence on radio. Though black journalists of the time praised her achievements, she remained a second-tier entertainer within her own community, and she failed to catch on with white audiences who often saw her as a novelty act due to her chirping voice which limited her effectiveness on a range of material.

James grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and made her professional start as part of the The Horn and Hardart Children’s Hour on Philadelphia radio station WCAU in the 1930s. She joined Earl “Fatha” Hines in Chicago in late January 1937, remaining with his band through at least May 1938 before becoming part of Erskine Hawkins’ orchestra, where she stayed into summer 1942.

After leaving Hawkins to go solo, James spent time on the West Coast, where she played clubs around the Los Angeles area and performed in the The New Meet the People revue. She made two soundies, “Who’s Been Eating My Porridge?” and “Is You Is, or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” with the King Cole Trio for RCM before heading to New York in June 1944 to begin an engagement at the Cafe Society. While there she made two more soundies, “His Rockin’ Horse Ran Away” and “Can’t See for Lookin’,” both for Filmcraft in late 1944.

In early 1945, James appeared on Broadway twice, in the Olsen and Johnson revue Laffing Room Only and in the all-black musical Memphis Bound. Neither show lasted long. In late 1945, she headed to the South Pacific with her own USO unit.

Back in the states by mid-1946, James hit the theater and night club circuit before landing a long residence at the Savannah Club in New York’s Greenwich Village from late-1947 to mid-1948. She recorded two songs on Decca with the Ellis Larkins Trio in 1945 and signed with the Manor label in late December 1947, making four sides just before the recording ban of 1948 was due to begin. She also appeared on the Adventures in Jazz television program in 1949.

James made only a few film appearances, the first in the 1939 all-black horror film The Devil’s Daughter, widely considered one of the worst films ever made, and later in Republic’s 1944 second-tier musical Trocadero, where she performed her signature tune “Shoo Shoo Baby.” In 1947, she starred as Cab Calloway’s manager in the Calloway vehicle Hi De Ho.

In January 1950, James opened on Broadway in another short-lived production, the social justice drama How Long Till Summer? As the 1950s rolled around, she turned towards rhythm and blues, recording two sides on Columbia in 1951 and signing with the new Nickelodeon label in 1953. She continued performing through the mid-1950s but by that time had drifted into obscurity and eventually left show business.

Sources

  1. Simon, George T. The Big Bands. 4th ed. New York: Schirmer, 1981.
  2. The Online Discographical Project. Accessed 13 Aug. 2016.
  3. “Ida James.” IMDb. Accessed 13 Aug. 2016.
  4. “Earl Hines & Old Dixieland Gang in Jam Session.” Down Beat Feb. 1937: 6.
  5. Young, Wilbur. “This 'n' That.” The Afro-American [Baltimore, Maryland] 20 Mar. 1937: 12.
  6. Rudy, Herman M. “Hines & Henderson in Fine Carving Match.” Down Beat Oct. 1937: 39.
  7. Advertisement. “Earl 'Father' Hines.” The Fargo Spectrum [Fargo, North Dakota] 13 May 1938: 7.
  8. Matthews, Ralph. “Looking at the Stars.” Washington Afro-American 15 Apr. 1939: 10.
  9. “Vaudeville Reviews: Orpheum, Los Angeles.” Billboard 3 Jan. 1942: 25.
  10. “Vaudeville Reviews: Orpheum, Minneapolis.” Billboard 24 Jan. 1942: 22.
  11. “On the Air: Erskine Hawkins.” Billboard 28 Mar. 1942: 14.
  12. “Record Reviews: Erskine Hawkins.” Down Beat 1 Jul. 1942: 8.
  13. “Hawkins Please.” The Afro-American [Baltimore, Maryland] 18 Jul. 1942: 10.
  14. “On the Records: Erskine Hawkins.” Billboard 8 Aug. 1942: 68.
  15. “In Short.” Billboard 26 Jun. 1943: 16.
  16. “Out-of-Town Opening.” Billboard 14 Aug. 1943: 19.
  17. Holly, Hal. “Los Angeles Band Briefs.” Billboard 15 Aug. 1943: 6.
  18. Holly, Hal. “Los Angeles Band Briefs.” Billboard 1 Dec. 1943: 6.
  19. “Movie Machine Reviews.” Billboard 22 Apr. 1944: 65.
  20. “In Short.” Billboard 27 May 1944: 23.
  21. “In Short.” Billboard 24 Jun. 1944: 22.
  22. “Follow-Up Reviews.” Billboard 1 Jul. 1944: 27.
  23. “Movie Machine Reviews.” Billboard 11 Nov. 1944: 64.
  24. “Out-of-Town Opening.” Billboard 18 Nov. 1944: 29.
  25. “Broadway Openings.” Billboard 6 Jan. 1945: 31.
  26. “Movie Machine Reviews.” Billboard 27 Jan. 1945: 65.
  27. “Out-of-Town Opening.” Billboard 12 May 1945: 33.
  28. “Broadway Openings.” Billboard 2 Jun. 1945: 34.
  29. “Ida James to South Pacific.” The Afro-American [Baltimore, Maryland] 24 Nov. 1945: 8.
  30. “Advanced Record Releases.” Billboard 1 Jun. 1946: 29.
  31. “Gate Sights Sock 50G.” Billboard 6 Jul. 1946: 43.
  32. “Night Club Reviews: Zanzibar, New York.” Billboard 1 Mar. 1947: 38.
  33. “Diskeries Enter 4th Wk. Rush on Pre-Ban Talent.” Billboard 20 Dec. 1947: 18.
  34. “Street, Strip, Loop Hit, But Not Philly's Harlem.” Down Beat 24 Mar. 1948: 13.
  35. “Clarence Robinson Returns Negro Shows to Village.” Billboard 25 Sep. 1948: 41.
  36. “Night Club Reviews: The Savannah Club, New York.” Billboard 2 Oct. 1948: 26.
  37. “Night Club Reviews: The Savannah Club, New York.” Billboard 26 Mar. 1949: 48.
  38. “Music as Written.” Billboard 28 May 1949: 37.
  39. “Out-of-Town Opening.” Billboard 24 Dec. 1949: 47.
  40. “Broadway Openings.” Billboard 7 Jan. 1950: 39.
  41. “Rhythm and Blues Notes.” Billboard 3 Feb. 1951: 28.
  42. “Nickelodeon Disk Sales Start June 2.” Billboard 23 May 1953: 171.
  43. “Rhythm and Blues Notes.” Billboard 26 Sep. 1953: 53.
  44. “Music as Written.” Billboard 19 Nov. 1955: 14.
  45. “Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925,&rquo; database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLGY-SMH9 : 1 September 2021), Ida May James, 1920.