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The 404th Armed Service Forces (ASF) Band, a U.S. Army unit during World War II, was the first and only all-black all-female band in U.S. military history. [1]
During World War II, American music helped to inspire servicemen, people working in the war industries, homemakers and schoolchildren alike. American music during World War II was considered to be popular music that was enjoyed during the late 1930s (the end of the Great Depression) through the mid-1940s (through the end of World War II).
Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band. The Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band (MCWR Band) was a United States Marine Corps military band, unique in its all female composition, that served during the Second World War. The band was stationed at Camp Lejeune and included 43 members.
Among them was the Band of the 369th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters Band") led by James Reese Europe who uniquely utilized black blues and jazz and notably introduced jazz to Europe. [9] The 404th Armed Service Forces Band was the only all-black all-female band in military history. [10]
The original members of the band had met in Mississippi in 1938 at the Piney Woods Country Life School, a school for poor and African American children. [6] The majority who attended Piney Woods were orphans, including band member Helen Jones, who had been adopted by the school's principal and founder (also the Sweethearts' original bandleader), Laurence C. Jones. [6]
During World War II, the Women's Army Corps (WAC) formed female military bands to perform for departing and arriving troops, on training bases in the U.S., and as part of war bond drives, including the 404th Armed Service Forces Band, the only all-Black all-female band in U.S. military history. [14]
The Canadian Women's Army Corps Brass Band leaving for a concert in Apeldoorn, 1945. The Canadian Women's Army Corps Band (CWAC Band) was an organized Canadian Army military band that was in service during the Second World War. [1] It consisted of both the CWAC Brass Band and the CWAC Pipe Band, who are sister ensembles to each other. [2]
The Ada Leonard Orchestra was the first all-female band officially signed by the USO, and it performed at army camps throughout the United States during World War II. [4] From 1952 to 1954, Leonard hosted a variety show on television; Search for Girls, starring Leonard and her orchestra, ran on KTTV in Los Angeles for 30 minutes on Friday nights.