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.