Anderson was born in Gilroy, California. Although her mother's name is unknown, her father was Jobe Smith. From 1930 to 1945, Anderson lived at 724 East 52nd Place in Los Angeles, part of the 52nd Place Historic District. From 1914 to 1918, Anderson attended St. Mary's Convent and studied voice. At Gilroy grammar school and Gilroy High School, she joined glee club and choral society. She also studied voice under Sara Ritt while in Nannie H. Burroughs Institution in Washington, D.C.
Career
Anderson's singing career began around 1921 with performances in Los Angeles. In 1924 she toured with the musical Shuffle Along. By 1925, she had performed in Cuba, the Cotton Club in New York City, and Los Angeles with the bands of Paul Howard, Curtis Mosby, and Sonny Clay. In 1928, she sang in Australia with Clay's band and starred in Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club in Los Angeles in April. Soon after, she began touring in the United States as a solo singer. From 1930 to early 1931, with pianist Earl Hines's band, Anderson performed in a 20-week residency at the Grand Terrace in Chicago, Illinois. In 1931, she became the first full-time vocalist in the Duke Ellington orchestra. Her career for over a decade consisted of touring with Ellington. Her first appearance on record, "It Don't Mean a Thing ", recorded in 1932, was a hit. She participated in Ellington's first European tour in 1933. In 1940, she recorded "Solitude", "Mood Indigo", and "Stormy Weather". One of the rare occasions Anderson sang independently of Ellington in this period was her performance of "All God's Children Got Rhythm" in the Marx Brothers filmA Day at the Races for MGM. Owing to her chronic asthma, Anderson left Ellington's band in 1942. She started the Chicken Shack restaurant in Los Angeles with Marque Neal after they married but sold the business when they divorced. She had a second marriage with Walter Collins. At the end of 1949, Anderson died in Los Angeles. Although her earliest obituary was dated December 27, 1949, later sources state her date of death as December 28, 1949.
Comments about Ivie Anderson
Anderson often receivied prominent billing on advertisements for Ellington's appearances in theatres, auditoriums, arenas, and ballrooms, wherever the Ellington band toured in the 1930s. She became the band's scat singer, imitating instrumental sounds and vocalizations. She sang pop tunes and ballads. She was said to be one of Ellington's finest and most versatile singers before Swedish vocalist Alice Babs performed with the band. Ellington wrote Music Is My Mistress with Anderson in mind. When Anderson played in Ellington's musical Jump for Joy, the California Eagle wrote of her:
"Ivie can sing a song so that the audience get every word, and at the same time make cracks at Sonny Greer, tease Duke and wink at the boys in the front row. Wednesday night she went into a dance routine that would have slayed you."
"easily the most sensitive and musical female vocalist Ellington ever had...She sang with a simplicity... so artless that she is... remarkably neglected in... writings about jazz...She sang with a supple warmth and caressing beat that made her one of the unforgettable voices in Jazz...direct, completely unpretentious and ungimmicked."
