VIOLA’S CRESCENDO
American drummer Viola Smith has died aged 107. A pioneer who played on The Ed Sullivan Show Smith’s career started in the 1920s as part of her family group The Schmitz Sisters Family Orchestra. After the war, she played with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and played on the broadway performance of Cabaret. She performed at the inauguration of Harry Truman, and in 1942 – before most of the Rolling Stones were born – she wrote a passionate article for the rights of female musicians in the male dominated industry.
Viola Smith
29 November 1912 – 21 October 2020
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