The Resume

(February 27, 1907-December 12, 1951)
Born in Tekoa, Washington
Birth name was Mildred Rinker
Sang with the bands of Paul Whiteman and Red Norvo
Recorded the singles 'When Day Is Done' (1935), 'Where Are You' (1937), 'Rockin' Chair' (1937), 'Bob White' (1937), 'Thanks for the Memory' (1938), 'Please Be Kind' (1938), 'Says My Heart' (1938), 'Born To Swing' (1938) and 'Darn That Dream' (1939)
Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (1989)
Nicknamed 'Mrs. Swing'

Why she might be annoying:

She was married and divorced three times.
Her second husband was a bootlegger who helped get her gigs in speakeasies.
She was reportedly hired by Paul Whiteman as much for her knowledge of how to home brew beer (a useful talent during Prohibition) as for her singing.
She weighed 200 pounds.
She was bitter about other female singers, who she felt were not as talented as her but became bigger stars because of their svelte figures.

Why she might not be annoying:

She got Bing Crosby his first big break with Whiteman's band and introduced him to the music of Louis Armstrong and other black jazz musicians.
Crosby called her 'A genuine artist, with a heart as big as the Yankee Stadium, and a gal who really loved to laugh it up.'
She performed a benefit concert for the Scottsboro Boys.
When her health failed from diabetes and her money ran out, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen paid her medical bills.
She influenced singers Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 27]
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [A-C]
• I Died in 1951 (Ranked: 44)
• I Have Diabetes
• I was Cremated
• Jazz Artists
• Look at Me, I Got a Microphone
• My Music was Lost in the 2008 Universal Studios Fire
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2011)
• Profiles 28001-28250 (Ranked: 28179)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 13 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 17 Votes: 58.82% Annoying