Biography
Phil Spitalny ranks among the 1920s and 1930s bandleaders whose popularity faded after their era. Born in Russia, he arrived in the United States as a child and led his own ensemble by the 1920s. His notable releases from that decade include the tracks “Jackass Blues” and “I Want to Meander in the Meadow,” issued under the name Phil Spitalny’s Music.
He set himself apart from most peers through an effective novelty: directing ensembles composed solely of women and marketed as Phil Spitalny & His All-Girl Orchestra. The group performed capably, delivering both jazz-inflected classics and light classical pieces with comparable skill, while also benefiting from visual appeal. Their initial breakthrough occurred on radio via the program The Hour of Charm, despite the absence of any visual element. Another all-female orchestra achieved comparable national radio prominence: Ina Ray Hutton & Her Melodears, which included a woman as leader.
Universal Pictures later signed the ensemble, placing them in feature films and short subjects that highlighted their visual qualities. Spitalny recruited musicians such as drummer Mary McClanahan, who ranked among the era’s leading players on her instrument, and ensured the members were attractive as well. Across every version of the group, the standout performer remained Evelyn & Her Magic Violin; the technically brilliant and engaging Evelyn later married Spitalny and became Mrs. Spitalny. Personnel otherwise shifted regularly, as trained female musicians were plentiful—especially during the war years—and members departed for superior opportunities or marriage, though McLanahan stood out among drummers.
The sole surviving footage of Spitalny and his orchestra appears in the 1945 Abbott & Costello feature Here Come the Coeds, where the ensemble receives several prominent showcases while performing graceful light Romantic classics. Those sequences are nevertheless eclipsed by the film’s central comedy, in which Lou Costello, after a blow to the head, believes himself to be a female basketball player. Spitalny remained active in music through the 1950s before retiring to Miami, where he died in 1970. The University of Miami presents two honors bearing their names—the Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Music Achievement Award and the Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Scholarship—while former orchestra members continued performing into the 1990s, notably with the semi-professional Venice Symphony Orchestra of Venice, Florida.
He set himself apart from most peers through an effective novelty: directing ensembles composed solely of women and marketed as Phil Spitalny & His All-Girl Orchestra. The group performed capably, delivering both jazz-inflected classics and light classical pieces with comparable skill, while also benefiting from visual appeal. Their initial breakthrough occurred on radio via the program The Hour of Charm, despite the absence of any visual element. Another all-female orchestra achieved comparable national radio prominence: Ina Ray Hutton & Her Melodears, which included a woman as leader.
Universal Pictures later signed the ensemble, placing them in feature films and short subjects that highlighted their visual qualities. Spitalny recruited musicians such as drummer Mary McClanahan, who ranked among the era’s leading players on her instrument, and ensured the members were attractive as well. Across every version of the group, the standout performer remained Evelyn & Her Magic Violin; the technically brilliant and engaging Evelyn later married Spitalny and became Mrs. Spitalny. Personnel otherwise shifted regularly, as trained female musicians were plentiful—especially during the war years—and members departed for superior opportunities or marriage, though McLanahan stood out among drummers.
The sole surviving footage of Spitalny and his orchestra appears in the 1945 Abbott & Costello feature Here Come the Coeds, where the ensemble receives several prominent showcases while performing graceful light Romantic classics. Those sequences are nevertheless eclipsed by the film’s central comedy, in which Lou Costello, after a blow to the head, believes himself to be a female basketball player. Spitalny remained active in music through the 1950s before retiring to Miami, where he died in 1970. The University of Miami presents two honors bearing their names—the Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Music Achievement Award and the Evelyn and Phil Spitnalny Scholarship—while former orchestra members continued performing into the 1990s, notably with the semi-professional Venice Symphony Orchestra of Venice, Florida.
Albums