Thelma Carpenter

This vocalist sustained an extended professional life distinguished by an unusual distinction among American singers: having received accompaniment from both the Count Basie Orchestra and the Munchkins. She also succeeded at the often elusive task of aging with dignity onstage. Thelma Carpenter mentioned in interviews that her performing began at age seven, although scant details survive regarding her early years. In 1939, at nineteen, talent scout and record producer John Hammond discovered her. Despite her youth, she was already appearing and cutting sides alongside classic jazz tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, an association that would prove enduring. Engagements with two additional Hammond discoveries, Count Basie and Teddy Wilson, soon materialized, leading to steady work in concert halls and on a run of popular 78 rpm discs that included her versions of “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” and “American Lullaby.” Mid-decade she collaborated on the well-received “Hurry Home” with the Deep River Boys. Throughout the 1940s she contributed to the film industry by supplying vocals for soundies and by dubbing musical numbers for actresses and actors whose own voices fell short of the required pitch. One of her more unusual assignments in this vein occurred in 1943 when she provided the singing voice for actor Ramsay Ames in Crazy House. She also appeared frequently on radio programs alongside vocalist Eddie Cantor, whose racially charged remark that the Black Carpenter sang as if “crying tears of ink” provoked controversy. Cabaret engagements across New York sustained her through the 1950s even as the big-band era waned and many former employers ceased retaining female vocalists on a regular basis. Broadway revues offered further opportunities, among them Blackbirds of 1928 and Shuffle Along, both mounted in 1953; these productions paired her with Black vaudeville luminaries Cab Calloway and pianist Eubie Blake. The passing of her mother in 1962 left a profound impact, prompting Carpenter to recall that she “just lay down in (her) bed for a whole year.” Financial necessity led her to temporary employment as a filing clerk at the firm producing Mott’s Applesauce. A new chapter opened in the mid-1960s when she succeeded Pearl Bailey in the stage role of Dolly Levi. During the same decade she performed and recorded with stride pianist Herman Chittison, resulting in the albums 1933-1941 and P.S. with Love. The most prominent undertaking of her later performing years was her participation in the 1970s stage production of The Wiz, the African-American retelling of The Wizard of Oz that initially met with mixed commercial results yet later acquired cult status. The cast assembled an array of Black artists spanning generations, among them Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Carpenter portrayed Miss One, a fusion of the Witch of the North and a numbers runner, and in that role delivered a number with the Munchkins whose lyrics alluded to the numbers racket, as did much of the surrounding dialogue. One of her last public appearances came in 1993 during a televised salute to historic Apollo Theatre performers. Several collections of her work have since appeared on compact disc, including A Souvenir on Audiophile; additional tracks feature on the three-CD anthology Sultry Ladies of Jazz issued by Hindsight. She died of natural causes in 1997.