Vannie Smith, known professionally as Vanita Smythe (January , â€"
January , ) was an American blues and jazz singer and actress. She was
professionally active between and , making eight soundies, two motion
pictures and releasing a couple of singles.Vannie Smith was born in
Detroit, Michigan, United States. The third of eight children, her
parents were Grady and Gertrude McCray Smith, and she was named after
her maternal grandmother, Lou Vannie Donaldson.In a professional
capacity she was first mentioned in the Indianapolis Recorder in
August , named as Vannie Smith and being the star of Billy Williams'
Creole Follies, a week-long show at the Club. However, the following
month she appeared billed as Vanita Smythe at the Cotton Club in
Buffalo, New York. She came to the attention of the fledgling film
director, William Forest Crouch, who produced and directed soundies
through Filmcraft Productions in New York. Between January and May ,
Smythe was filmed in eight of them. Several of the soundies also
featured the pianist and songwriter Dan Burley or fellow songwriter
Claude Demetrius. Smythe's roles varied, incorporating some acting and
singing, and several of the songs within the soundies were written by
notables such as Louis Jordan, Hot Lips Page, Burley and Demetrius.
The following year, Smythe's filmed rendition of "They Raided the
Joint" was integrated into Ebony Parade, an Astor Pictures film that
opened in New York in early July. The film was a collection of old
soundies, each introduced by the "fortune teller", Mantan Moreland.
Through these connections, Smythe was cast as "Rusty", in Louis
Jordan's Astor Pictures film, Reet, Petite, and Gone, which was also
produced and directed by Crouch.In April , Smythe performed at Henry
Armstrong's Melody Room in Harlem on the same bill as the Kings. In
June she trod the boards again at Smalls Paradise in Harlem, in a
one-night show put on by Dan Burley. In October, she appeared as part
of the annual benefit dance put on by the Good Hearts Welfare
Association at Harlem's Renaissance Ballroom. Smythe's career went
into a hiatus before signing in March to Regal Records. She recorded
four tracks for the label; "Lonesome For You", "I Want My Baby Back",
"Until I Fell For You" (written by Howard Biggs), and "You Got Me
Crying Again". "Lonesome For You" / "I Want My Baby Back" was issued
as a single early in , whilst "Until I Fell For You" / "You Got Me
Crying Again" was released later the same year. Neither record was a
commercial success. The sum total of her stage performances did not
run into double figures, and all of them took place around New York
City. Smythe married in and her professional career came to a close.
January , ) was an American blues and jazz singer and actress. She was
professionally active between and , making eight soundies, two motion
pictures and releasing a couple of singles.Vannie Smith was born in
Detroit, Michigan, United States. The third of eight children, her
parents were Grady and Gertrude McCray Smith, and she was named after
her maternal grandmother, Lou Vannie Donaldson.In a professional
capacity she was first mentioned in the Indianapolis Recorder in
August , named as Vannie Smith and being the star of Billy Williams'
Creole Follies, a week-long show at the Club. However, the following
month she appeared billed as Vanita Smythe at the Cotton Club in
Buffalo, New York. She came to the attention of the fledgling film
director, William Forest Crouch, who produced and directed soundies
through Filmcraft Productions in New York. Between January and May ,
Smythe was filmed in eight of them. Several of the soundies also
featured the pianist and songwriter Dan Burley or fellow songwriter
Claude Demetrius. Smythe's roles varied, incorporating some acting and
singing, and several of the songs within the soundies were written by
notables such as Louis Jordan, Hot Lips Page, Burley and Demetrius.
The following year, Smythe's filmed rendition of "They Raided the
Joint" was integrated into Ebony Parade, an Astor Pictures film that
opened in New York in early July. The film was a collection of old
soundies, each introduced by the "fortune teller", Mantan Moreland.
Through these connections, Smythe was cast as "Rusty", in Louis
Jordan's Astor Pictures film, Reet, Petite, and Gone, which was also
produced and directed by Crouch.In April , Smythe performed at Henry
Armstrong's Melody Room in Harlem on the same bill as the Kings. In
June she trod the boards again at Smalls Paradise in Harlem, in a
one-night show put on by Dan Burley. In October, she appeared as part
of the annual benefit dance put on by the Good Hearts Welfare
Association at Harlem's Renaissance Ballroom. Smythe's career went
into a hiatus before signing in March to Regal Records. She recorded
four tracks for the label; "Lonesome For You", "I Want My Baby Back",
"Until I Fell For You" (written by Howard Biggs), and "You Got Me
Crying Again". "Lonesome For You" / "I Want My Baby Back" was issued
as a single early in , whilst "Until I Fell For You" / "You Got Me
Crying Again" was released later the same year. Neither record was a
commercial success. The sum total of her stage performances did not
run into double figures, and all of them took place around New York
City. Smythe married in and her professional career came to a close.
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