Research Catalog

Title

Maxine Sullivan papers, 1936-1987 (bulk 1970-1987).

Author

Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

10.4 lin. ft.

Summary

• The Maxine Sullivan papers document her career as a jazz performer and span the years 1936-1990, with the bulk of the material coinciding with her "comeback" period of the early 1970s until her death in 1987. The collection consists largely of holograph arrangements and sheet music, along with song lyrics and song lists for performances filed in the Music series. The breadth of Sullivan's career, professional circle, demand, international renown and fan base is revealed in the Correspondence series which contains letters from her friends, admirers, and professional contacts, and the Printed Matter series which consists of newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, programs, and posters and flyers advertising performances.
• Insight into other aspects of Sullivan's life is given through the Personal Papers which document Sullivan's charitable activities and her efforts with The House That Jazz Built community project. Additionally, they contain biographical information often used to introduce her at performances, ephemera from her personal and professional life, and folders on her children Orville Williams and Paula Morris, and friend Jeni Le Gon, the tap dancer and actress. The Cliff Jackson series documents the pianist's professional career.

Subjects

• Jazz > Lead sheets
• Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987
• African American musicians
• Musical scores
• Swing (Music)
• African American women singers
• Jackson, Cliff
• House That Jazz Built (Project)
• Sheet Music
• Women singers > United States
• African American women jazz singers
• Jazz singers > United States
• African American women in popular culture
• Black author
• Women jazz musicians
• Jazz musicians > United States
• African American women entertainers

Genre/Form

• Musical scores.
• Sheet Music.

Note

• Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
• Reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes and vinyl records transferred to Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division.
• Memorial plaque from Japanese Fan Club; portrait sketch of Sullivan by Yvonne Charles transferred to Arts and Artifacts Division.

Source (note)

• Ed Poteat

Biography (note)

• African-American jazz soloist Maxine Sullivan was known for her cool and arresting "whispering voice", soothing style, gentle rhythmic phrasing, and intricate swing delivery. She became well known in the late 1930s for her swing performance of the Scottish traditional ballad "Loch Lomond." The song became her signature piece and catapulted her career. During this period Sullivan performed as the main act at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street alongside bassist John Kirby and his band. The two married in 1938 but were divorced three years later. In 1950 Sullivan married pianist Cliff Jackson. Excluding a ten-year break she took from show business in 1957, Sullivan's career spanned four decades. Sullivan was also popular with jazz enthusiasts outside of the United States and she toured internationally several times.

Call Number

Sc MG 473

OCLC

318197368

Author

Sullivan, Maxine, 1911-1987.

Title

Maxine Sullivan papers, 1936-1987 (bulk 1970-1987).

Biography

African-American jazz soloist Maxine Sullivan was known for her cool and arresting "whispering voice", soothing style, gentle rhythmic phrasing, and intricate swing delivery. She became well known in the late 1930s for her swing performance of the Scottish traditional ballad "Loch Lomond." The song became her signature piece and catapulted her career. During this period Sullivan performed as the main act at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street alongside bassist John Kirby and his band. The two married in 1938 but were divorced three years later. In 1950 Sullivan married pianist Cliff Jackson. Excluding a ten-year break she took from show business in 1957, Sullivan's career spanned four decades. Sullivan was also popular with jazz enthusiasts outside of the United States and she toured internationally several times.

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 473