Annette Hanshaw

Annette Hanshaw
Hanshaw, c. 1934
Background information
Birth name	Catherine Annette Hanshaw
Born	(1901-10-18)October 18, 1901 Manhattan, New York, New York
Died	March 13, 1985(1985-03-13) (aged 83) New York, New York
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1926–1937
Labels	Pathé, Perfect, Columbia

Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer. She was one of the most popular radio stars of the 1930s. Over four million of her records had been sold by 1934. In her ten-year recording career, she recorded about 250 sides. In a 1934 poll conducted by Radio Stars magazine, she received the title of best female popular singer (Bing Crosby was voted the best male popular singer). Second place went to Ethel Shutta, third place went to Ruth Etting, and fourth place went to Kate Smith.

Catherine Annette Hanshaw was born on October 18, 1901 to Frank Wayne Hanshaw (1873–1927) and Mary Gertrude McCoy (1874–1959) in their residence in Manhattan. She had two brothers, George and Frank. Her father loved show-business and music; he ran away to join the circus, but he returned. Her aunt Nellie McCoy and Bob "Uke" Hanshaw were vaudeville performers. She sang for guests at hotels owned by her father and demoed sheet music at her family's music shop, The Melody Shop, in Mount Kisco, New York. Hanshaw aspired to be a portrait painter, studying at the National School of Design for a year. Her professional music career started when she was paid to sing for society and birthday parties.

Before recording, in 1926, Hanshaw sang on local radio stations while visiting Florida with her family. Her first recording is a demo featuring a medley of popular songs for Pathé. Her first commercial recordings are "Black Bottom" and "Six Feet of Papa," recorded on September 12 and 18. She recorded for Pathé until 1928; Pathé released her sides on both the Pathé and the Perfect labels. Starting in June 1928, she recorded for Columbia; most of these recordings were issued on their dime-store labels Harmony, Diva, Clarion and Velvet Tone. A handful were also released on their regular-priced Columbia and OKeh labels. Although most were released under her name, she was renamed Gay Ellis (for sentimental numbers) and Dot Dare or Patsy Young (for her Helen Kane impersonations). She recorded under a number of other pseudonyms, including Ethel Bingham, Marion Lee, Janet Shaw, and Lelia Sandford. Starting in August 1932, she began recording for ARC; her recordings were issued on their Melotone, Perfect, Conqueror, Oriole and Romeo labels. Her final session, on February 3, 1934, was placed on ARC's Vocalion label.