Gloria Parker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gloria Parker
Parker in a 1944 advertisement
Background information
Birth name	Gloria Rosenthal
Born	(1921-08-20)August 20, 1921 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	April 13, 2022(2022-04-13) (aged 100) Syosset, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician bandleader composer actress radio host
Instruments	Marimba organ glass harp
Years active	1940s–1984
Associated acts	Swingphony

Gloria Parker (born Gloria Rosenthal; August 20, 1921 – April 13, 2022) was an American musician and bandleader. She was famous for her radio show during the "big band era." Her show, The Gloria Parker Show, was on the radio every night from 1950 to 1957. It was heard all across the United States on WABC. Gloria played the marimba, organ, and even singing glasses, which is also called a glass harp. People called her the Princess of the Marimba. She led a large 21-member band called the Swingphony. This was the biggest big band ever led by a woman!

Early Life and Music

Gloria Parker was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 20, 1921. Her dad, Jack, owned a garage. Her mom, Rose, was a violinist in a famous orchestra called the Hit Parade Orchestra. Gloria's grandfather came to the U.S. from what is now the Czech Republic. He taught her how to play music using glasses. Gloria started learning the violin when she was only four or five years old. She played a tiny violin at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Gloria's Amazing Career

Gloria Parker was a songwriter, bandleader, and musician. She performed with her orchestras, playing many instruments. These included the marimba, glass harp (musical glasses), piano, organ, violin, viola, vibraphone, xylophone, guitar, and drums. She also played all kinds of Latin percussion instruments.

During the 1940s, there was a time when musicians were not allowed to record new music. This was from August 1942 to November 1944. It was called the "musicians' recording ban." The musicians' union wanted record companies to pay musicians each time their songs were played on the radio. Gloria Parker became a strong voice for musicians during this time. She fought for their rights with big companies like CBS and RCA. The news media often reported on her meetings with the leaders of these companies.

Starting in 1952, Gloria had her own TV show in New York City. It was called The Gloria Parker Show on WJZ-TV. On this show, she featured her all-female Swingphony band. It was the largest big band ever led by a woman! In the early 1950s, she also hosted a radio show called Shake the Maracas. She played the glass harp to start her shows. She also featured popular Latin music on her marimba with her orchestra.

Gloria Parker also starred in short music films called Soundies. These films were like early music videos. You could watch them on a special machine called a Panoram. It was like a jukebox for movies, found in places like restaurants and amusement parks. Gloria wrote the music and lyrics for these films.

Later Life

Gloria Parker was engaged to Barney Young, who was her manager. He passed away in the late 1960s. Gloria lived in Laurel Hollow on Long Island. She passed away on April 13, 2022, at a hospital in Syosset, New York. She was 100 years old.

Music Gloria Parker Wrote

Here are some songs Gloria Parker wrote or helped write:

• "In Santiago by the Sea" (recorded by Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra)
• "Tonight Be Tender to Me" (recorded by Una Mae Carlisle)
• "Daddy from Georgia Way" (recorded by Bob Chester and his Orchestra)
• "Marimba Merengue"
• "Stars and Stripes Forever Merengue"
• "The Best Idea You Had" (recorded by Una Mae Carlisle with Bob Chester and his Orchestra)
• "The Up and Down Mambo"
• "The Sweetest Words I Know" (recorded by Vincent Lopez Orchestra)
• "Shake the Maracas" (also the name of her radio show)
• "The Dixieland Rhumba"

Movies Gloria Parker Was In

• Broadway Danny Rose (1984)