Wilma Reading facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wilma Reading
Wilma Reading (1972)
Background information
Occupation(s)	musician

Wilma Reading is a talented singer from Cairns, Queensland, Australia. She started her singing journey in 1959 after singing for friends at a jazz club in Brisbane.

Wilma has performed on famous TV shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Morecambe & Wise Show. She even had a long-term singing job at the New York nightclub Copacabana. She also toured with the legendary musician Duke Ellington. Wilma played the role of Julie in a West End play called Show Boat. She has sung with national orchestras in countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Germany. She also toured with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. Wilma appeared in the movie Pacific Inferno with Jim Brown.

Wilma Reading has a rich family background, including Australian Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, English, Irish, Jamaican, Afghan, and Scottish roots. She is the niece of two other singers, Heather Pitt and Georgia Lee.

In August 2019, Wilma was honored by being added to the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame. On November 2, 2019, she opened the Sydney International Women's Jazz Festival.

Wilma Reading's Early Life

Wilma was born in Cairns, Queensland. Her father was English-Irish, and her mother had Kalkatungu and Erub Islander heritage. Her family loved music, especially musical theatre and jazz. They often sang together, enjoying artists like The Mills Brothers and Nat King Cole.

In 1957, Wilma began performing with her sisters, Phronsie and Dulcie. They called themselves The Reading Sisters. They sang at family parties and birthdays. Then, they entered a radio talent show called Australia's Amateur Hour. In 1957, they won the state championship. They traveled to Sydney for the finals, where they came in second place.

Wilma Reading's Amazing Career

After her early success with The Reading Sisters, Wilma decided to take a break from music. She wanted to focus more on playing softball. In 1959, her softball team went to Brisbane for a state competition. One evening, Wilma sang for a teammate's birthday.

She later shared, "I went up to the piano and sang three songs. After about ten minutes, a gentleman came to our table. He said he liked my singing and asked if I would like a job with his band."

Wilma told him he needed to ask her parents for permission. Two weeks later, a letter arrived from bandleader Lali Hegi. He asked Wilma’s parents if the 17-year-old could move to Brisbane. He wanted her to sing with his seventeen-piece band at the Ritz Ballroom. Her dad agreed, but only for six months. He said if she couldn't make a living from music by then, she had to come home. With this band, she learned to sing jazz. They performed songs by jazz legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Frank Sinatra. Wilma sang a few nights a week. She also performed show tunes at jazz clubs and sang with a trio at the Primitif Coffee Lounge.

Moving to Sydney and Asia

In 1960, Wilma moved to Sydney to find new opportunities. She recorded two songs, ‘In My Little Corner of the World’ and ‘If I Were a Bell’, with Festival Records. This led to her becoming a regular on Brian Henderson's TV show, Bandstand. On this show, she worked with top Australian performers. These included Col Joye, Dig Richards, the De Kroo Brothers, the Allen Brothers, Noeleen Batley, and Judy Stone.

During this time, Wilma was offered a job overseas. It was a month-long singing job at the fancy Goodwood Hotel in Singapore. From a young age, Wilma wanted to follow her Aunt Georgia Lee. Her aunt was a famous jazz singer who became a world-renowned performer.

Wilma once said about her aunt, "She went before me. I respect her very much. Think about it, for an Indigenous girl from Cairns, Far North Queensland. The town only had perhaps five or eight thousand people back then. There were no government grants at that time. She saved her money, probably by cleaning floors, washing, ironing… she became a singer. She became a star!"

Wilma took a big chance and left Bandstand and Sydney. She moved to Singapore. Her singing job was extended twice. This led to a series of performances across Asia. She visited cities like Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Calcutta (now Kolkata). While in Manila, Wilma met her husband, Ray Lehr, who also became her manager.

Performing in America

One evening, Wilma was performing at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel. An American talent agent saw her show and loved it. He offered her and her dancers a chance to tour America. They moved in 1964, and her first job was at The Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.

Wilma described Las Vegas as "hectic for me because it was nothing like what I had experienced before… the whole way of life was turned around. We lived by night and slept by day. We had to do that because of the timetable. But it was great because we could meet other people – other artists.”

During this time, the famous pianist, singer, and actor Liberace often came to see her show. She met other stars like Tony Bennett, Louis Bellson, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Dave Brubeck, and her idol Ella Fitzgerald. Because of her successful time at The Riviera Hotel, Wilma was invited to audition for the great American jazz musician and bandleader, Duke Ellington. He wrote popular songs like ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing’ and ‘Mood Indigo’.

Wilma shared her audition story: "He sent me to Billy Strayhorn. So I’m at his place, he sits at the piano. I could have chosen one of the easier songs, ‘Satin Doll’, or ‘Don’t get around much anymore’. But I didn’t think of that. I auditioned with ‘Lush Life’. Three minutes passed and then he turned to me and said: “Thank you for singing the song the way I wrote it”."

She was hired right away. She joined ‘The Duke’ and his orchestra on tour, performing in Philadelphia and New York. Wilma is the only Australian to have performed on stage with Ellington. After only a few months of touring, she made the tough choice to leave. She wanted to grow her own career and felt she couldn't while staying in Ellington's shadow.

Success in the United Kingdom and Beyond

In 1973, Wilma left America and moved to the United Kingdom. She recorded an album called 'Wilma Reading' at EMI’s famous Abbey Road studios. She also worked with composer John Barry to record the theme song for the movie The Tamarind Seed. During this time, she appeared as a guest on over 30 British variety shows. These included The Harry Secombe Show, The Ken Dodd Show, Stars on Sunday, and the BBC comedy show, The Morecambe & Wise Show. Wilma’s popular TV appearances made her a star. This allowed her to headline her own shows across the United Kingdom.

Around this time, Reading successfully auditioned for the role of Julie La Verne in Show Boat. This play was at the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End. She took over the role from Cleo Laine.

She said about the role, “I just decided not to be scared and that’s that. After all, what did I have to lose? I went into the [musical] numbers my own way. I made no attempt to copy Cleo’s very personal, individual style. Nobody could get away with that. I sang it with my full voice without the microphone and let the balcony bounce it back. I gave it my full range.”

In 1977, Wilma returned to New York for another season at the Copacabana nightclub. During this period, she took on another acting job. She starred with Jim Brown in the movie Pacific Inferno.

In 1979, Russian diplomats saw her perform at the London nightclub Talk of the Town. They were so impressed that they invited her to tour with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. At that time, Russia was still behind the Iron Curtain. Popular music was not easily available until recordings of The Beatles became known. Russians then fell in love with popular music. They wanted to hear more jazz, blues, and pop music from the west. So, in late 1978, ‘King of the Blues’ B.B. King and Elton John were invited to perform in Russia. Wilma Reading followed. In 1979, she was the third western artist invited to perform behind the Iron Curtain. She performed 33 shows across the Soviet Union. She sang in Moscow, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and Kiev.

In 1990, Reading performed at the celebration of East and West Germany becoming one country again in Berlin.

Returning Home

Even with her successful international career, Wilma remained not very well known in Australia.

She explained, "The only problem is I was gone for so long. I built up my career overseas and would just come home to see my mum and dad and brothers and sisters. For me to get established in Australia I'd be leaving too much behind because it takes a while to get yourself established."

In 2003, she returned home to Cairns after her husband passed away. She then taught singing at the local TAFE college. She shared her vocal skills with new generations of singers. In the 2010s, Wilma returned to the stage. She made several appearances at jazz festivals across Australia. In August 2019, Wilma was honored by being added to the National Indigenous Music Awards Hall of Fame.

In 2008, Reading recorded an album called Now You See Me. The songs on the album were about her life, and she wrote both the lyrics and the music.

Wilma Reading's Family

Wilma Reading is the niece of the singer Georgia Lee.

Wilma Reading's Select Singles

• 1960: "In My Little Corner Of The World" / "If I Were A Bell" (Rex)
• 1960: "Nature Boy/Fool Fool Fool" (Rex)
• 1961: "I Only Came To Say Goodbye" / "That's How I Go For You" (Rex)