The all-girl orchestra was generally regarded as something of a ‘gimmick’–an oddity that amused audiences due to the rarity of seeing women playing horns, saxes, basses and drums. Indeed, only singing, violin and piano playing seemed to be considered appropriate and not jarring for a woman to be seen playing. What nonsense! The above Vitaphone short from 1940 features Francis Carroll and Her Coquettes, an all girl swing band that will knock you out. Carroll leads, sings and does wild, gymnastic dance moves while conducting. She’s a real looker too (to use a phrase from the period). The chief attraction, though, is the drummer–Viola Smith. While the material the band does is for the most part rmediocre, the numbers featuring Smith at center stage are as hot and kicking as any male big band of the period.  If you haven’t the time (or attention span) to watch the whole ten minutes, skip to 7:00 minutes in for her  specialty number. Smith, born in 1912, appeared with a number of all-girl orchestras–her drumming is not a novelty act, but full-fledged, all-out powerhouse stuff. Click here for her very interesting Wikipedia page. She lived until 2020, dying at age 107 and still, apparently, keeping up her drumming. Can you beat that? (Har).