Ernestine “Tiny” Davis and Willie Mae “Rabbit” Wong, members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, in Europe on the USO Tour in the 1940s. There were several lesbians in the band, including Tiny Davis (no mention of Wong as lesbian) but love this pic so much! Tiny on trumpet, Rabbit on baritone sax ✨ #lesbianculture #internationalsweetheartsofshythm #qpoc #blacklesbians #tinydavis
Davis sang with the band, too — check out this clip featuring her vocals and trumpet stylings!
(This alternate version is kind of out of sync but contains the end of the trumpet solo.)
After playing with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Davis opened a lesbian club in Chicago with her partner of 40 years, pianist and drummer Ruby Lucas, called Tiny and Ruby’s Gay Spot.
Here’s a shortened version of a 1989 documentary short about the two of them, Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin’ Women — featuring Davis jamming on the trumpet with her grandson!
I couldn’t find as much on Wong, but she actually survived until June 2016. She was 95.
For more info, check out this cool 2011 Smithsonian interview with some other surviving members of the band.






















