Lillian Briggs
First woman star of early rock 'n roll.
Lillian Briggs was an American rock 'n roll performer and musician. She was the first woman to achieve star status at the dawn of rock 'n roll in the early 1950s. While touring Australia with Nat King Cole in early 1956, she began being billed as 'The Queen of Rock and Roll' during the same period when media began referring to Elvis Presley as the 'King' of the new musical genre.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Lillian Biggs
- Occupation
- Singer, musician
- Born
- 3 June 1932
- Birthplace
- Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Died
- 11 April 1998
- Place of death
- North Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Facts from the source article.
Early life and education
Lillian Briggs got her start in music as a student at Allentown Central Catholic High School, where she learned trombone and joined the band just so she could get into football games without paying. To fund her group, The Downbeats, she spent 14 months driving a laundry truck in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, in the early 1950s and later worked as a welder. The band found an audience on live radio and at local venues around Allentown.
Career
In 1953, Lillian Briggs began playing trombone and singing with Joy Cayler's All-Girl Orchestra. A year later, while performing with that group at New York's Arcadia Ballroom, she sang "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and caught the attention of talent scout Jack Petrill. He took her on as a preferred client, and her solo career took off. Briggs crisscrossed the country in her white Cadillac convertible, playing sock hops and nightclubs and giving radio interviews. That same year, 1954, influential disc jockey Alan Freed invited her to join his stage shows in New York City, which soon led to a recording deal with Epic Records. Her first single, "I Want You to Be My Baby," came out in 1955, sold more than a million copies, and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. From 1954 through 1964, she was a headliner at venues around the world, performed at major Las Vegas hotels, and appeared on television programs including Jack Paar's The Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, American Bandstand, and The Steve Allen Show. In 1961, she landed a role in the film The Ladies Man and contributed songs to the soundtracks of The Fugitive Kind, Mr. Wonderful, and My Sister Eileen. She was a contestant on What's My Line? in 1965; at the time, she was giving trombone lessons to panelist Arlene Francis. Briggs kept recording for labels such as Sunbeams, ABC-Paramount, Coral, and Phillips, and toured heavily until the early 1970s. She then moved to Miami Beach, Florida, and became a co-partner in Turnberry Isle, a luxury condominium resort. Her yacht, Monkey Business, was the boat on which Gary Hart was photographed with Donna Rice, ending Hart's presidential ambitions.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Lillian Briggs born?
Lillian Briggs was born on 3 June 1932 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
When did Lillian Briggs die?
Lillian Briggs died on 11 April 1998 in North Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
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