Anna Mae Winburn

Winburn died on September 30, 1999, in Hempstead, New York.

In the 1986 documentary film International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Winburn reported of her first meeting, "I said 'What a bunch of cute little girls, but I don't know whether I could get along with that many women or not.' " Despite rumors of Betty Carter being groomed to take her place after her marriage, Winburn was the leader of the band until it folded in late 1949.

Judy sang with groups around Minneapolis. She was married to Frank Shelton Perkins Jr. (1915–1985), a pianist and son of Red Perkins. Sometime around 1961 Judy married saxophonist and bandleader Percy Caesar Hughes (1922–2015) of Minneapolis. Judy, then known as Julia Mae Hughes, died of lung cancer on January 1, 1975.

Winburn formed other incarnations of the International Sweethearts for the next 10 years, often billing her name before the band's. However, those bands never regained the notoriety of the early years. Anna Mae Winburn and Her Sweethearts performed at the eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held also at Wrigley Field which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. in Los Angeles on June 1, 1952. Other featured artists were Jerry Wallace, Toni Harper, Roy Brown and His Mighty Men, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Josephine Baker.

Eddie Durham had been the composer for the International Sweethearts of Rhythm for two years before leaving to join Count Basie's band. After being recommended by Jimmie Jewel, who owned North Omaha's Dreamland Ballroom, Winburn became the leader of the band in 1941. She was reportedly hired for her attractive figure, with the intention of doing little actual composing or singing.

Around 1948, Winburn married "Duke" Pilgrim (né Eustace Michael Pilgrim; 1921–1970) around 1948. They had four children. They lived in Elmhurst, New York, among many Harlem transplants and jazz greats. Duke Pilgrim, before marrying Anna Mae, had been divorced from Albertha Adams (maiden; 1910–2005), a dancer whom he married April 27, 1940, in Manhattan.

On January 2, 1930, Anna Mae Darden married Charles Raymond Winburn (1910–1960) in Howard County, Indiana. In 1947, Anna Mae Winburn was granted a divorce by the Howard County Circuit Court in Kokomo. In the divorce proceedings, she testified that Charles abandoned her in June 1934.

Easter married drummer and vibist "Jeep" Stewart (born William Alfred Stewart around 1920), and after divorcing him, later married James Elias Overton (1922–1986). Easter has been twice married before, first, in 1936, to Samuel L. Thurman, and second, in 1943, to Ulysses Grant Waldon, Jr. (1912–1978).

Anna Mae Winburn (née Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, an all-female big band that was perhaps one of the few – and one of the most – racially integrated dance-bands of the swing era.

Anna Mae Winburn was born in Port Royal, Tennessee, to Andrew Jackson Darden (1881–1956) and Lula Carnell (maiden; 1882–1929), a musical family. Her family moved to Kokomo, Indiana, when she was young.