Viola Smith (née Schmitz; November 29, 1912 – October 21, 2020) was an American drummer best known for her work in orchestras, swing bands, and popular music from the 1920s until 1975. She was one of the first professional female drummers. She played five times on The Ed Sullivan Show, as well as in two films and the Broadway musical Cabaret.
Schmitz was born in Mount Calvary, Wisconsin on November 29, 1912. She grew up there with seven sisters and two brothers. All learned piano first, but only the girls were to be in an "all-girl" orchestra conceived by their father. She chose to drum because the other instruments she liked were already played by her older siblings. Her parents operated a concert hall and tavern in neighboring Fond du Lac. In the 1920s and 1930s, Smith played in the Schmitz Sisters Family Orchestra (later, Smith Sisters Orchestra) that her father founded in Wisconsin. Irene (Schmitz) Abler played trombone, Erma Schmitz on vibraphone, Edwina Schmitz on trumpet, Viola Schmitz on drums, Lila Schmitz on saxophone, Mildred (Schmitz) Bartash on bass violin, Loretta (Schmitz) Loehr on piano, and Sally (Schmitz) Ellenback on bass saxophone. They toured the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) circuit of vaudeville and movie theaters on weekends and summer vacation while some of the sisters were still in school. In 1938, Viola and Mildred started the Coquettes, an all-female orchestra, which existed until 1942.
In 1942 Smith moved to New York, was given handmade snare drums from one of her teachers, Billy Gladstone, received a summer scholarship to Juilliard, and joined Phil Spitalny's Hour of Charm Orchestra, a commercially-successful all-girl orchestra. Later, she would play with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Her signature style of 13 drums, particularly, two 16 inch tom-toms at shoulder height, was never copied; however, Smith noted Louis Bellson using 2 bass drums after meeting and observing Smith with the tom-toms. During this time, Smith recorded music for the films When Johnny Comes Marching Home and Here Come the Co-Eds as a member of the National Symphony Orchestra, and even performed with Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb. She gained notoriety as the "female Gene Krupa" and the "fastest girl drummer." Smith performed at president Harry Truman's inauguration in 1949. She remained with the Hour of Charm orchestra until 1954.
After Hour of Charm disbanded, Smith led her own band, Viola and her Seventeen Drums. From 1966 to 1970, she played with the Kit Kat Band, which was part of the original 1960s Broadway production of Cabaret. At the time of Smith's 107th birthday in November 2019, it was reported that she occasionally still drummed with bands in Costa Mesa, California, as one of the oldest living mainstream musicians. Smith died on October 21, 2020.
