Viola Gertrude Wells

by Nicolleta Perna

Viola Getrude Wells Evans, (1902-1984) born in Newark, New Jersey, was a popular singer specializing in gospel, blues, and jazz music. Some of the bands she performed with include The Banjo Bernie Band, The Count Basie Orchestra, and the Harlem Blues and Jazz Band. Wells even formed her own band, Miss Rhapsody and Her Three Sportsman, and released her own solo albums. The title of “Miss Rhapsody” was given to Wells by a Pennsylvania columnist because of her frequent singing of songs like “Rhapsody in rhythm” and “Rhapsody in song” towards the beginning of her career. 

Viola Wells initially began singing and dancing at a young age in her grandparent’s barn until she began honing her talents in her church’s choir. She started performing on stage when she entered and won an amateur singing contest at Newark’s own Orpheum Theater. From there she would lend her voice to vaudeville and cabaret at the age of 19; working under the vaudeville circuit of T.O.B.A. (Theater Owners Booking Association) for a time. Throughout her career Miss Rhapsody sang in numerous venues like Minis Theater in Newark, Sunset Crystal Palace in Kansas City, and she frequented the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. 

Miss Rhapsody was not just an American icon; in fact, she was widely popular in Europe, doing seven European tours throughout her career and garnering a lot of popularity in countries like The Netherlands and Belgium; there was even a French documentary series made about her in 1975. 

Viola Gertude Well’s illustrious career was not without hindrances, however, as she had taken a step back from singing after her father was murdered by a Newark minister. Additionally, later on in her career Wells had lost the lower portion of her leg due to complications with diabetes, after a fan had accidentally stepped on her foot during a London show in 1979. This had caused her to have another brief hiatus from the music scene. 

Wells inspired her friend Barbara Kukla to write the book Swing City: Newark Nightlife 1925-1950, a book detailing the history of jazz and swing music during that time period; Barbara Kukla dedicated this book to Viola Gertrude Wells. Wells was also featured in Kukla’s 2005 book Defying the Odds: Triumphant Black Women of Newark.

Other notable parts of Miss Rhapsody’s career include: being able to grace the stage with other prominent artists like Nat King Cole and Ida Cox, and playing at President Roosevelt’s Inaugural Ball with the Count Basie Orchestra.  

Outside of music Violet Wells was very active in her own community, helping with her local church choir and even earning “Woman of the Year Award for the Handicapped” in 1982. She earned this award after volunteering to help and constantly encouraging fellow disabled people in her rehabilitation center following her leg amputation. Some of her other community work included being an active member in the Newark chapter of the National Counsil of Negro Women. Moreover, she was also gifted the city keys to Newark, New Jersey in the early 1980’s by Mayor Kenneth Gibson. 

Miss Rhapsody sang up until the end of her life, with her last performance taking place at the age of 82, two weeks before she died at a club named Sweet Basil in New York City. Viola Gertrude Wells Evans passed away in Belleville, New Jersey on December 22, 1984.

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References:

Babbage, Joan. “Role Models.” Sunday Star-Ledger. March 25, 1990. 

Kukla, Barbara J. Swing City: Newark Nightlife, 1925-50. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. 

“Meet Three Divine Divas: Miss Rhapsody, ‘Sassy’ and Whitney.” Knowing Newark, February 20, 1997. https://knowingnewark.npl.org/meet-three-divine-divas-miss-rhapsody-sassy-and-whitney/

Reid, Calvin. Energy: How Author Promotes Book on Newark’s Jazz History. Publishers Weekly. Vol. 238. New York: PWxyz, LLC, 1991.

“Viola Wells (‘Miss Rhapsody’) Evans.” Black Perspective in Music 13, no. 2 (1985): 242–242

“Viola Wells Evans Dies at 82; Singer Called Miss Rhapsody.” The New York Times, January 7, 1985. https://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/07/arts/viola-wells-evans-dies-at-82-singer-called-miss-rhapsody.html?searchResultPosition=1.

Sugested Citation:

Perna, Nicolleta. (2024, Oct). Viola Gertrude Wells. New Jersey Women’s History, Rowan University Libraries Digital Scholarship Center. https://njwomenshistory.org/biographies/viola-gertrude-wells/