Revella Hughes

Revella Hughes began playing the piano at the age of 5 and the violin at the age of 10. She studied music at Hartshorn Memorial College in Richmond, Virginia, Oberlin Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, and at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She left Huntington during New York City’s Harlem Renaissance.

Hughes became the first female Broadway choral director when asked by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake to direct the chorus of their hit show “Running Wild.” Later, Hughes played the female lead in James P. Johnson’s “Running Wild,” which introduced the Charleston dance. Both shows were all-Black musicals. She also recorded for Black Swan Records, owned by W.C. Handy.

She returned to Huntington in 1932 to care for her widowed mother. She was hired as the supervisor of music at Douglass High School and created the first band at the school. When her mother passed away, she returned to New York and toured with her original creation entitled, “An Informal Hour of Music,” playing the Hammond organ. She played in supper clubs on the East Coast and toured the Middle East and Europe. She also performed in USO concerts for members of the U.S. Armed Services.

Hughes retired from performing full-time in 1955. However, 25 years later, she performed a final series of concerts that included an appearance at Radio City Music Hall.

Hughes was a gifted pianist, singer, recording artist, director and a legend among Jazz performers. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Marshall University in 1985.