Last May, when Jane Little died at the age of 87, a world record came to an end.
Standing only 4′11″ and weighing only 98 pounds, Little began playing a double bass in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1945, at the age of 16. And she continued playing that bass for the orchestra for the next 71 years, giving her the longest professional tenure with the same orchestra. Fittingly, she died onstage, collapsing during an encore performance of ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business.’
This week, The New Yorker has a short profile on Jane Little and an accompanying video, which you can watch above. It’s entitled “The Longest Shortest Double Bassist.”
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here. Or follow our posts on Threads, Facebook and BlueSky.
If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!
Related Content:
The Neuroscience of Bass: New Study Explains Why Bass Instruments Are Fundamental to Music
Hear Isolated Tracks From Five Great Rock Bassists: McCartney, Sting, Deacon, Jones & Lee
Musicians Play Bach on the Octobass, the Gargantuan String Instrument Invented in 1850
The Story of the Bass: New Video Gives Us 500 Years of Music History in 8 Minutes
100 Great Bass Riffs Played in One Epic Take: Covers 60 Years of Rock, Jazz and R&B
She had a good career and life, and a long one..let her go in peace.