Singing praise for artists’ ‘day jobs,’ and appreciation of Sheila Jordan
“Never stop singing. You support the music until the music can support you.” This stunningly important statement by jazz legend Sheila Jordan came at an artist talk during the Detroit Jazz Festival, among other venues. And it has stuck in my brain for years.
Sometimes I paraphrase it and say: “You support the art until the art can support you.”
Sometimes, I wish more high school and college educators would share Sheila Jordan’s wisdom to their creative students.
Sometimes, I mention the growing number of Detroit artists, musicians and poets who double up their hours and commitments so they can grow their creative practice and their bank accounts. Others return to art full-time after their paid careers have wound down; early retirement renews artistic excellence. Detroit artists Judy Bowman, Charlene Uresy and many others demonstrate that.
Often, I wonder which “day jobs” work best for artists. Then I realize it really depends on their temperament, talents, network, education and more. Teaching makes sense for many but only if they appreciate children. Some work in media, museums or mortgage companies. Others find day jobs in finance, restaurants, graphic design, events or engineering.
It’s smart to try out some gig jobs — driving for Lyft, working as a barista, in child care, skilled trades and more — to find your ideal day job. Ask yourself questions such as: What are my skills? How many hours a week will I work? How much flexibility does this role give me? “It is up to you to determine whether the pros outweigh the cons for any potential correlating career,” wrote voice and career coach Dana Lynne Varga in The Empowered Musician, a careers and advice site for classical musicians.
Most musicians work a money job. Though I couldn’t find exact data for this, I’ve seen credible information before showing that a majority toil outside their field. And so do most poets — which is where my writing started — and many visual artists. Musicians who who work full-time find jobs with performing arts organizations such as opera houses or at religious institutions. Or they may land a business -side job such as tour manager, artist agent or recording engineer.
Finding steady bill-paying jobs is important. One in ten U.S. musicians earn $14.42 an hour for their creative work. And the U.S. government’s Occupational Outlook Handbook states: “Many musicians and singers find only part-time or intermittent work and may have long periods of unemployment between jobs.”
A museum exhibit called Day Jobs celebrates artists’ other work: lawyer and dishwasher, nurse and nanny. It launched last year at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, and opened in March at Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. And often it shows how bill-paying jobs bleed into creative ones.
“I started collecting heart rhythm strips from patients I took care of in the intensive care unit…. So I was making pieces with them, three strips right under another. … Collage and paint and little elements,” said Nate Lewis, who worked as an ICU nurse while growing his art practice. Lewis’ day job worked for almost a decade, he said, because he was on-the-clock three days a week.
Welsh songwriter Catherine Anne Davies toured with Simple Minds and performs as The Anchoress. The Sunday Times chose her album as one the best of the year in 2021. Yet Davies also teaches college level English and songwriting classes two days a week. “I’m not penniless but if I didn’t have a day job, I couldn’t make music,” she told The Guardian.
Her story is similar to Sheila Jordan’s.
Jordan grew up in a small Pennsylvania coal mining town, raised by her grandparents because her mother was an alcoholic. Money was tight and Sheila turned to songs on the radio. She began to sing popular songs and performed in local talent competitions. In 1947, at age 19, she performed in her first vocal trio, living in Detroit and writing lyrics to bebop compositions.
As an adult she moved to New York City, and kept singing and working a full-time job. Though she released her first album on Blue Note in 1962, and was its first female vocalist, Jordan worked as a secretary through the 1960s and 1970s. She worked office jobs, including typist and legal secretary, for almost 40 years, from age 18 to 58.
“I did that because I had a daughter to support and in the beginning I had myself to support,” she said in in a wide ranging interview with the National Endowment for the Arts.
She squeezed in singing jazz liturgies in churches and at many clubs between her administrative jobs. Finally by the late 1980s, she became a full-time jazz singer, who has performed with Charlie Parker, Max Roach and Charles Mingus among others.
She started teaching jazz vocal workshops, and learned how by jumping in and teaching. “I want to fall on my face sometimes. I want to improve what I do, I want to stretch out what I do,” Jordan told the NEA.
In this interview and others, Sheila Jordan made her point about working a day job until her creative work developed. It finally did and she’s performed all over the world. Check out her Facebook page for photos and information about concerts. Yes, at 96, she’s still singing.
BONUS
Here’s three articles that share more about creative day jobs:
- How artists’ day jobs can have a big impact on their art. A 2023 article by Karen Chernick in The Art Newspaper. This looks at the Day Job smuseum exhibit documenting visual artists day jobs.
- 57 Great Paying Jobs for Musicians . This list / article from Indeed, the giant job search site, includes a wide array of part-time and full-time work.
- The Best Day Jobs for Aspiring Artists and Other Creative Types. Published a decade ago on Complex, a pop culture news site, this article recommends a wide variety of paid roles including dog walking and bartender.
© Vickie Elmer, 2024, all rights reserved. Photos are copyright of Barbara Barefield and Tomoyuki Hotta and used with permission
