Ernestine Allen’s early life is kind of sketchy. The sultry jazz vocalist offered different stories of her humble beginning throughout her life. She fudged on dates and locations. She claimed she sang at clubs that weren’t yet established during the times she gave for her performances. Nevertheless, there is no denying Ernestine’s talent and appeal.
She sang with and recorded for a number of swing and big bands including the charismatic Lucky Millinder. Millinder was an interesting character. As a band leader, he couldn’t read or write music, didn’t play an instrument and rarely sang. He was, however, a compelling figure and an accomplished showman. He renamed young Ernestine as “Annisteen” as a tribute to his hometown of Anniston, Alabama. The newly-christened Annisteen had a half dozen hits with Lucky Millinder in the early 1950s.
Later, Annisteen signed a contract with Capitol Records and toured with the doo-wop group The Orioles. She scored a big hit with “Fujiyama Mama” a tune later made famous by rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson.
In the 1960s, Annisteen retired from singing to take a job in a hospital administrative office. It was a job she held for the next twenty years. In August 1992, at the age of 71, Annisteen suffered a fatal heart attack.