Dick Stone's Music

Gospel Music by Dick Stone

In 1936 I was attending Columbus School in Chariton, Iowa. The schoolhouse was located just east of the present location of the new Columbus School. A church for black people was located across the street, and the black children and I often played in the schoolyard on weekends. It was here that gospel music and I became friends. I remember the hand clapping, the amens, etc. I loved it! My black pals sang with gusto, songs like "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Old Time Religion", "The Old Rugged Cross", "In the Sweet By and By" and many more.

By 1938 we had a radio. A program sponsored by the Earl May Seed Company, broadcast over KMA, Shenandoah, Iowa, always began by playing their theme song; "Turn The Radio On". The famous Blackwood Brothers quartet was a regular feature on this show. The group was made up mostly of members of the Blackwood family. I had the pleasure of meeting James Blackwood, the leader of the group, about 25 years ago and told him how much I enjoyed the group. I especially admired James solos, which were unparalleled in that great tenor voice of his! I particularly remember, "You'll Never Walk Alone", "He Looked Beyond My Fault", "I Met My King", "The Voice Of The Lord" and "As Flows The River".

The Blackwood Brothers singing group won all the top honors in Gospel music. Since the family had never produced a bass voice, early on, they added bass singer, J.D. Sumner to the group. (He left them to join Elvis Presley.) They then added the big bass voice of Ken "Volkswagen" Turner to the quartet. Of course, he could sing all the group's numbers and he was a whole show by himself too! The Blackwood Brothers quartet received many more honors and was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame.
Ken Turner of the Blackwood Brothers did things with that big bass voice that I still find hard to believe. He could make a noise like a Volkswagen, hence his nickname. He was funny, serious and relaxing. One of the songs I particularly recall is "Life is a Mountain Railroad". He used his voice to imitate a trumpet, trombone, clarinet or a complete wind band. The sounds were all done by Ken by dubbing over tracks. He also did imitations of Gomer Pyle, Mr. Magoo, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, Tennessee Ford, Ernie Ford and J. D. Sumner.


Another great gospel singer of this time was Jim Nabors. If you had heard Jim Nabors' odd voice as Gomer Pyle on the Andy Griffith Show you might never have believed he was a beautiful singer, but his voice was inspiringly heavenly. I have many of his records to enjoy!
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Tennessee Ernie Ford was sometimes called a pea picker. I do not know if he ever picked or shelled peas but he surely could shell out beautiful hymns such as "When They Ring the Golden Bells", "Let the Lower Lights be Burning", "The Church In The Wildwood", "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder", "Shall We Gather At The River" and "What A Friend We Have In Jesus". Ernie sang many other types of music including "Shotgun Boogie", which he also composed. Queen Elizabeth II of England was only one of his many fans.


In 1955, Tennessee Ernie recorded a song about a coal miner, "Sixteen Tons". The record sold one million copies in three weeks, two million in nine weeks and eventually sold over three million, which was a record at that time. Other songs he recorded included "Mule Train", "Cry Of The Wild Goose", "Farewell" and "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett". God gave Tennessee Ernie Ford a great gift, and he sang from the heart. The many gifts God gave me include my family, friends and a love for thousands of songs I have been privileged to hear. I still remember the words to most of them.


Words to "Sixteen Tons"
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you, then the left one will
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

I will mention a friend of mine, Wilburn L. Bennet of Bethany, Mo. I did business with him for three years before discovering that he was a singing evangelist from Bethany, Missouri. One day, he invited me to attend the local Church of God where he and his wife were guest singers. Before the Bennets sang, the congregation was singing and clapping their hands to the music, reminding me of the Gospel church atmosphere of so long ago; although, the songs were different. Some of the hymns were "I'm Bound For That City" and "Power In The Blood". Wilburn and Mary Lou, accompanied by an electric guitar, sang "ll Fly Away", "In The Valley" and "Everybody Will Be Happy Over There". Then Wilburn asked if anyone had a request so I asked for "Give Me That Old Time Religion" and "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher man".

Words to: "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man"
By: Dolly Parton

Daddy was an old time preacher man
He preacher the word of God throughout the land
He preached so plain a child could understand
Yes, Daddy was an old time preacher man
He told the people of he need to pray
He talked about God's wrath and judgement day
He preached about the great eternity
He preached hell so hot that you could feel the heat
Yes, Daddy was an old time preacher man
Aunt Leanona would get up to testify
And we'd sing "In The Sweet By And By"
The we'd sing "I'm On My Way To Canaan Land"
Yes, Daddy was an old time preacher man
Revivals and camp meetings went for weeks
Folks came from all around to hear him preach
Daddy said if one is saved it's worth it all
But the aisles were always filled at altar calls
Yes, Daddy was an old time preacher man
Daddy worked for God but asked for no pay
For he believed that God provides a way
We never had a lot but we got by
Guess it's 'cause the Lord was on Daddy's side
Yes, Daddy was an old time preacher man



The Spiritual Vibrations was a singing group which had been coming to Chariton, Iowa long before they became well known. The Smothers family formed the group in the camp meeting days. Helen Smothers was a great pianist, Max Smothers played bass and banjo, Dennis Smothers sang tenor and Gordon Britt played the lead guitar. Two Smothers sisters, whose names I have forgotten, were vocalists.



Some of the songs they sang were "Meet Me On The Other Side", "Touched By The Master's Strong Hand", "Take Me To Jesus And Tell Him I'm Home", "Going Home", "More Than You'll Ever Know" and "My Desire". The Spiritual Vibrations and the Bennets returned to Chariton periodically and I always went to hear them.


On Sunday morning I watched Jimmy Swaggart's TV program. I will leave judgment of the man to God, but I will judge the music presented. Jimmy had a great song, "You Don't Need To Understand". I understand that Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley were first cousins, and all are accomplished pianists. Mickey Gilley wanted Jimmy to join him in performing but he did not.
Some of Swaggart's best songs were "I've Got Nothing To Lose", ËœGod Took Away My Yesterdays", "Where Roses Never Fade", "Reach Out And Touch The Lord", "I've Found The Answer", "When I Wake Up In Glory", "God's Valley of Peace", "Something Within Me", "The Name Of Jesus" and "Jesus Is The Sweetest Name I Know".



Big John Starnes, a great gospel singer with a powerful voice, sang solos on the weekly Jimmy Swaggart Show, which was seen by over five million people. He sang from the heart such songs as "We'll Talk It Over", "I Shall Not Be Moved", "I Feel Like Travelin On, "Softly And Tenderly", "The Hallelujah Side", "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be". I enjoyed listening to all these great songs sang by an equally great vocalist.



The Speer Family is an older gospel-singing group I have enjoyed over the years. Some of their musical offerings are "Wait A Little Longer", "I Believe", "I Can Call On Jesus Anytime" and "Suppertime".




Gloria and Bill Gaither wrote and performed a number of the songs presented on their TV show, which is still running in 2003. Most of the greatest gospel singers have appeared with them including J.D.Sumner, Glen Paine, James Blackwood and many who have died since I first started watching the show. Some of the songs I recall best are "Praise Be To Jesus", "Peace Shall Come", "It Is Finished", "Reaching" and "Free To Go Home".

George Beverly Shea is still a powerful singer, but his voice does not compare to what it was 30 years ago. I have several of his records and particularly enjoy listening to "How Great Thou Art", "Rocked In The Cradle Of The Deep", "Sweet Hour Of Prayer", "Deep River" and "The Love Of God".

I treasure a signed promotional copy of The Plainsmen. Members of the gospel-singing group were Rusty Goodman, bass; Jack Mainord, lead singer; Easmon Napier, piano and singers Howard Wellborn and Thurman Bunch. I have some of their records including one of my favorites, "Amazing Grace" "How Great Thou Art", "Rock Of Ages", "What A Friend We Have In Jesus", "Beyond The Sunset", "Sweet Hour Of Prayer" and my father's favorite hymn,
"The Old Rugged Cross".

I like The Gospel Lights although their songs are a little different than most. "To God Be The Glory" was their theme song. A few others I really like are "The Baptism of Jesse Taylor", "The Eastern Gate", "Hallelujah Square", "My Tribute" and "What A Time".


One of the greatest singers of all time, Elvis Presley, sang gospel tunes such as "How Great Thou Art", "Somebody Bigger Than You And I", "Where Could I Go But To The Lord", "If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side", "Crying In The Chapel", "By and By", "Stand By Me", "Run On", "So High", "In The Garden" and "His Hand IN Mine". Many of these selections were sung with The Jordanaires and the Jordanaires quartet.

The Plummer Family country music show played one of my favorite songs, "The Old Country Church". It reminds me of the first time I remember attending church in 1933. The May church was directly across the road from May school where attended first grade. Both buildings are long gone. Other songs by the Plummer family were "Lonesome Valley", "My Lord's Going To Lead Me Out", "Shout And Shine", "Old Gospelship", "I'm Traveling On" and "Give Mother My Crown".


The queen of gospel music was Mahalia Jackson. I especially like her rendition of "Go Tell It To The Mountain" and "Move Up A Little Higher". Other songs by her include "I Can Put My Trust In Jesus", "He's My Light" and "I'm Glad Salvation Is Free".

The Cathedral Quartet was a wonderful group to hear. Glen Payne and George Younce were outstanding singers. Glen served God all his life with his voice, always singing with great emotion. The last song he recorded was fittingly called "Forever, I Will Sing". The same attributes can be said of George Younce and his powerful bass voice. I love his rendition of "Suppertime".

As I thought about different artists, the great Billie Holliday who sang "God Bless The Child" so well came to my mind. Maybe, I am even fonder of this song at the moment because I will become a great grandfather within the next few weeks.

Some other gospel performers I like are singer Jake Hess, the Goodman family, Glen Paine, The Oakridge Boys and The Statler Brothers. I could spend days writing about the approximately fifteen hundred gospel recordings I own and love to hear played. I think you get the idea. I love gospel music.



Classical and other music by Dick Stone

Montovani was born in Italy in 1905 and died in 1980. His father was the principal violinist at La Scala in Milan, Italy. He served under the masters including Richter, Toscanini, Mascagni and Saint-Seens.

The mother of Montovani encouraged him to start piano early on. Later he changed to the violin. At the age of sixteen, he began his professional career by playing the Anton Bruch Violin Concerto No. l. When he was twenty years old he started an orchestra in London where his family had moved. The orchestra was booked at London's Hotel Metropole. At age 25, he formed a renowned orchestra playing at all the top spots in London. Several records were cut of their work. At least two were sold in the United States and quickly became best sellers. They were "Serenade In The Night" and "Red Sails In The Sunset".



I have several Montovani records from 1931 forward including "Remember Great" and "Song Hits From Theatre Land". I would have to go through many albums to know for sure how many I own.

Mantovani was one of the most successful bandleaders who ever lived. Between 1955 and 1966 he made twenty-eight albums all of which were in the top thirty sellers in the United States. Mantovani was the musical director for many of London's West End shows. The West End was the Broadway of London. I have a dozen LP records and also have some 78's by Mantovani. A collection of his waltzes include "Waltz Time", Strauss Waltzes, "Tangos", "Ballet Melodies", "Operatic Arias", "Music of Victor Herbert", "The Immortal Classics", "Rhapsody In Blue" and "Concerto In F for Piano," Gershwin composed the last two in the list.

Some of the songs Mantovani wrote for Broadway shows include "If I Loved You" for Carousel, "Wunder Bar" for Kiss Me Kate, "I've Never Been In Love Before" for Guys and Dolls, "Almost Like Being In Love" for Brig-a-doon, "Hello, Young Lovers" for The King and I, "They Say it's Wonderful" for Annie Get Your Gun, "Out Of My Dreams" for Oklahoma, "Stranger In Paradise" for Kismet, "Bewitched" for Pal Joey, "Talk To The Trees" and "Some Enchanted Evening" for South Pacific.

The great artist Montovani received special recognition in popular music in 1956 when he was presented the Vor-Novello Award.

Andre Kostelanetz was born in Russia on Czarist Day, 1901, and died in Haiti in 1980. He was a great conductor and violinis, always consistent with no rough edges. He was a perfectionist; sometimes practicing over and over to get just the sound he wanted. He became the assistant conductor of the Petrograd Opera at twenty years of age.



He left Russia in 1922 to come to the United States and soon found work at the Metropolitan Opera as an assistant conductor. When CBS formed its own studio orchestra he was hired as a conductor for classical and light music shows. He also appeared with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The earliest records I have of his work are "Grand Canyon Suite" and "Rhapsody in Blue". George Gershwin wrote "Rhapsody In Blue" and "Concerto In F For Piano", with Oscar Levant on piano. I have Levant albums by the incomparable Levant.

The remarkable conductor, Andre Kostelanetza's music are some of my favorites. They are "You And The Night", "Stardust", "Cafa Continental", "Tender Is The Night", "Great Waltzes", "The Lure Of Paradise" "Vienna Nights", "Broadway Spectacular", "Blue Opera", "Fire A Jealousy" and "What Can I Say".

Bandleader Benny Goodman cut at least two records with Koselanetz on or about 1947. One that I remember was "Night And Day".
Arthur Fiedler was a gifted conductor but I know little of his background. I have heard much of his music and enjoy it very much. I did watch him conduct an orchestra at the Radio City Music Hall a few times during trips to New York. I own a number of his records including "Fiddler On The Roof" which I saw when it played on Broadway. I saw Arthur Fiedler perform at Carnegie Hall and in Central Park.


Irish Music by Dick Stone

My Wild Irish Rose


The sweetest flower that grows.


You may search everywhere


But none can compare with my wild Irish Rose.


My Wild Irish Rose,


The dearest flower that grows.


And someday for my sake,


She may let me take,


The bloom from my wild Irish Rose.

I remember my mother singing this song often as I was growing up. She had a nice voice, singing her favorite song beautifully until she became so ill before she died at fifty years of age.

Mother spent her early years in Melrose, Iowa where 99% of the residents were of Irish descent. My mother's maiden name was Marguerite Louise Bergman. Her ancestors were Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. The Stone name is Irish, although my ancestors emigrated from England.

By the time I was a teenager I knew every young person who lived in Melrose. I don't know if my love for Irish music can be attributed to my Irish ancestry, the influence of my friends in Melrose or from my mother's singing the songs.

An Old Irish blessing I really like reads, "May you have a world of wishes at your command God and his angels close at hand. Friends and family, their love impart. And Irish blessings in your heart."

My grandfather, Ed Bergman, had a gramophone to play the first music recorded on a spool type record. I will explain how this worked later in my special notes. Eventually, we had a radio to bring the world of into our home.

Jack Benny had a famous radio program in 1939 featuring a wonderful Irish tenor, Dennis Day. He had been discovered while singing at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. His first professional appearance was on the Jack Benny show. Within a year, he had been voted as one of the top five most popular tenors in the world. He served as a Navy Lieutenant during World War II and later married and fathered nine children. In 1946 he was given his own show, "A Day in the Life of Dennis Day", which ran for six years. By that time, we had a television so we could see the man we had enjoyed listening to for so long on the radio.

Harry Lillis "Bing"Crosby may have been the best all around singer who ever lived, although not a tenor. Bing had his own show on the radio circa 1936. He was Irish and I always felt he put a little something extra into singing the Irish songs. I was especially impressed with his renditions of "The Bells of Saint Mary", "Galway Bay" and "Going My Way". And, I will never forget how he performed "McNamara's Band". A singer like Bing comes along once in a lifetime and I am glad I was privileged to hear him.

The fabulous singing voice of John McCormack is another I recall. His offerings included "Mother Ireland", "Mother Machree" and "Rose of Tralee".

It is easy for me to remember the name of Irish tenor Robert White as White was the maiden name of my Grandmother Stone. His songs included "Come Back to Erin". "Danny Boy", "Molly Malone" and "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen".

One of the greatest tenors ever was Frank Patterson who had the same name as my Great Uncle. The Irish called him "The Golden Tenor". He sang opera, the classics and pop. He performed at a Mass in Rome for the pope and over one million worshipers. When the pope visited New York he requested Patterson to sing "Ava Maria", which is one of my favorites, also. Presidents Reagan and Clinton invited Patterson to sing at the White House. The tenor made more than forty albums, singing each song in six different languages. He won honors worldwide for his fantastic abilities. Despite his great fame, he never forgot the people singing in many small churches to raise money for the less fortunate. Frank died recently but his songs will live forever in my heart.

I will explain why I am including The Beatles in this section. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were from Liverpool, a predominately Irish area of London. They composed most of their own songs, two of which were banned in England. Civil War in Ireland was ongoing at the time. Lennon just wanted the bloodshed to stop but the Brits thought he was blaming them for the trouble and the Catholics thought they were depicted as the cause of the war. The pope, Queen Elizabeth and many Catholics were incensed by "Luck of the Irish" and "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", records I own. I enjoy the records but feel they were the reason Lennon was killed.

Earmon O'Conner is an up and coming tenor to watch. He is not to be confused with the renowned Irish tenor of nearly the same name, Eamon O'Conner. The younger O'Conner is only 22 years of age but is already a big hit with the younger generation. He has two radio shows and performs in Irish clubs where young people dance jigs to the rock sound with folk lyrics. I prefer the Irish songs of my youth. I do not care whether music is old or new but do know whether it is good or bad music.

Grandma Stone's Love of Music by Dick Stone

In 1933 my Stone Grandparents lived on a farm approximately six miles southwest of Chariton. My family lived nearby and visited often. Grandma Stone had a player piano and I always headed toward that awesome sight upon arrival. Grandma would choose a roll of music from her vast collection and put it in the piano on the top front side. She would sit down and pump her foot up and down on the pedal and, as if by magic, out came the music. I was fascinated listening to the sounds and the sight of the piano keys moving up and down by themselves. Every time I hear "The Old Piano Roll Blues" played, it makes me think of my Grandma Stone.

My grandma died about a year later and left a big hole in my heart. If she were ill during the good times I remember, she never let me know.

The depression of the thirties made it very hard to make a living on the farm so my family moved in with my mother's father, Grandpa Bergman in Chariton. Later, I bought the house and raised my family there.

My Grandmother Bergman had died about a year before I was born. Grandpa Bergman was a fine upstanding gentleman who had been a professional chef. He was very good to me and always knew just what I would like. He had an Edison talking machine, commonly called a gramophone and boxes of seven-inch music tubes in his closet. He showed me how to wind up the magical box with a horn atop, put on a blue roll and let 'her rip'. Now, I could hear vocal selections! Grandpa told me I could use the machine whenever I wanted and I'm sure that put a smile on my face. I was too young to read the labels so I would ask my mother or grandpa, who was singing the songs? Some I recall are Sophie Tucker, Enrico Caruso and also remember a rousing rendition of John Phillip Sousa's band.

Grandpa bought a radio in 1937, bringing a world of wonder to our listening ears. In those days all radios needed an outside antenna. One wire ran from the radio outside to the top of a high walnut tree located about thirty feet from the house. Another wire ran from the radio to an iron stake in the ground. This was done to produce a better sound and as a ground wire in case of a lightening strike. I assume it worked, as I do not recall any catastrophe.

Radio shows and theme song even then: "“Thanks For The Memories", Bing Crosby, Eve Arden, Fibber McGee and Molly, Edgar Bergen and Charley McCarthy, Orson Welles, Eddie Cantor Comedy Show, The Fred Waring Orchestra, The Lucky Strike Show, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians and The Sanborn Coffee Comedy Hour.

The theme song of the Fred Waring Show was "Sleep" played so soft and slow it could put a person to sleep. The shows ballroom music was a bit slow for my taste.

Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians theme song was "Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven". The music was perfect for ballroom dancing, soft and sweet with just the right flow.

I well recall the panic caused by Orson Welles' broadcast of "War of the Worlds". Like so many others we missed the starting disclaimer and thought the report of the end of the world was real.

Sometime in the mid-thirties when I could read well I learned what was printed on the gramophone tubes. Some of the jazz singer Al Jolson's recordings were "Mammy", Swanee River," "Old Black Joe", "Old Man River", Sonny Boy," and "You Made Me Love You". I still loved playing the old gramophone even after we had a radio.

Sometime later, I learned Stephen Foster, one of the most renowned songwriters of the 1800's, wrote the Jolson songs. When he was around sixteen years old he visited a colored church and heard music no one had ever written down. He went to the river where the slaves were gathered, listened to their music and was deeply moved. The experience influenced his writing style from that time on.

Many years later Elvis Presley claimed he liked to go to the river while composing his songs for inspiration and ideas. I never heard anyone actually say so but I think the song originally composed in 1911,"Jail House Blues" became the hit song "“Jailhouse Rock".

Back to my gramophone memories. When Sophie "Red Hot Mamma"Tucker first heard her singing voice recorded she supposedly remarked,"I sound like a fog horn". But all her listeners loved to hear her just the same. “Some of These Days" was one of her best, I think.

Listening to John Phillips Sousas' band playing the rousing "Stars and Stripes Forever" was an experience I will never forget.

Two great local bands come to mind and Buck Johnson, Chariton High School Music Director, organized both. Like the great Glenn Miller, Buck knew how to get the most out of the talent on hand. The American Legion Marching Band won several National Championships. The band played at all local community events and residents were welcome at their practices, so I heard them play often. Many of the members also played in the Chariton High School Band. If there had been awards at that time for high school bands I am sure they would have won over any competition.

It was not only the music that made these bands so memorable. Both were marching bands and I can still see them marching in perfect synchronization almost as if the many marchers were one entity. Ed Morgan led the band with a strut you could not believe if you had not seen it. The Martin twins were spectacular spinning and throwing their batons in the air. John Phillip Sousa would have applauded this band playing his music so well.

Another gramophone memory was of Chauncey Olcott singing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". He made quite an impression on me.

Also, W.C. Handy who wrote and sang one of my many favorites, "Saint Louis Blues".

Then there was Isham Jones' Orchestra playing a wonderful version of "It Had To Be You". Woody Hermann sang and played sax with this group. I know Woody played clarinet after he took over this band upon Jones' retirement.

Another gramophone record I recall enjoying so much was "Sweet Georgia Brown" by the Ben Bernie Orchestra. I think this record was the family's favorite. All of the gramophone recordings were made before 1926, a year before my Grandma Bergman died. I always believed it was she who had purchased the music.

It was around 1938 when we finally had an electric record player. The first round records were called 78's. They were very thick with music on one side only. A little later the records could be played on both sides. The new sound was much improved from the gramophone tubes.

Songs written between 1900-1935. These are songs I grew up listening to. I will not list the artist unless it comes to me as I make the following list:

1. Cuddle up a Little Closer, singer Doris Day

2. Down by the Old Millstream, Mitch Miller Orchestra Gang

3. Because (Just Because), Nelson Eddy

4. If You Were the Only Girl in the World

5. When You and I Were Young, Maggie

6. Put Your Arms Around me, Honey, Hold Me Tight

7. Peg O' My Heart, singer Buddy Clark (Great singer)

8. A Bicycle Built for Two

9. Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet

10. I'm just Wild About Mary, Mitch Miller Orchestra (No, not Harry, that was another song)

11. Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes

12. Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland

13. Oh, You Beautiful Doll, singer Rosemary Clooney

14. Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider

15. Billy Boy

16. Ain't She Sweet?

17. After the Ball is Over

18. I Love You Truly

19.You Made Me Love You, singer Marty Robbins

20 Hello My Baby

21. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now

22. Goodbye, My Lady Love

23. When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Bib Red Rose

24. Fascination, Percy Faith Orchestra

25. Sweethearts, singer Jane Powell

26. I'd Love to Live in Loveland With a Girl Like You

27. Shine on Harvest Moon

28. For Me and My Gal

29. My Melancholy Baby, singer Liberace on piano

30. School Days

31. When You Were Sweet Sixteen

32. In the Shade of the old Apple Tree

34. I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen

35. I Want a Gal Just Like the Gal That married Good Old Dad

36. Moonlight Bay, singer Doris Day

37. Let Me Call You Sweetheart

38. Carolina in the Morning, Mitch Miller and group

39. You Tell Me Your Dream and I'll Tell You Mine

40. Sleepy time Gal

41. Good Night Ladies

42. Goodnight, Sweetheart

43. Take Me Out to the Ballgame

44. Let Me Call You Sweetheart

45. My Old Kentucky Home

46. It Had to Be You, Isham Jones Orchestra

47. Danny Boy

48. I Walk Alone, Jane Froman Later, Martha Tilman sang this song

49. I Only Have Eyes For You

50. Wait 'til the Sun Shines, Nellie

51 My Wild Irish Rose, sung by my mother, Marguerite Bergman Stone

There are some events so monumental that they are forever embedded in our memory. Everyone remembers exactly where he or she was and what they were doing when the Challenger disintegrated and when John F. Kennedy was killed. So it was on Dec. 7, 1941, the beginning of World War II. I was watching the radio that Sunday morning. No, this is not a misprint. I had pasted onto the front of our radio pictures of Benny Goodman, Glen Miller and other artists pictures that I had taken from magazines. I would sit watching that old radio waiting for the music of the great bands to come on. With a lot of imagination, I almost felt I was watching them perform. It would be nearly ten years before anyone in Chariton had a television in their home.



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"Musical Things I Think You Should Know"
by Dick Stone SIDEMEN



A sideman has a special talent not reached by many on their instrument of choice. Many sidemen formed their own orchestras. As I relate what I know of the sidemen of the big bands of the 20's, 30's and 40's. I realize many will be left out. Sidemen were not given recognition before Benny Goodman allowed Harry James to stand and solo. Shortly thereafter the great trumpet player formed his own orchestra. I saw Harry James perform at the Tromar ballroom in Des Moines when he was leading one of the most popular bands of the 40's. I will never forget the thrill of hearing Harry James on that "golden trumpet".
The fantastic drummer Gene Krupa, trumpeter Cootie Williams and Lionel Hampton who played the vibes were all Benny's sidemen at one time and later formed their own bands becoming leaders in the music industry. Other big bands soon followed Benny's lead of featuring instrumental soloists.



SWING


Louis Armstrong was asked the definition of swing. He answered, "If you've heard the music and still don't know, you'll never know". I understand what he meant. My feet and arms start moving with the music when I hear it. Benny's theme song was "Let's Dance". This is the kind of music I grew up listening to, and it always makes me want to dance.



MUSIC STUDIOS

The small studios were likely a place where musicians went to find work. The large studios were more likely recording places such as the RCA studio and the big movie sets of Hollywood.


RIDE


Sometimes a solo musician, often called a sideman, is able to project his heart and soul to his fellow band members who will sense the moment and cry out, "Ride, Ride"in an extended solo. A perfect example was the song "Sing, Sing, Sing", composed by Louis Prima who later had his own orchestra.
The song, "Sing, Sing, Sing", was supposed to be played by the full Benny Goodman band for three minutes near the end of their performance. Sideman drummer Gene Krupa kept right on playing. When Benny realized what was happening he joined in, as did other members of the band, providing accompaniment. The song was now an eight-minute hit song and was played as such from that time on. "Sing,Sing,Sing" has became the song of the year and was voted as one of the greatest songs of the last century.



TAILGATE TROMBONE

A trombone player would sit on the back of a wagon hitched to a horse or donkey in the early years of New Orleans jazz. Sponsors displayed their advertising on the side of the wagons.



STOMP


Stomp was a dance involving a rhythmical heavy step. One of my favorite songs, "“The Casa Stomp" performed by the Casa Loma Orchestra is a perfect example of the stomp.



RAGTIME

Ragtime has a number of meanings but the term always makes me think of the songs played in the roaring 20's.



BLUES

The birth of the blues came about when people started singing about their trials and tribulations. The black slaves were the first blues singers and many of their very sad ballads were never written down. The colored lady, Bessie Smith, was the greatest blues singer at her time. Some of her songs I played on the old gramophone were "“Massa in Da' Cold, "Cold Ground", "Jailhouse Blues," "Downhearted Blues" which included the following lyrics:


D O W N H E A R T E D B L U E S

"There are nineteen men living in my neighborhood
Eighteen are fools
And the other one is no darn good!"

DIXIELAND JAZZ

Dixieland jazz music was most popular between 1900 and 1929. Some sources will say it was from 1880 to 1925 but I do not think this is true as nothing was written down before 1900.


DRUM SET


It was around 1937 when more drums, floor tom-toms and bells were added to the big bands. The combination which came to be known as the full set was made popular by drummer greats Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich and others.



BARREL HOUSE

Cabaret patrons who were served whiskey from a barrel coined the term. Most of the cabarets or saloons were located west of the Mississippi River. Usually the entertainment consisted of a lone pianist beating the keys but sometimes a singer was added.


The Beginning of Recorded Jazz and Blues
W.C. HANDY

The blues and jazz songs were sung long before "the father of the blues", W.C. Handy, wrote any down and after he had studied colored music for years. Handy was born in New York in 1873. His father was a minister and supposedly said he would prefer to see his son dead as to be in show business. At the age of twenty, he formed an instrumental quartet with himself on cornet. The group appeared at the 1893 Chicago Exhibition and later traveled the country performing.

Handy was very talented music teacher with a particular talent for writing music. In 1909, he composed his first song, "Memphis Blues" as a piano solo. Amazingly, he sold the rights to the song to a New York publisher for the princely sum of $50.00! "Memphis Blues" was named the song of the year in 1924, and maintained its popularity throughout the century.

Handy wrote the song, "St. Louis Blues" in 1914. He could not interest anyone in publishing it. so he formed his own publishing company in partnership with Harry Pace. Despite their best efforts, the song did not catch on until Sophie Tucker sang it in New York. Gilda Gray added to the song's popularity when she included it in the Broadway Revue.

Some of Handy's other works include "he Beale Street Blues", "The Harlem Blues", "The Joe Turner Blues" and "The John Henry Blues".

LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Handy visited New Orleans in 1908 during his tour of the south in search of ideas for songs. He noticed a young boy singing on street corners of the red light district. His audience would toss him coins for pocket change. The youngster was the illegitimate son of a thirteen-year-old girl and a father who was mostly absent from his life. This boy, Louis Armstrong, later became one of the most celebrated musicians of the century.

When Louis was thirteen years he was arrested for celebrating New Years Eve by shooting a pistol on the street. He was sent to a colored waif's home for wayward boys. There he learned to play the coronet under the direction of Paul Davis. Louis was later quoted as saying, "Music and me became one at that home".

In the following years Louis played with nearly all of the best bands including the renowned Fate Marable River Boat Band, entertaining as they traveled up and down the Mississippi River on a large steamboat. Another notable musical group Louis played with was the Kid Ory Orchestra.

In 1922, Louis worked for about a year for King Oliver, who became his mentor. Louis' first recordings were made during this time. Next, Louis was given the trumpet chair with another of the great bands, Fletch Henderson Orchestra.

Between the years 1925-1928 Louis Armstrong played in two groups he created called the "Hot Five Group" and the "Hot Seven Group". He established a theme solo and the 4/4-swing tempo, which redefined jazz. Louis credited a lot of his ideas to his good friend, Bix Beiderbecke, the fantastic jazz bandleader. Louis' concept of introducing the soloist in the middle of a song soon became an industry standard.

Louis had a talent for borrowing other people's orchestra members, and they were never the same again after he had pepped them up. Some of the bands he borrowed were The Carol Dickerson Fiddler Band, The Blue Ribbon Band and the Les Hite Orchestra.

Louis cut records with the Casa Loma Orchestra, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby and Bessie Smith along with many other performers of the time. Despite his humble beginning, he became one of the most beloved musicians of the century due to his tremendous talent and winning personality.


FATE MARABLE ORCHESTRA

Fate Marable began his career as a piano player on Mississippi River steamboats including the famous stern-wheeler, the Capitol. When Marable was just twenty-seven years of age he organized an orchestra of his fellow colored performers. His whole life was spent traveling the Mississippi River with his orchestra. The Marable orchestra played in a number of St. Louis clubs during the off-season

The Marable Orchestra must have been something to hear in 1918 and in the ensuing years. The list of the jazz music players such greats as Fate Marable on the piano, Baby Dodds on drums, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Johnn St. Cyr on banjo, Pops Foster on bass, Bill Ridgeley on trombone, Dave Jones on violin and French horn and Louis Armstrong on the trumpet. It is just awesome to think about all this talent working together. I wish I could have seen them play. Many other of America's most famous jazzmen got their start with Fate Marable's orchestra including Al Morgan, Henry "Red" Allen, Mouse Randolph, Zootie Singleton, Jimmy Blanton, Earl Bostic and Gene Sedric. Earl Bostic also worked for Fats Waller whom I will report about later.


One of the Fate Marable groups was called the Fate Marables Society Syncopaters. They only made one recording, "Frankie and Johnnie", the tune sang throughout the Civil War. No one knows when the words to this song were written, but it certainly became famous.


Many of the boats the band performed on were segregated most of the time. No blacks were ever allowed to board the riverboat, Jazz. Both blacks and whites could enter the St. Paul riverboat on Mondays only. Many times two small bands would entertain in the afternoon and two large bands would perform at night. The famous Capital steamboat was segregated until 1927 but quickly changed their policy when the all-white big band went on strike for more money early in the 1927 season. Fate Marable capitalized on the opportunity and played on the riverboats until 1947 when he died at the untimely age of 57.



POPULAR SONGS PLAYED ON THE RIVERBOATS

When You Were Sweet Sixteen
Mandy Lee

Story of the Rose (Heart of My Heart)

Roll dem Blues

Levee Song

Kathleen

I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen

The Band Played On

On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away

Ida! Sweet as Apple Cider

Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie

Mary's a Grand Old Name

My Gal Sal

In the Evening by the Moonlight

I Wonder if She's Waiting

The Little Brown Church in the Vale

In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree

Dear Old Girl

Will You Love Me in December as you do in May?

Hello! My Baby

A Bird in a Gilded Cage

Susie

You're as Welcome as the Flowers in May

Only Once in a Lifetime

Down Where the Cotton Blossoms Grow

Down on the Farm

A Dream

Gay Nineties Medley

Where the Sunset turns the Ocean's Blue to Gold

Red River Valley

I Long to See the Girl I left Behind

When You and I Were Young, Maggie

Mighty Like a Rose

Close That Eye

Hot Time in the Old Town

Home, Sweet Home

Many jazz and blues songs were also played during the riverboat days including these written by W.C. Handy:

St Louis Blues

Basin Street Blues

Sam Morgan Jazz Band

The Sam Morgan band alternated performances with the Fate Marable Band while entertaining on the Capitol steamship. Both bands were known for their consistently smooth dance tempo.

On one particular day a contest was held between the two groups. Marable thought the Morgan band was playing with too much enthusiasm and getting too much attention from the patrons so he unplugged their amplifier. The steamship owners rectified the problem when they finally realized the band was not playing. By that time, Marable was the winner of the day.

I do not know very much about the players of the Sam Morgan band except that they were all originally from New Orleans. Only the best players were allowed to perform on the Capitol. Two members I can name were Johnny Day and Earl Fouche.



Henry "Red" Allen

I believe Red was the most talented sidemen who never had his own orchestra. Henry "Red" Allen, is not to be confused with his same-named father who was the leader of The New Orleans Brass Band. Henry Allen, Jr. was born in 1908 in Algiers, LA which was located just across the river from New Orleans.

Red's father taught him how to play the alto sax, violin and the trumpet, for which he was best known. In 1926, Red was playing in the Fate Marable Orchestra. The following year, he was in Chicago performing with the Joe King Oliver band following the group's return from California. They continued to tour the Mississippi in season. By 1929 Red had moved to New York City to join the Louis Russell Orchestra.

Red was in great demand as an instrumentalist having been approached by Fletch Henderson, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. In the following years Red tired of running from gig to gig , playing for the above mentioned bands from 1933 to 1940.

By 1940 Red was considered an elder statesman of jazz. He journeyed to New York City where he formed some small musical groups achieving great success in such clubs as The Famous Door, Kelly's Stable and the Cafe Society Club. He toured the country for the next six years with the sextet he had formed while continuing to perform occasionally with the big bands. He also played in a few movies.

Red was a composer and arranger without equal. Fletch Henderson paid tribute to him for his arrangements that led to the new swing sound made famous by Benny Goodman.



Jimmy Noone

Another great sideman, Jimmy Noone, died in CA in1944 at the young age of 49. He made quite a name for himself as a clarinetist during his short life. He produced a beautiful tone and a flowing style while performing with a band called the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in New Orleans and the New Orleans Giants band in Chicago during the years of 1918-1943 before moving west.

ORIGINAL CREOLE JAZZ BANDS

Many people have claimed to be the first to invent the jazz sounds including an all-white musicians co-op group lead by Nick La Rosa known as "The Original Dixieland Jazz Band". Nick was an unusual left-hand coronet player.

Following a short gig in Chicago the group moved to New York, making a big hit with their audiences while playing at the Reisenweber restaurant.

They do deserve credit for recording jazz sounds almost a year ahead of any other bands in 1917. Two of their recorded songs were "Dark Town Struter" and "Livery Stable Blues". They remained somewhat active for the next eight years, and I imagine many of the group continued to play for other bands. I do not agree that they were the first group to play jazz sounds.

KID ORY

Kid Ory was born in La Place, LA in 1886 and died in 1973. He is the best known of all the old New Orleans' Tailgate trombonists. He used the instrument for the fills and glissandi that were so much a part of the original Dixieland Jazz. He was the first musician to use the Chicago Dixieland style while playing his forceful trombone solos. Kid was also proficient on the trumpet, sax, valve trombone, bass, piano clarinet, guitar and banjo.

Kid was very young when he formed a string quintet with some of his playmates. They played to audiences in their hometown using homemade instruments. He bought his first trombone with the money made from the appearances.

In 1911, Kid traveled to New Orleans where he formed the renowned Original Creole Jazz Band, popularly called Kid Ory's Brown-skinned Babies. Some of the great musicians in his band were Mutt Carey, Louis Armstrong and King Oliver on trumpet and the early flowing greats of the clarinet including Sidney Bechet, Jimmie Noone, George Lewis and Johnny Dodds.

In 1919, Kid had to give up the band for a while due to his doctor's orders to move to a drier climate for his health. He journeyed to Los Angeles where Jelly Roll Morton and Joe King were playing at the time. I will write more about Kid Ory later.

The war department had shut down the New Orleans red light districts of Story-town and Basin Street at the onset of WW1 in 1917. Many musicians who had played in the district clubs were now out of work and many headed north.

The only practical way to travel at the time was on a riverboat or by railway. Even those lucky enough to own a new Henry Ford auto could not travel more than a hundred miles from New Orleans as the roads were almost impassable on the best days. I understand this better than most, as I am old enough to remember when none of the highways out of Chariton, Iowa were paved.

River and railway traffic was heavy in 1917. Many people from the south traveled north to work in the thriving businesses like the steel mills and packinghouses.

The Eighteenth Amendment was passed in 1919 prohibiting the manufacture and sale of all alcoholic beverages. This was the final blow for all the jazz bands that headed north looking for work. They were quickly hired by clubs owned by crime bosses who had opened up illegal clubs called speak easies as quickly as the legal clubs had closed down, due to the alcohol ban.

The speak easies opened as private clubs where illegal booze freely flowed. The liquor was often homemade whiskey, gin or beer. Many of Chicago's city officials frequented the clubs, accepting payola to look the other way.

Most of the clubs had a small dance floor and needed musicians. The Dixieland jazz bands filled the need. As World War 1 came to an end, the roaring twenties began.

In 1920, Kid Ory was still playing in California. Joe King Oliver had returned to Chicago where he was a top name in music circles. Louis Armstrong soon joined the Oliver orchestra.

In 1922, Kid Ory was leading a popular all-black jazz band that became the first black band to record, making six sides.

Other notable dates and career achievements of the versatile and accomplished Kid Ory are as follows:

Played in Chicago with King Oliver in 1924

Performed at the Savoy in New York in 1927

Worked with Lil Armstrong's Orchestra in 1927

He composed "Muskrat Ramble" before retiring in1930.

Ory returned to the music world in 1940, working with the Barney Bigard Band. In 1944, he was with the Orson Welles Radio Show and thereafter returned to CA with his own band. Later he performed in the following movies:

New Orleans with Louis Armstrong in 1946

Crossfire in 1947

Mahogany Music in 1950

The Benny Goodman Story with Steve Allen in 1956




BIX BEIDERBECKE ORCHESTRA


Most of what I know about Bix is what I learned from information recorded by other greats I do know much about. He was born in 1903 in Davenport, Iowa as Leon Bix Beiderbecke. Tragically, he died at the young age of 28 following years of drinking hard and living hard.

His friend, Hoagy Carmichael, said Bix could play the Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano when he was only three years old. He is also quoted as saying Bix's ear for music was so perfect he could identify the pitch of a belch!

Writer Arnold Shaw said handing Bix a coronet was like giving a brush to Picasso. Bix never studied the instrument that made him so famous. He is remembered for the wonderfully clear bell-like tones of the coronet.

Bix collaborated with Louis Armstrong with style and arrangements such as the bridge. This was the practice of placing the vocalist in the center of a song. Louis said Bix was the only artist he would ever let touch his trumpet.

Bix created the Cy-Bix Orchestra in partnership with drummer Walter Welge while Bix was attending Lake Forest Academy shortly before his expulsion from the school in 1922, which happened due to his drinking.

During his brief career, Bix played the coronet with such equally great players with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Hoagy Carmichael, Frankie Trumbauer of the Wolverines and Jean Goldkette's Orchestra.

He became very ill with delirium tremens in 1928 while playing with the Whiteman band. After several failed attempts to resume his career, Bix fell into a dissolute life of drinking. The stock market and Bix both crashed in 1929. Bix died of alcoholism on August 6, 1931.

The only two songs I am aware of Bix recording are "I'm Coming Virginia", and "Singing the Blues". Louis Armstrong called "Singing the Blues"a masterpiece.

KING OLIVER CREOLE JAZZ BAND


Joseph King Oliver was born at Bend, LA in 1885, and died in 1938. The great black coronetist played with a number of brass bands from 1908-1917. Those groups included the Onward, Olympia and the Eagle bands.

In 1917 King worked as a sideman for Kid Ory's Orchestra who was performing at Pete Lala's at the time.

In 1919 Oliver left for Chicago to work in Lawrence Duhe's band. Later, he assumed leadership of the group.

Oliver traveled to the west coast in 1921 where he led different bands in the largest cities of California.

By 1922 Oliver was back in Chicago with his own band called Creole Jazz Band. The band was enjoying a huge following of Chicagoites and white musicians who took notes of the new style of Dixieland jazz being played, hoping to copy the sound. King Oliver was the first coronetist to use bottle and mutes over the coronet bell to achieve new sounds. Oliver on coronet and Louis Armstrong on trumpet were an awesome duo for the audience to hear. Other famous sidemen playing with this famous band was Honore Butrey on bass and Bill Johnson on fiddle. Lil Hardin, who would become Louis Armstrong's second wife, played the piano.

Hoagy Carmichael wrote in his book of a time he accompanied Bix Beiderbecke to the Lincoln Gardens to hear Oliver's fantastic band. The band started playing the song "A Bugle Call Rag". Bix gave Armstrong the high sign and the great trumpeter showed his striking white teeth and really cut loose. Bix said, "That's my boy!" Next, the band played "Royal Garden Blues", and the whole crowd went wild after hearing what Hoagy called real solid jazz.

King Oliver pioneered the use of two trumpets when Louis Armstrong was playing with the band. This was a novelty for a New Orleans group and became quite successful. Songs made popular by the group included "Sugar Foot Stomp", "Camp Meeting Blues", "High Society", "Southern Stomp", and "New Orleans Stomp", "Canal Street Blues", "Dippermouth Blues" and "Royal Garden Blues".

Lil Hardin has written that King Oliver was an easygoing man, maybe too easy. He was a likeable man, full of jokes and loved baseball. A voracious eater, King could eat a dozen hamburgers and drink a quart of milk at a meal.

For reasons unknown, King turned down a job offer from the Cotton Club in New York in 1927. His career took a downturn before the stock crash of 1929, when the whole cabaret business took a nosedive.

King operated a fruit and vegetable stand in Savannah, GA during the thirties. His music career had ended but he will live on in the hearts of jazz fans forever.

Fletcher Henderson would later turn King Oliver's new jazz sounds into a new swing style of music that I love.




Lil Armstrong was born Lillian Hardin in 1898 in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a well-known pianist, singer and bandleader. She moved to Chicago when she was eighteen years old. By 1924 she was playing piano with the immensely popular King Oliver Jazz Band at the Lincoln Gardens. This was also the year she became the wife of another player in the band, the great trumpeter Louis Armstrong.

Lil had a teaching diploma in music and recognizing Louis Armstrong unusual talent, she urged him to strike out on his own. He was employed for a short while with Fletcher Henderson' band but soon became leader of his own Hot 5 and Hot 7 bands. Lil played piano for these groups as well as leading her own band.

Following Lil and Louis' divorce in 1931, Lil formed an all-girl band and later on, she formed an all male band, both playing mostly to radio audiences. Lil also gave solo revues and later was the house pianist for Decca records. She died during the memorial service for her ex-husband, Louis Armstrong in 1971.



HOAGY CARMICHAEL


The great songwriter, Hoagy Carmichael was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1899 and died in Rancho Mirage, California in 1981. Hoagy was best known his piano playing and for the songs he wrote alone and in collaboration with other others.

Hoagy's mother worked as a silent movie pianist accompanist during the showing of the film, a common practice in those days. The Carmichael family always had a piano in the home and the young Hoagy learned to play by ear from hearing his mother play.

In 1915, the family moved to Indianapolis where the sixteen-year-old Hoagy quit school and worked at odd jobs to help support the family. He resumed his education in four years later when he went back to school to study the law. Hoagy supported himself by playing the piano and formed a band to play for college activities. He also played the piano in the theaters as his mother had done for so many years. During his college years he composed "River Boat Shuffle", "Washboard Blues", and "Stardust".

Hoagy settled in Florida to practice law after he received his degree in 1926 but a law career was not to be. As he later wrote, "I heard a recording of my song, 'Washboard Blues' played by Red Nichols and the call was too much. At that moment I knew my life work would be in music".

Songs he later wrote himself or with others were "Rockin' a Chair", "Georgia on my Mind", "Lazy River", Judy", "A Little old Lady," "Lazy Bones", "Moon Burn", "Small Fry", "Two Sleepy People", "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief", "Buttermilk Sky", "Cool, cool, cool, of the Evening", "“Hong Kong Blues," "The Nearness of You" and "The Old Lamplighter".

It is awesome to think about all these great hits I have enjoyed all my life which are mostly attributed to the talent of Hoagy Carmichael.



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JIMMY DURANTE


One of America's best-loved comedians was born in New York in 1893 and died in CA in 1980. Few people remember that he formed Durante's Novelty Jazz Orchestra, one of the first Dixieland jazz bands playing in New York clubs shortly after the end of WW1.

Durante, nicknamed "The Schnoz" because of his prominent nose wrote several ditties including "Inka Dinka Doo" which became his theme song.

I started going to the movies in 1935 when I was eight years old. I remember well the first time I saw this funny man playing the piano while shaking that king sized nose from side to side as he pounded out novelty songs he had composed, including the most popular "Inka, Dinka, Doo". I continued to enjoy his movies, radio and TV programs well into the sixties. He always ended his performances with his trademark line, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.".He never revealed the identity of Mrs. Calabash.


The Old Piano Roll Blues
Words and Music by Cy Coben
Copyright ©1949 Leeds Music Corporation, renewed 1976 by MCA Music.
Chorus: I wanna hear it again, I wanna hear it again,
The Old Piano Roll Blues.
Sittin' at an upright, my sweetie and me,
We're pushin' on the pedals singin' sweet harmony.
I wanna hear it again, the rinkety-tink,
We cuddle closer it seems.
We kiss a-kiss a-kiss a-kiss away all our cares,
The player piano plays that good old razz-a-ma-tazz.
I wanna hear it again, I wanna hear it again,
The Old Piano Roll Blues.
Interlude: They're the best I've ever heard,
When they play the ragtime jazz,
It makes me wanna cuddle, I wanna honey puddle,
I wanna say "skiddy-woo" and "razz-a-ma-tazz."
It's that ever-lovin' old piano roll
I get a funny feelin' down in my soul
So keep on syncopatin', while I keep palpatatin'
That old piano roll blues.
Chorus: I wanna hear it again, I wanna hear it again,
The Old Piano Roll Blues.
Sittin' at an upright, my sweetie and me,
We're pushin' on the pedals singin' sweet harmony.
I wanna hear it again, the rinkety-tink,
We cuddle closer it seems.
We kiss a-kiss a-kiss a-kiss away all our cares,
The player piano plays that good old razz-a-ma-tazz.
I wanna hear it again, I wanna hear it again,
The Old Piano Roll Blues, you'd better believe it,
The Old Piano Roll Blues.

CAB CALLOWAY’S ORCHESTRA



Cabell “Cab” Calloway III was born in 1907 and died in 1994. Cab spent his early years in Baltimore, Maryland, moving to Chicago with his family while in his early teens. He later studied law at Crane College.

His sister Blanche was five years older than Cab. By 1923, she was a successful entertainer and convinced Cab to try his hand at entertaining. Cab was a pianist and drummer. In 1923, Cab performed in his first stage show, “Plantation Days”, at the Loop Theater in Chicago. Blanche also appeared in the show.

While still living in Chicago in 1928, Cab was working as the emcee at the Sunset Café on the south side of the city. At the same time the co-op band known as Marion Hardy’s Alabamans was performing at the café. One day Cab was asked to play with the band during rehearsal. The bandsmen were so impressed with Cab’s ability that they voted him to be their leader.

In 1929 the Alabamans journeyed to New York for a gig. Cab stayed in Chicago when the band returned to Chicago. He assumed leadership of The Missourian Band at that time.

The next year while Cab was still leading the Missourians his most famous hit song, and his theme song, “Minnie the Moocha” was first broadcast from the Cotton Club.

Cab moved to Hollywood in 1932 where he played in several movies including The Singing Kid starring Al Jolson, Sensations of 1945 and Stormy Weather. One scene I recall in Stormy Weather was a young Lena Horne sitting in a window singing the title song while it was storming outside.

Members of the Cab Calloway band in 1938 were trumpeters Shad Collins, Sideman Irving Randolph, Lamar Wright and Sideman Doc Cheatam; trombonists Claude Jones, Keg Johnson and De Priest Wheeler; drummer Leroy Maxie; pianist Bennie Payne; Walter Thomas and Chu Berry on tenor sax and bass player Milt Hinton.

In the peak years of the band from 1940 until the band disbanded in 1948, Cab added zest to his band by employing five especially great sidemen. They were Ben Webster and Hilton Jefferson on sax, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Jonah Jones and drummer Cosy Cole.

A story I heard goes that Cab’s mind went blank and he forgot the song lyrics during a live broadcast. He started scat singing and the audience responded. The call and response of one of Cab’s hit songs, “Hi-dee-ho”, was born that night. The practice of band and audience interaction had begun.

Cab’s songs I like include “Blues in the Night”, “St. James Infirm”, “Bye, bye Blues”, “Corner Pocket’, “Don’t Worry ‘bout me”, “April in Paris”, “Poor Butterfly”, the instrumental “Basie Boogie and the hit song of 1931, “Minnie the Moocha”.

BIG JOE TURNER



Joe Turner was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1911. He lived in Inglewood, California at the time of his death in 1985.

Joe was well known in Kansas City as the singing bartender with a powerful voice, hence the nickname, “Big Joe”. While working with his longtime friend and collaborator, Pete Johnson, who was also a very good boogie-woogie pianist, Turner developed a style that became known as blues shouting. He may have been the first to use this technique.

Talent scout John Hammond, who later discovered Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, brought Turner and Johnson to New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1938 for a boogie-woogie revival. Fame came quickly for he duo for singing songs like “Roll ‘em Pete”. They were ahead of their time as the blues shouting style didn’t really catch on with most performers until 1950.

In 1941, Turner appeared with Duke Ellington’s Jump For Joy Revue in Los Angeles. He continued working on the east coast until retuning to New York sometime in the early fifties to record for the Atlantic recording company. Some of his songs were “Chains of Love”, “Sweet Sixteen”, “Honey Hush”, “TV Mama”, “Rock-a-while”, “The Chicken and the Hawk”, and the hit song written by Jesse Stone, “Shake, Rattle and Roll”. Turner was a successful singer up to 1980.

 RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES

Red was born in 1905. His father was a college music professor who taught Red to play the coronet at a very early age.

Red Nichols was one of the most recorded white jazz bandleaders of the late 1920’s. Besides the Brunswick recordings under his own name of “Red Nichols and the Five Pennies” he recorded under many other names including “The Red Heads” and “The Arkansas Travelers”

In 1930 when he was just 25 years old the talented young man was leading a band and played for radio stations. Red’s playing style was influenced by Bix Beiderbecke whose presentations were polished and incisive with a somewhat narrow emotional range as befitting to the Dixieland music Red loved so much. Red’s bands were always well drilled and disciplined.

Musicians welcomed the opportunity to be a part of Red’s band to learn the new playing style of the great band. Many of the following named sidemen with the band went on to form their own bands in the 1930’s: Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, PeeWee Russell, Miff Moe, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa and Will Bradley. Red’s influence could be heard when these outstanding bands played their music.

Red led his own big band throughout the thirties, leading the band into New York’s famous Door Club on 52nd Street in 1940. Two years later he was a sideman with the Casa Loma Orchestra. In 1959 Red played in a movie of his life called The Five Pennies. Red’s accomplishments in the music world, before dying at the relatively young age of 60, could fill several books.

Walter Page

Walter Page was born in Gallatin, Missouri in 1900 and died in 1957. Walter performed as an outstanding bass player with the Benny Moten Band from 1918-1923 before leaving the band to tour with his own road show called “Walter Page’s Blue Devils”. They recorded only two sides in 1929 with “Hot Lips” Page, Buster Smith and Jimmy Rushing. The group was based in Oklahoma City from 1925-1931.

In 1931, Page turned the group over to trumpeter James Simpson and returned to Kansas City to re-join the Bennie Moton Band. Following Moton’s death in 1935, he played for Count Basie along with Freddie Green and Jo Jones on drums.

Page helped Basie re-invent the new swing style. The rhythm section was well known by listeners and players who called it “The All-American Rhythm Section”. Page started the strolling, or walking, bass going way up and then coming right back down while playing on a 4-string bass. Other bass players couldn’t get that high so the manufacturers were asked to make a 5-string that was capable of reaching the higher note. .

Between 1942-46 Page made several recordings with small groups that included Teddy Wilson and Billie Holliday before playing full time with Basie’s band. I feel Page was the best bass player in the big band era of the 30’s and 40’s.

 KANSAS CITY



The infamously corrupt Tom Pendergast was the boss of Kansas City in 1917.Kansas City was well known for being a wide open city. It was also the home of one of the largest stockyards in the Middle West.

Prohition made absolutely no difference in the clubs and saloons of the red light district where many of the greatest bands of the era played. Most of the bootleg liquor served to club patrons was homemade and of very poor quality.

I will list the names of talented sidemen who played with the big bands in Kansas City from 1910 to the thirties. Seven of them later formed their own orchestras and some were still playing to audiences through the late forties.

Sidemen I recall whose hometowns were Kansas City were piano leader and trombonist Benny Molton, who died in 1935; Pete Johnson, pianist; Ben Webster, tenor sax; Joe Turner, singer and Charlie Parker, alto sax. Leader Andy Kirk originated from Newport, Kentucky. Walter Page on bass was from Gallatin, Missouri. Colman Hawkins, who played tenor sax, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. The great pianist Count Basie hailed from Red Bank, N.J. Mary Lou Williams, who played a hot piano, hailed from Atlanta, Georgia. Trumpeter Oran “Hot-lips” Page came from Dallas, Texas. Other players included trombonist Eddie Duran who was the first jazz player to use the electric guitar with the Kansas City Five in 1935, trumpeter Joe Keyes, guitarist Leroy Berry, drummer Willie Mc Washington and Harlan Leonard on sax.

One would have to have heard the sounds these fantastic musicians played to truly appreciate their greatness. .

 BLANCHE CALLOWAY



Blanche Calloway was born in 1902, died in 1978.

Her father, Cabell Calloway, was a practicing lawyer and her mother was a schoolteacher who taught music as a sideline. Her younger brother was Cab Calloway.

Blanche began studying music at Morgan State College but soon dropped out to sing in local clubs. In 1923 she joined the touring cast of the Noble Sissle-Eubie Blake musical, “Shuffle Along. She later appeared in the show, “Plantation Day”, by James P. Johnson. Blanche remained in Chicago, working clubs after the show closed in 1927.

Blanche made a few recordings with Louis Armstrong, headlined with Andy Kirk’s Orchestra in Philadelphia in 1930 and worked as the featured entertainer at the Ciro Club in New York.

Blanche was a fantastic entertainer with an abundance of energy who had a reputation for being wild and raunchy at times.



Blanche formed and led an all-male band called The Joy Boys and her theme song was “Growlin’ Dan”. Results of a newspaper survey of 1933 included her orchestra as one of the top 38 colored bands. Blanche placed ninth which was only five points behind Louis Armstrong.

The orchestra was disbanded in 1938 due to financial difficulties. Blanche continued her solo singing act until the mid-forties. Some of the songs she was noted for are “Last Dollar”, “What’s a Poor Girl Gonna Do”, “Sugar Blues”, “I Need Lovin’”, “I Gotta Swing”, “Catch On”, “Just a Crazy Song” and “I Got What it Takes”.

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BENNY MOTEN’S KANSAS CITY ORCHESTRA



Benny Moten was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1894. Benny was a mediocre pianist who was well liked by his band members. The all-black Molten Band was immensely popular in Kansas City’s clubs where they often performed all night jam sessions.

Benny was an astute businessman who was awarded most of the city’s music work, as he was a good friend of mob boss, Tom Pendergast, who controlled the city at the time.

The Molten Band was unique in that every member was an accomplished sideman who was already becoming famous. The illustrious line-up of band players in 1935 included Benny as leader and pianist, Oran “Hot-Lips” Page on trumpet, Joe Keyes on trumpet, Eddie Durham on trombone, Dee Stewart on trumpet, Eddie Barefield on clarinet and alto sax, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Leroy Berry on guitar, Walter Page on bass, Willie McWashington on drums, Count Basie who was the band arranger and pianist and Harland Leonard who sometimes played sax with the group. As I list these names, I am awed by all these great sidemen playing together.

The band traveled to Denver in 1935 where Benny became ill and was hospitalized. He died on the operating table during a botched tonsillectomy the following day at the same time the band was returning to Kansas City.

The band chose Count Basie as their new leader and most bandleaders stayed with him to honor the commitments made by Benny. A few band members did leave shortly after to form their own orchestras.

The original Molten Band became a legend over the years due to their extraordinarily talented members and Benny’s untimely death at the age of 35.

Count Basie

In 1935, Basie, led the remnants of the Moten band in playing at a few clubs in Kansas City. The group included Walter Page on bass and Basie had added Ben Webster on tenor sax and Freddie Green on guitar. Their big break came when Basie was signed to broadcast his music over the Reno Clubs experimental radio station W9XBY. The band called themselves “Barons of Rhythm”. The show’s announcer told Basie, who’s given name was Bill, that he needed a catchy name and suggested “Count”. From that time on Basie was known as Count Basie.

The brilliant promoter, John Hammond heard the band playing on the radio and was so impressed he gave them financial support and agreed to represent them. Within a year the band added several instrumentalists and became the first truly “Count Basie Big Band” playing the new swing style made famous by the immensely popular Benny Goodman Orchestra.

The hard swing style that Kansas City was so well known for was replaced by Basie’s own variation of swing. This was a solidly pulsating rhythm, underpinning the horn soloist, supporting the sectional riffing and the repetition of a musical figure by the brass and reeds. This pattern is evident in the Basie theme song, “One O’clock Jump’, which Basie composed in 1937. Basie was now one of the top swing bands in America playing in all the top ballrooms from coast to coast. Their popularity began to wane in 1950 but they recovered enough to play into the eighties even though Basie was wheel chair bound by that time.

The Basie songs I particularly like are “One O’clock Jump”, “I A’int Got Nobody”, “Mister Five by Five”, “Blue Sentimental”, “Blue Skies”, “The Mad Boogie” and “Shiny Stockings”.

ISHAM JONES


I have a special feeling for an old recording I first heard in the forties of “It Had to be you”, written and played by Isham Jones. The song was voted Song of the Year in 1923 and later one of the top songs of the century. Another song he wrote, “Swinging Down the Lane” is also a favorite of mine.

Isham Jones was born in Coaltown, Ohio in 1894 and died in Hollywood, California in 1956. The versatile and talented Jones was a pianist, arranger, composer, leader and played tenor sax.

Jones was twenty-one years old when formed his own band that played many dance dates in Michigan. He continued to study music whenever he had a chance.


He spent the next years in Chicago where his band was booked into all the top spots including The Rainbow Garden and The College Inn, where the band was booked for a long engagement. He then took the band on the road and for the next nine years the band played popular music in club ballrooms and anywhere people were dancing during the roaring 20’s.

The 1929 stock market crash brought an end to the boom era making bookings hard to find for all entertainers. Jones managed to hold the band together for four years until he became ill.

The band members wanted to stay together so they elected Woody Herman as their president and leader. Woody had been playing clarinet and singing with the band for quite some time. Now, I know who wrote my song.

Jones was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Other songs Isham Jones wrote which I particularly like are “How Many Tears Must Fall”, “My Best to You”, “The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else”, “I’ll See You in My Dreams”, “Indiana Moon”, “There is no Greater Love” and “You’re Just a Dream Come True”.



GENE RODEMICH


St. Louis, Missouri was the ideal place for the riverboat bands to entertain in 1904; however, all the great entertainers did not travel the circuit. One particularly musician and bandleader who was born and raised in St Louis and has been almost forgotten is worthy of mention.

Gene Rodemich was born in 1890 and died as an unsung hero in 1934. The young man had incredible ability as a pianist. When he was only fourteen years of age, both blacks and whites applauded Gene when he entertained at the 1904 Worlds Fair.

Later, Gene started his own orchestra and made the incredible number of eighty-seven records for the Brunswick label. Some of these recordings included legendary jazzmen Larry Conley, Al Jolson, Frank Trumbaur and Porter Brown.

Gene was one of the most successful composers of movie cartoon sound tracks before dying so young at the peak of his career.

I have listened to many of Gene’s recordings and have some of his records. He is remembered for his renditions of ’Down Home in Maryland”, “Blue Grass Blue”, “Oh, Sister, Ain’t She Hot”, ’The Arkansas Man”, “Just One More Kiss”, “When Dreams Come True”, “Hot Roasted Peanuts”, “My Rambling’ Rose”, “three Little Words”, “Railroad Man”, “Broken Heart Blues” and “Nobody Loves Me Now”.






Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974)
composer, musician, bandleader



Ellington was one of the leading figures in jazz history. He was born in Washington, D.C. into a musical family. He was schooled in Washington, D.C. and came under the tutelage of Henry Grant at Armstrong High School, with whom he studied harmony. He began playing the piano at the age of six with Miss Clinkscales, studying later in his career with Will Marion Cook who had been a musical arranger for the vaudeville team Williams and Walker. Ellington got his nickname, "the Duke," while still in high school when he played for local social affairs. At that time he was also a visual artist, but decided in favor of a musical career. By 1919, he'd formed a small band and in the early 1920s, he moved to New York with his wife and son Mercer and played at Barron Wilkins' club. During the Harlem Renaissance, Ellington's band played at the exclusive Cotton Club which admitted white patrons only. He made his recording debut about 1924 and the band recorded under several names, such as the Jungle Band, the Whoopee Makers and the Harlem Footwarmers.

Ellington began touring, playing Broadway shows and movies, in the late 1920s. He won increasing recognition as a musician with his compositions and orchestra. The Duke was an innovator and gave jazz a new feeling with his special effects, using instrument in new ways and infusing African and Latin elements into his music.

Some of the people who influenced his music include pianists James P. Johnson and William "Willie the Lion" Smith. Ellington was the first jazz artist to use the concerto form in his work, as in "Concerto for Cootie," named for Charles "Cootie" Williams, a member of the band. Some of the other musicians who came through Ellington's organization are Ray Nance, Louis Bellson, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown and Billy Strayhorn who collaborated with Ellington in his composing and arranging. Some of Ellington's more famous compositions include "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," and "In a Sentimental Mood." He also did a series of "sacred jazz concerts" performed in churches such as St. John the Divine in New York and Westminster Abbey in London. He received numerous honors including 16 honorary doctorates from American universities, the Spingarn medal, the President's Gold Medal from Lyndon B. Johnson and the French Legion of Honor.

Ellington's influence continued to grow and he inspired people like South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), jazz singer/composer Sathima Bea Benjamin and his son, Mercer Ellington, who became the band leader after his father's death in 1974. Stevie Wonder's song "Sir Duke " is in honor of Duke Ellington.




DUKE ELLINGTON SONGS I LIKE


Three Little Words Let’s Get Together

East S. Louis T Willow, Weep For Me

Tea For Two Black Beauty

One O’clock Jump Sophisticated Lady

Take the A-Train Rockin’ to Rhythm

Ring ‘dem Bells I Let a Song Go

There are many more of Duke’s songs that I have enjoyed including many instrumentals.



BEN BERNIE AND ALL THE LADS


Ben Bernie was born in 1891, died in 1943.

Ben was a famous bandleader, showman and comedian whom I heard first heard on the radio in 1936 or 1937. I learned sometime later that he had been broadcasting from the Reisenweber Restaurant in New York City. The theme song was “It’s a Lonesome Old Town”.

Ben always began his show by saying, “Howdy, ladies and gentlemen. This is Ben Bernie, the ‘ol maestro. Yow-sah, yow-sah!” I was not surprised to learn he had played vaudeville because of the corny jokes and the habit he had of saying “Yow-sah at every possible chance. I thought it was hilariously funny to listen to him. He always closed his show by saying, “Au revoir. Pleasant Dreams”.

Occasionally Ben might sing along with his band called All The Lads. Some of his songs I really like were “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “He’s the Last Word”, “What is this Thing Called Love”, “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob Bobbin Along”, ’No Trouble but You”, ’Don’t Set Under the Apple Tree” and “Swing Down the Lane”.

It has been said Ben did not like hot swing, but I do and I like his songs as well. Ben and his band did play some songs in the new swing style after it was made famous by Benny Goodman.

Ben Bernie and his band appeared in two movies including the 1934 musical, Shoot The Works starring Jack Oakie and the 1935 movie, Stolen Harmony starring George Raft and Lloyd Nolan.

Ben composed “Sweet Georgia Brown” and “Who’s Your Little Whoozis”, a song comedian Jerry Lewis sang in the movie, The Stooge, co-starring Dean Martin. I saw all these movies at the Ritz Theater in Chariton.




GUY LOMBARDO AND THE ROYAL CANADIANS


The Royal Canadians were also known by the tagline, The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven. Their theme song was “Auld Lang Syne”, directly resulting in a New Years Eve tradition.

It is difficult to conceive of this great band having so few musicians. They started playing in their hometown of London, Ontario, Canada in 1938 with only eight or nine musicians.

Carmen and Lebert Lombardo organized the band and soon added their brothers, Guy and Victor to the group. Guy was the leader, Lebert played the trumpet, Carmen on the great lead saxophone and Victor on the bass, clarinet and sax.

The band always started with a distinctive saxophone sound that anyone hearing the music would know who was playing. They used this identifying feature throughout their playing career.

It is not my intention to write a book about this band; however, I will list just a few highlights.

Before the Lombardo brothers went on the road with their band their father offered some very good advice to play, soft music that is easy to dance to and play catchy sing-along tunes. He told them if they would follow his advice they would always have work.

In 1924, the Lombardo Orchestra gave birth to the medley, a form not used by other jazz bands.

The band traveled to Cleveland, Ohio where Guy met and married his wife, Lilliebelle in 1925.

The band got the break that started them on the road to fame while playing at the Grenada Café on Chicago’s southside. Guy persuaded the café owner to run a wire into the adjoining ballroom and play about fifteen minutes of his music each night. The music from the ballroom was being broadcast over radio station WBBM. The station manager called before the first fifteen-minute airing ended to ask the band to play all night. The ballroom had standing room only by midnight. The next morning the band was the talk of Chicago and many sponsors were calling with booking offers.

By 1929, Jules Stein, from the best-known band agency brought the Lombardo band to New York, just days before the stock market crash. Stein had booked the band in to the famous Roosevelt Grill for an engagement that was to last for thirty-three years. By 1931, the Lombardo band had broken every ballroom record.

Guy and his band opened at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood, California in 1933. The movie stars and celebrities filled the dance floor.

The Royal Canadians played at every inaugural ball since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s gala in 1938 until his death in 1977.

In 1934, Guy and his orchestra appeared in the movie, Many Happy Returns which co-starred George Burns and Gracie Allen. I saw this movie at the Ritz Theater in Chariton. Guy was often featured in the newsreels that were shown before the main feature because of his speedboat racing. He won several Gold Cups and more championships than any other racer before or since.

Guy Lombardo’s band played longer than any other band. It was the most famous and successful band of all time. Louis Armstrong was quoted as saying the Guy Lombardo band was the best band ever and I cannot disagree.



JIMMIE LUNCEFORD

The versatile musician, Jimmie Lunceford was born in Fulton, Missouri in 1902. He died in Seaside, Oregon in 1947.

Jimmie studied music under Wilbur Force Whiteman, Colorado State Professor of Music who was the same person who taught Andy Kirk, another Missouri orchestra leader.

Jimmie was very proficient on all the reeds. Jimmie started his band in Memphis in 1927. Jimmie was super clean and insisted that his band members change their attire between shows, according to a statement attributed to sax player Willie Smith.

Sideman Sy Oliver played the trumpet in the band as well as doing many of the arrangements, including some vocals. Sy and Trummer Young wrote the song, “Taint What Ya Do, It’s the Way That Cha Do It”.

Glenn Miller paid tribute to Lunceford by saying he had learned a lot from studying the great bandleaders style in leading an orchestra.

Songs Jimmie’s band played from 1927-1945 were “Margie”, “Blues in the Night”, “Rhythm is Our Business”, “The Merry-go-round Broke Down”, “I Dream a Lot About You”, “Honey Dripper”, “The Outskirts of Town”, “Swanee River”, “Ain’t She Sweet”, “Baby Won’t You Please” and “Come Home”.




CHICK WEBB ORCHESTRA


William Henry “Chick” Webb was born in 1909. He was born a hunchback due to spinal tuberculosis. His doctor advised him to use his hands as much as possible

Chick was a very determined little fellow who started banging on buckets and cans to beat out a rhythm. As soon as he was old enough to work he sold newspapers to earn enough money to buy a drum. By the age of fifteen, he was a highly acclaimed drummer playing on pleasure boats with the Jazzola Orchestra.

He formed his own combo in 1925. A year later, he moved to New York and gradually developed a big band while playing Harlem nightclubs.

In 1931, he started playing regular seasons as the house band at the block-long Savoy ballroom. Due to his physical limitations, Chick could not stand to lead the orchestra so a man by the name of Bardu Ali was the front man. Chick had a special frame built around his drums to enable him to play. Chick was less than five feet height but he became a giant in the music world. I think Chick’s band was the greatest band of the thirties prior to his untimely death in 1939.

The great sidemen who played with the Chick Webb Orchestra included trumpeters Taft Jordan and Louis Bacon, Sandy Williams on the trombone and Edgar Sampson on alto sax. Louis Jourdan played sax with the band a little later.

A good example of the power of Chick’s band was the awesome playing of “The Stars and Stripes Forever”, a song not usually played by a dance band.

A cutting contest was held between the Chick Webb band and the Benny Goodman Orchestra at the Savoy while both bands were at their peak. Chick’s band won easily. Goodman’s drummer Gene Krupa declared he had learned a lot from Chick. Another great drummer, Buddy Rich, changed his style of playing completely after watching Chick play.

Some of the songs he became best known for were “Stompin’ at the Savoy”, “Dipsy Doodle”, “Standing Tall”, “A Tisket, A Tasket”, “Undecided”, “Sing Me a Swing Song”, “In a Little Spanish Town”, “I Got Rhythm”, “I Ain’t Got Nobody” and “Love and Kisses”. The band’s vocalist, the great Ella Fitzgerald, sang many of the above listed songs.

JEAN GOLDKETE ORCHESTRA


Jean Goldkete was born on March 18, 1893 and died in 1962. He was born in Greece and was raised in Russia. After coming to America he launched his career as a pianist at Lamb’s Café in Chicago.

In time he became an entrepreneur, owning the Greystone Ballroom that was Detroit’s best nightspot. He also acted as a band agent.

At any given moment he might have three bands going at once. One would be playing at the Greystone, another at the Cadillac Hotel and another band on the road. Sometime he would book two other bands from Detroit for engagements. These bands were the McKinney Cotton Pickers and the Orange Blossoms, which later became known as the famous Casa Loma Orchestra.

Jean was a real promoter and soon recognized the big money was in jazz music. In fact, he was the link between popular music and jazz.

Jean was as a concert piano performer and his first love was classical music. Many jazz greats played in his organization including sidemen Eddie Lang, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Frankie Trumbauer, Joe Venuti, Bix Beiderbecke, Pee Wee Russell, Russ Morgan, Don Murray and Steve Brown.

I don’t think Jean ever played in his own band but it certainly was not for lack of talent or knowledge. Jean had studied at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, The Lewis Institute of Music in Chicago and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.

Jean commented that his goal was to have a band as good as Paul Whiteman’s band and I feel he certainly accomplished his goal. I have heard many of his songs on the old Victor records and feel it was here that popular music and jazz were blended into one.

Some of the most notable Goldkette recordings are “What Can I Say”, “In the Evening”, “Can You Blame Me”, “I Fell in Love With You”, “If I Lost You”, ‘Cover Me Up With Sunshine”, “Feather my Nest With Love”, “In My Merry Old Mobile”, “Blue River”, “Don’t be Like That”, “Drifting Apart”, “Gimmee a Little Kiss”, “Honest and Truly” and “The Girl in Your Dreams”.

Jean Goldkette’s orchestra played until 1950; however, Jean continued touring as a much sought after concert pianist.



LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANI FIVE

Louis Jordan was born in Brinkley, Arkansas in 1908. He died in 1975.

Louis began playing sax or the clarinet in local Arkansas clubs. By 1938, this talented young man had found work playing the sax with the Chick Webb Orchestra at the Savoy ballroom in Harlem, New York.

Louis was an impressive sideman with his saxophone solos and his great singing voice. He stayed on with the band for a short time after Webb’s death while Ella Fitzgerald was leading the group.

Louis started his own band, which remained active into the 1970’s. Having seen him perform in 1964 and many times on the television, I can still close my eyes and see this fantastic musician and showman as he plays his songs with his own particular blend of jive and jazz and blues.

Louis Jordan ranks at the top of rhythm and blues music played from 1940 through 1970. It could be said he started rock and roll.

A few of the most memorable songs I recall include “Caledonia” “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens”, “Choo ch’ Boogie”, “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town”, “Buzz me Blues”, “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby”. “That Lucky Old Sun” “Why Did You Walk Away”, “You Can’t Do that No More”, “Ration Blues” and, one of my old favorites, “When the Saints Go Marching In”.



Paul Whiteman


Paul Whiteman was born in 1890 in Denver, Colorado and died in 1967.

He played the violin prior to 1918 when he served in the WWI Navy as a bandleader.

Paul became famous in the 1920’s as a pioneer of a sweet style of music as opposed to jazz. He is credited with raising the standards for popular music. Paul was widely acclaimed as the conductor of the premiere of “Rhapsody in Blue”; one of George Gershwin’s best known compositions.


Paul Whiteman was tagged “The King of Jazz”. Paul is well known in jazz circles because so many great jazz players worked in his orchestra at one time or other. Some of who were Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and Lennie Haydon.

Paul Whiteman was the first big bandleader to hire a female singer. Her name was Mildred Bailey. He was the first to travel to Europe with his band, first to play vaudeville and the first to use full reeds and brass sections.

A few of the songs he made popular are “Whispering Japanese Sandman”, “Wang, Wang Blues”, “Three O’clock in the Morning”, “Hot Lips”, “I’ll Build a Stairway to Heaven”, “Old Man River”, “All of Me”, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”, “Thanks a Million”, “the Old Music Master’ and “Travelin’ Light”.

It seems to be to be a joke to call Paul Whiteman the King of Jazz. I like his songs but it is not what I would call jazz.

The movies the band appeared in were King of Swing in 1930; the 1935 movie, Thanks a Million; Strike Up the Band, 1940; Atlantic City, 1944 and Rhapsody in Blue starring Bing Crosby in 1945.

The band was active until about 1946 when Paul became Director of Music for ABC in New York City, a position he held until retirement.





SAVOY BALLROOM


Most of the great bands I have mentioned played at the famous Savoy Ballroom located in Harlem, New York. The Savoy usually had two bands playing each day. One, called the house band, such as Chick Webb’s band and another great orchestra would hold a contest. If the house band was very good the visiting band found it hard to win. Also, dance contests were held which resulted in new dance steps being developed every day. Participants found these dance steps fun to do or to just watch others perform.

The new dance steps which first were performed at the Savoy and those I remember best are listed below.

The Lindy Hop is the original swing dance that originated in Harlem in the late 1920's at the Savoy Ballroom. As the dance grew more popular, the Savory Ballroom was the place to be on Saturday nights to dance to big bands. Competitions were held and new dance steps were developed every day. The dance was perfected and became not only a joy to do, but also to watch. In 1935, a young dancer named Frankie "Musclehead" Manning created the first airsteps, and the popularity of the Lindy Hop grew even more.. Lindy Hop became a popular dance throughout the world, and it evolved into many other forms of dance, such as Jitterbug, West Coast Swing, Rock 'n' Roll, and Boogie Woogie. The original dance, however, will always be known as the one began at the Savory Ballroom in Harlem.

From the opening of the Savory Ballroom in 1927 until the early 1930's, George Snowden was the top dancer there. In the early 1930's, he formed a professional dancing troupe, the Shorty Snowden Dancers, and then went to work for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. Snowden was barely five feet tall, but he made his height an asset. He parodied himself in his signature "Shorty George" step, in which his bent knees, swinging from side to side, exaggerated his closeness to the ground. Count Basie honored Snowden with the hit "Shorty George".

Shorty's partner was Big Bea, who towered over him. They often ended their routines in a signature move, in which she carried him off the dance floor on her back.

Fellow dancer Frankie Manning remembers Snowden in this way: "Shorty was a great comic dancer who knew his art well, like Jack Benny on violin and Victor Borge on piano. He brought comical moves to Lindy Hop and intricacies of footwork."

Snowden is often credited for naming Lindy Hop. There was a charity dance marathon in New York City in 1928. A reporter saw Snowden break away from his partner and improvise a few steps in a style that was popular in Harlem. "What was that!?" the reporter asked. Snowden thought for a few seconds and replied, "The Lindy Hop". The name stuck.

Leroy "Stretch" Jones was a popular Lindy Hopper in the early years of the Savoy Ballroom. He was an idol for Frankie Manning. Frankie thought of him as the Fred Astaire of Lindy Hop, and his partner, Little Bea, was like Ginger Rogers. Stetch was 6 feet tall and Little Bea was about 5 feet tall.

"Stretch" stopped frequenting the Savoy Ballroom around 1935 when he joined the Shorty Snowden Dancers in a downtown gig at the Paradise Ballroom where the Paul Whiteman Orchestra was playing for white dancers. A few years later, Jones was invited to join up with a group of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, who were performing in the Broadway show, "Hot Mikado." Sadly, his dancing had become very stilted and joyless from performing the same old routines night after night. This was a tremendous disappointment to the dancers who had first been inspired by "Stetch," and they resolved never to stop dancing socially, no matter how far their professional careers advanced.



THE SIX BROWN BROTHERS


I heard a very old recording of The Six Brother’s music years ago. The Six Brothers was a vaudeville act from Canada that was popular in 1910 to sometime in the 1920’s. The group consisted of six musicians, all playing a saxophone.

It is difficult to describe the sound of their music, which sounded like poompa, poompa, and poompa. Their music wasn’t what I would call dance music but people liked the sound as evidenced by the many records they sold.

Some of their songs included “Smiles and Chuckles”, “Torrid Dora”, “At the Chicken Chasers Ball”, “Lucille”, “Golden Spur Match”, “Bull Frog Blues”, “That Alabama Jasbo Band”, “Hey, Paw!”, “Tom Brown’s Saxophone Waltz” and “Parade of the Elephants”.



RECORD LABEL HISTORY



A Little Record Label History can perhaps help to illustrate how 'band names' were used, -with the onset of the great world-wide economic depression - ARC (the American Record Corporation) was formed when the Plaza Music Company merged with Cameo Records, who themselves had just merged with the American Pathe label. In 1932, ARC acquired Brunswick Records which became the company's flagship label. In 1934, ARC acquired the well known Columbia label (for only $70,500). The great depression had redefined Records as a 'luxury' item. "Free" radio was supplying music, often by live studio orchestras. As a result, virtually all the early 1920s record labels either ceased to exist or were absorbed by ARC. (Victor, supported by RCA, was one of the significant exceptions. In 1928, the Victor Talking Machine Company sold 37.7 million records. In 1932 Victor sold 2.1 Million records, a drop of over 90%, but with the parent corporation, RCA, backing them, the label was able to hold on.) Most of those companies acquired by ARC had subsidiary labels which were phased out. In 1935, ARC eliminated the Romeo, Perfect, Banner and Oriole labels leaving only their main labels: Brunswick, Vocalion and Melotone. In 1938, ARC was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System and the proud Columbia Records name became the new flagship label.

Band Names. Starting in 1930, ARC used many different orchestra names, but these bands often used the same sidemen. Some of the Orchestra names used by ARC included:
Chick Bullock and his Levee Loungers, was just an ARC "pickup" unit often with such sidemen as Bunny Berigan (tp), Jimmy Dorsey (cl), Fulton McGrath (p), Dick McDonough (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Stan King (dr), unknown (viol), Chick Bullock (vocal). See below for interesting bands discussion.
Will Osborne and his Orchestra was often an ARC House Orchestra with Victor Young directing.
Maurice Sherman and his College Inn Orch. was often Freddie Rich and his CBS Studio Orchestra.
Ralph Bennett and his Seven Aces (All 11 of them) prob. Freddie Rich and his CBS Studio Orch.
Rob Causer and his Cornellians usually a studio Orchestra, directed by Jack Shilkret
Smith Ballew and his Orchestra, usually the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra
Vic Irwin and his Orchestra. An ARC House Band probably directed by Victor Young
Imperial Dance Orchestra, was an ARC House Band. For example, the March 1932 recording probably used Bunny Berigan, and an unknown (tpts), probably Tommy Dorsey (tb), Jimmy Dorsey (as, cl), 2 unknown saxes, Joe Moresco (p), unknown (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Stan King (dr).

All these bands drew from a "pool" of Studio musicians that would have included such men (and others not shown here) as:
Trumpets
Bunny Berigan
Frank Guarente
Mannie Weinstock
Tommy Thunen
Mickey Bloom
Trombones
Tommy Dorsey
Jack Teagarden
Charlie Butterfield
Glenn Miller
Sammy Lewis
Chuck Campbell
Reeds
Jimmy Dorsey
Arnold Brillhart
Mutt Hayes
Chester Hazlett
'Skeets' Herfurt
Violins
Harry Hoffman
Walter Edelstein
Lou Kosloff
Joe Venuti
Piano
Joe Moresco
Fulton McGrath
Bobby Van Eps
Guitar
Dick McDonough
Perry Botkin
Frank Worrell
Eddie Lang
Bass (and Tuba)
Artie Bernstein
Hank Stern
Dick Cherwin
drums
Chauncey Morehouse
Larry Gomar
Vocals
Chick Bullock
Harlan Lattimore
Dick Robertson
Les Reis


TED LEWIS ORCHESTRATed Lewis was born Theodore Leopold Freidman in 1890. He died in New York in 1971. Ted was so proficient on the clarinet by the time he was sixteen years old that he was hired to perform in vaudeville. He was working for a man by the name of Lewis and due to a billing error that was printed as Lewis and Lewis Ted decided he liked the name and took it as his own. Very early in his career Ted formed a five-piece band called Ted Lewis and His Nut Band as a part of his act. By 1916 his fame had spread and he was being booked into the New York vaudeville stages. Ted’s band played for Sophie Tucker when she recorded “Some of These Days”, one of the top songs of the century. A year later Ted took a job as a clarinetist with Earl Fuller’s Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The new Dixieland music built a fire under Ted and when the band opened at Reisenweber’s Restaurant in New York it took the world by a storm. When another New York restaurant, Rectors, booked the band Ted was allowed to show his showmanship by walking onstage with the Abe Lincoln persona, complete with top hat and swinging cane. He would ask, “Is everybody happy?” Later, he spoke the words to a musical backdrop. I could not say he sang a song but he certainly could put a song over by just mouthing the words and the audience loved it. By 1918 Ted’s career was moving at a fast pace. The famous producer Flo Zeigfeld hired Ted to appear in his midnight follies at the New Amsterdam Theater Rooftop Café. I visited this beautiful show palace while in New York but it would be impossible for me to describe its magnificence in words. Ted also appeared in the Artists and Models Revue. Ted formed a band and made a single two-sided record in 1919. The songs were “Wondering” and “The Blue’s My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me”. Ted’s band was very popular when they recorded “When My Baby Smiles at Me” in 1920. Ted’s band was world-renowned during the 20’s and 30’s. Ted called his clarinet playing “gas pipe”. All music lovers knew how truly great he was but he could also recognize great ability in his fellow musicians. He paid his band members very well allowing him to procure the best musicians. He hired sideman George Brunies, the great tombonist from the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1928. A year later he added Mugsy Spanier, coronetist and Don Murray on reeds. The great sideman, Frank Teschemalher was hired to replace Don Murray after Murray was killed in an automobile accident. Frank became ill just prior to the band’s departure for a scheduled European tour so Jimmy Dorsey was employed as a replacement. Not a bad choice! Following the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing depression, Ted disbanded his orchestra. Gone were the good times of the roaring 20’s and the Dixieland music era. Columbia Records, who were paying Ted $42,000 for each two-sided record, told Ted they needed him badly so Ted formed a new band in 1931. Jimmy Dorsey had moved on to other pursuits so Benny Goodman was hired to replace him. Three famous musicians who got their start in Ted’s band were Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Fat’s Waller. Movies Ted appeared in were Hold that Ghost, with Abbot and Costello, and the 1943 hit, Is Everybody Happy? Songs Ted is particularly noted for are “When My Baby Smiles at Me”, “Me and My Shadow”, “My Mama’s in Town”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Blue Skies”, “Katharina”, “I’ve Found a New Baby”, “She’s Funny that Way”, “I’ve Got a Woman” (Crazy for Me) and “In the Morning”. It is reported that Ted’s records didn’t sell as well in the thirties but not many people could afford to buy a record during the depression due to the extremely high unemployment rate. President Roosevelt implemented a public works program, which helped somewhat. One dollar per day would hire help in this part of Iowa during the thirties. It was hard times for everyone but I do know the music coming from the old radio helped to lift the spirits of the listeners. I wonder if the rap music of today would have made me feel better.     


TOMMY DORSEY ORCHESTRATommy Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania in 1905. He played the trombone with the California Rambler band and also with Paul Whiteman. As I reported in the Jimmy Dorsey story, 1935 was the start of the Tommy Dorsey music career when he paired up with his brother to form the Dorsey Brothers band. Glenn Miller had been playing trombone in the Dorsey Brothers band and wished to help Tommy. Glenn knew a bandleader, Joe Haymes, with two nice bands who could not keep his musicians booked into performances. Glenn explained to Haymes that he knew Haymes liked to keep his musicians working and suggested Tommy Dorsey could lead one of the bands. Haymes’ back was against the wall so he agreed to let Tommy talk to his musicians. Tommy became their leader but he needed to add some musicians to the band. He convinced Dave Tough, who was one of the best on the drums. to join him along with sideman Bud Freeman who played tenor sax and sideman Joe Bauer on trumpet. Alex Stordahl was hired as arranger for the band and later did arrangements for Frank Sinatra.Musicians moved frequently between the big bands so it is hard to make an accurate list of players for each band at a particular time. I know lead trumpeter Charlie Spivak played in seven or eight big bands in the time period from 1935-46. Tommy was an astute businessman who always seemed to know just what the public wanted to hear. His music was a good mix of hot music, the new style swing and romantic music. Some of the musicians who performed with his band were Buddy Rich on drums and Sy Oliver wrote the arrangements. Frank Sinatra sang with the band before the mob bought his contract. He was replaced with Dick Haymes. The Dorsey Brothers band of an earlier time was great with Jimmy on the reeds and Tommy with that velvet sound he was so famous for while playing the trombone. I was happy to hear the news reports of the brothers ending their eleven-year estrangement when they made a movie of their lives in 1946. They resumed playing music together until Tommy’s death in 1956. Jimmy died a year later. Some of the Tommy Dorsey hit songs were “I Dream of You”, “This Love of Mine”, “I’ll Never Smile Again”, “I Should Care”, “Do I Worry”, “What is this Thing Called Love?”, all sang by Frank Sinatra. Also, “Deep River”, “The Big Apple”, “The Shiek of Araby”, “Satan, Take a Holiday”, “John Silver” and “Now It Can Be Told”.


JIMMY DORSEY ORCHESTRAJimmy Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, PA in 1904 and died in New York in 1957. Brothers Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey were taught music when they were very young by their father who was a music teacher and had a small band. The father had previously worked in one of the nearby coalmines. Jimmy was only seven years of age when he started playing the coronet in his father’s band, The Elmore Band. At nine years of age Jimmy appeared with Carson McGee’s King Trumpeters, a New York City variety act. Jimmy continued to study music while becoming and expert at playing alto sax, trumpet and the clarinet. In 1917 Jimmy worked digging coal in one of the mines near his home. He quickly decided there must be a better way to earn a living. He formed a group of musicians called The Novelty Six, including his brother Tommy who had mastered the trombone by this time. They soon changed the name of the band to Dorsey’s Wild Canaries. The group soon found work in Baltimore where they became one of the first jazz bands broadcasting on the radio, a job that was not very lucrative. The boys were forced to take any kind of work they could find. Throughout the 1920’s Jimmy Dorsey played with the orchestras of Paul Whiteman, Harry Thies, Vincent Lopez, Red Nichols, Ray Miller and the Jean Goldkette. He did a short stint with The California Ramblers in 1924. Jimmy did much freelance recording with small studios in 1925. It was the practice of these recording studios to produce records attributed to fake bands while using the same great musicians to play for as many as ten different bands. No credits were given to the players, only the band was named. Many famous musicians became fast friends while working together to produce a kind of Brand X music. In 1929 Jimmy Dorsey was selected by Ted Lewis to replace the great sideman Frank Teschemacher who had become too ill to travel to Europe with Ted’s band. In 1930 when Ted Lewis briefly disbanded his orchestra Jimmy started playing for The American Record Corporation (ARC) that owned or controlled several recording studios including Brunswick and Columbia. These studios were producing the same Brand X music as described earlier. The unnamed musicians would have read like the Who’s Who in music.I know of 36 sidemen who were employed by these recording studios in the early 30’s when any kind of full time work was hard to find. Following are a few, all sidemen: Tommy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller and Charlie Butterfield on trombones, Jimmy Dorsey, Mutt Hayes and Skeets Herbert on reeds, Joe Venuti on violin and Eddy Lang on guitar. In 1934 clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey formed a band. Tommy Dorsey and his trombone soon joined him. The band was then called The Dorsey Brothers Band and including such great players as Glenn Miller on the trombone and sideman Charlie Spivak on lead trumpet. The band was booked all around New York City including the Riviera Club and the Palisades Amusement Park on the shores of the Hudson River. When the band was playing at the Glen Island Casino in the New York suburb of New Rochelle Tommy called for a certain tempo for a song to be played by the band. Jimmy expressed aloud that he thought Tommy was wrong. Tommy lifted his trombone, played a loud razz and walked off the stage. The two brothers did not speak to one another from that day until 1946 while making the movie, “The Fabulous Dorseys”. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra of 1938 included Jimmy on the clarinet most of the time but he could also play the sax, Milt Yaner, Herbie Hamyer, Leonard Whitney and Charles Frazier on sax, Ralph Muzzillo, Shorty Sheroch, Don Mattison on trumpet, Bobby Byrne, Don Mattison and Sonny Lee on trombone, Roc Hilman on guitar, Jack Ryan on bass and Freddy Slack on piano. Bob Eberly was on vocals and Helen O’Connell was added as vocalist in 1939. Some of my favorite songs by the Jimmy Dorsey band are “Deep Purple”, “Besame Mucho”, “Change Partners”, “Yours”, “My Ideal”, “June Night”, “I Can’t Believe”, “I Remember You”, “The Breeze and I”, “THE Lovebug Will Get You” and “Is It True”? 


THE CASA LOMA BANDLEAD BY GLENN GRAYThe Casa Loma band was formed in the mid 1920’s by a group of musicians who had come together from various bands. Jean Goldkette managed the band, which was based in Detroit and known as The Orange Blossoms. Other Detroit based bands managed by Jean Goldkette were The Breeze Blowers, The Detroit Athletic Club Band, Owen Bartlette’s Orchestra and the Victor Recording Orchestra. Jean Goldkette controlled most of the big entertainment spots in Detroit. In 1929 the Orange Blossoms became the first large corporation orchestra known as the Casa Loma band led by Glenn Gray. The band did well until 1945 despite some tough financial times. A number of musician changes were made over the years; yet, this band stayed at a consistently high level as long as I heard them play. The 1938 playing list included sidemen Sonny Dunham, Frank Zullo, and Bobby Hackett on trumpets, sidemen Glenn Gray and Kenny Sargent on sax, sideman PeeWee Hunt, and sideman Herbie Ellis on the guitar. The Casa Loma band was famous throughout America. In 1935 they were the first swing band to play on the radio in a program called The Camel Caravan. “Smoke Rings” was their theme song. I have read their popularity was slipping a bit by 1940 but not with me. I had started to move around a little with the rhythm of the new swing style that Benny Goodman had made famous but I really liked the hot Dixieland swing as played by this great band. The Casa Loma band played the new swing about half the time and did it very well. My favorite Casa Loma songs are “Casa Loma Stomp”, “Smoke Rings”, “Stompin’ Around”, “The Continental”, The Casa Loma Treat”, “Maniac’s Ball”, “Ballin’ the Jack”, “Boneyard Shuffle”, “China Girl”, “Who’s Sorry Now?” “I May Be Wrong” and “Song of the Islands”. I don’t believe any young person of today who hears the music of the first six songs could help from getting caught up in the music.  

TED LEWIS ORCHESTRA



Ted Lewis was born Theodore Leopold Freidman in 1890. He died in New York in 1971.

Ted was so proficient on the clarinet by the time he was sixteen years old that he was hired to perform in vaudeville. He was working for a man by the name of Lewis and due to a billing error that was printed as Lewis and Lewis Ted decided he liked the name and took it as his own.

Very early in his career Ted formed a five-piece band called Ted Lewis and His Nut Band as a part of his act. By 1916 his fame had spread and he was being booked into the New York vaudeville stages. Ted’s band played for Sophie Tucker when she recorded “Some of These Days”, one of the top songs of the century.

A year later Ted took a job as a clarinetist with Earl Fuller’s Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The new Dixieland music built a fire under Ted and when the band opened at Reisenweber’s Restaurant in New York it took the world by a storm.

When another New York restaurant, Rectors, booked the band Ted was allowed to show his showmanship by walking onstage with the Abe Lincoln persona, complete with top hat and swinging cane. He would ask, “Is everybody happy?” Later, he spoke the words to a musical backdrop. I could not say he sang a song but he certainly could put a song over by just mouthing the words and the audience loved it.

By 1918 Ted’s career was moving at a fast pace. The famous producer Flo Zeigfeld hired Ted to appear in his midnight follies at the New Amsterdam Theater Rooftop Café. I visited this beautiful show palace while in New York but it would be impossible for me to describe its magnificence in words. Ted also appeared in the Artists and Models Revue.

Ted formed a band and made a single two-sided record in 1919. The songs were “Wondering” and “The Blue’s My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me”. Ted’s band was very popular when they recorded “When My Baby Smiles at Me” in 1920. Ted’s band was world-renowned during the 20’s and 30’s.

Ted called his clarinet playing “gas pipe”. All music lovers knew how truly great he was but he could also recognize great ability in his fellow musicians. He paid his band members very well allowing him to procure the best musicians. He hired sideman George Brunies, the great tombonist from the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1928. A year later he added Mugsy Spanier, coronetist and Don Murray on reeds. The great sideman, Frank Teschemalher was hired to replace Don Murray after Murray was killed in an automobile accident. Frank became ill just prior to the band’s departure for a scheduled European tour so Jimmy Dorsey was employed as a replacement. Not a bad choice!

Following the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing depression, Ted disbanded his orchestra. Gone were the good times of the roaring 20’s and the Dixieland music era.

Columbia Records, who were paying Ted $42,000 for each two-sided record, told Ted they needed him badly so Ted formed a new band in 1931. Jimmy Dorsey had moved on to other pursuits so Benny Goodman was hired to replace him.

Three famous musicians who got their start in Ted’s band were Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Fat’s Waller.

Movies Ted appeared in were Hold that Ghost, with Abbot and Costello, and the 1943 hit, Is Everybody Happy?

Songs Ted is particularly noted for are “When My Baby Smiles at Me”, “Me and My Shadow”, “My Mama’s in Town”, “My Blue Heaven”, “Blue Skies”, “Katharina”, “I’ve Found a New Baby”, “She’s Funny that Way”, “I’ve Got a Woman” (Crazy for Me) and “In the Morning”.

It is reported that Ted’s records didn’t sell as well in the thirties but not many people could afford to buy a record during the depression due to the extremely high unemployment rate. President Roosevelt implemented a public works program, which helped somewhat. One dollar per day would hire help in this part of Iowa during the thirties. It was hard times for everyone but I do know the music coming from the old radio helped to lift the spirits of the listeners. I wonder if the rap music of today would have made me feel better.

GUY LOMBARDO SONGS



Guy Lombardo was No. 1 for his style of ballroom music, in my opinion. I have many of his records and especially enjoy listening to the tunes listed below:



Little Dutch Mill Chapel in the Moonlight

Isle of Capri That Old Devil Moon

Some Enchanted Evening The Object of My Affection

Missouri Waltz Little Things Mean a Lot

Ain’t She Sweet? Dancing in the Dark

Because of You When My Sugar Walks Down the Street

COUNT BASIE SONGS



The songs of Count Basie, sometimes referred to as The Red Band Flash, are “Poor Butterfly”, “April in Paris”, “Corner Pocket”, “Don’t Worry ‘bout Me”, “Lady be Good”, and the instrumentals, “Basie Boogie” and “Jumping at Woodside”.

Count Basie’s band played until the late 1940’s at which time Basie formed a new band he called The New Testament Group. He employed a new breed of soloists, Kansas City Blue’s Shouters Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams who combined be-bop and a sense of the blues and swing. Basie’s new band continued to be very popular until his death.

BOB CROSBY AND THE BOBCATS



Bob was born George Robert Crosby in Spokane, WA in 1913. He died in 1993.

Bing Crosby was Bob’s older brother. Bob sounded a lot like Bing when he sang with the band.

The Crosby band was begun as the remnants of the disbanded Ben Pollack Orchestra. This band was re-organized by the Pollack Orchestra saxophone player Gil Rodin. The orchestra was a co-op owned by Gil Rodin, Bob Crosby and the Rockwell O’Keefe booking agency. “Summertime” was their theme song.

In 1934, Bob Crosby was chosen to lead this fine Dixieland band. They were booked into the top ballrooms all over the country and played radio shows. Like other big bands of the era, the musicians changed often. The band was so famous it always attracted top players.

Some of the musicians who played in this world renowned orchestra were sidemen Deane Kincaide who played sax and did arrangements for the band, Yank Lawson on trumpet, Nappy Lamaire on guitar, Eddy Miller on sax, Bob Haggart on bass, Ray Beauduc on drums, vocalists Frank Tennil and Bob Crosby. All of the foregoing listed musicians were members of the original bands. Other musicians who played with the band at some time were sidemen Bill Butterfield and Charlie Spivak on trumpet, Jess Stacy on piano and Mugsy Spanier on coronet. Also, Paul Weston provided arrangements, and Sonny Durham was a vocalist for the band. Singers with the band included Helen Ward, Kay Starr Gloria De Haven, Doris Day and Johnny Mercer.

The Crosby band was noted for the following songs:

March of the Bobcats When My Dreamboat Comes Home

Big Noise From Winnetka South Rampart Parade

Leaning on the Old Top Rail My Baby Just Cares for Me

I’ve Got My Eyes on You Day in and Day Out

Over the Rainbow Sugar foot Stomp

Dixieland Shuffle High Society

Alabama Bound My Monday Date

I really like this hot swing music, “Indeed I do!”



BENNY GOODMAN ORCHESTRA


Benny Goodman was called The King Of Swing. His theme song at the beginning of his performance was ‘Let’s Dance” and he ended with “Goodbye”.

He was born Benjamin David Goodman in 1909. Benny began studying music at a very young age by attending the prestigious Hull House, despite the poverty of his family.

While still in short pants at the age of 12, Benjamin did an imitation of the famous clarinetist, Ted Lewis, for the Benny Meroff Orchestra in Chicago, Illinois.

Shortly after, Ben Pollack asked Benny to join his orchestra at the Venice Ball room in Los Angeles. After the Pollack group moved to Chicago, Benny recorded his first solo, “He’s the Last Word”.

In 1929, Benny left the Pollack Orchestra to become a successful studio musician in New York City. The meaning of success in the era following the stock market crash very simple meant someone found work. Benny’s was hired by The American Record Company, joining the pool of musicians to make Brand X records. All working bands drew musicians from the pool, which included Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Jimmy Dorsey among others.

Andre Kostelanetz hired Jimmy Dorsey for a short engagement. I have a Columbia Record of Andre Kostelanetz with the song “Night and Day”. The jacket states that Benny Goodman had a part in this number.

Ted Lewis hired Benny Goodman to play the clarinet for his band in 1930. Four years later, Benny formed his own band that performed at the Billy Rose Music Hall. The band also played on the NBC Radio Show, Let’s Dance, a three-hour show featuring three different orchestras. Besides Benny’s group, they were Kel-murray Orchestra and Xavier Cugat’s Latin Band that usually played at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Benny’s band was booked by MCA for a coast-to-coast tour in 1935 that was a complete failure until the group reached the Palamar Ballroom in Los Angeles. The band was slated to play there for several days. On the last day Benny played a couple of numbers given to him by arranger Fletcher Henderson and the kids went completely wild causing management to extend the Benny band booking for a few days. This was the new swing style that swept the world as the kids accepted as it as their own.

By the time the orchestra returned to New York’s Paramount Theater to perform the kids were dancing in the aisles and the word “jitterbug” was coined. I never really knew what “jitterbug” was but to me it described a person who couldn’t keep their feet still while the music was playing. Another word from this era was “bobby sockers”. Every girl in town wore flat-soled white oxfords with a black saddle, which made it so much easier to dance to the new swing music.

Later in 1935, Benny hired two of the best arrangers, Spud Murphy and Jimmy Monday, to add arrangements to his charts. Members of Benny’s band when they played at the Congress Hotel in Chicago in 1935 were Gene Krupa on drums, pianist Jess Stacy, Hymie Shertzer on alto sax, Nate Kabier on the trumpet, Allen Reuss on guitar, Art Rollini on tenor sax, Harry Goodman on bass, Helen Ward as vocalist and Teddy Wilson on piano.

Teddy was a black man who was not allowed to play in every hotel where the band was booked. Benny told Teddy that if the large hotel where the band was slated to play did not want Teddy the band would not play. The band did play without incident that night. Teddy soon became a regular member of the band and later formed his own orchestra.

Louis Prima wrote the song, “Sing, Sing, Sing” that had been re-arranged by Spud Murphy. The song was written as a three-minute song. Very near the end of the song, Gene Krupa took over and didn’t stop hitting those drums. Benny quickly realized what was happening and joined in with the rest of the band following his lead. The song was played at Carnegie Hall a little later. It became the song of the year in 1938 and one of the top songs of the century.

The great drummer with Benny’s band, Gene Krupa, soon left to form his own orchestra. Lionel Hampton, another black musician, replaced Krupa. He was an excellent drummer but was best known for “vibes”. Much later he left to form his own band and was replaced by drummer Louie Bellson, a white man who later was married to the black Pearl Bailey.

In 1936 Benny’s band was attracting large enthusiastic audiences as well as great sidemen including Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Chris Griffin, Vernon Brown Babe Russin and Arthur Rollini. Harry James formed his own band in 1938.

Some things I remember about Benny Goodman is that he was the first bandleader to let a sideman solo and the first to let a black musician play as a regular member. His black players included sidemen Lionel Hampton on vibes and drums, Cootie Williams on trumpet, Slam Stewart on bass fiddle, Charlie Christian on guitar and singers Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Rushing.

Benny once said it was a sad moment for him that before his band had become well known Billie Holiday was not allowed to sing at a very important booking.

In 1939, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was disbanded and Fletcher became a staff arranger for Benny Goodman. It was about this time that the fantastic singer from Kansas City, Mary Lou Williams, contributed her famous song, “Roll ’em” to Benny.

In 1946 at the last performance before Benney Goodman’s group disbanded, Benny paid tribute to Fletcher Henderson for his work on the big band new swing style. I think he should have also given credit to Don Redman, Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong.

I like many of Goodman’s songs but the songs I like best are,” Sing, Sing, Sing“,” Don’t Be That Way“,” And the Angels Sing”, “Idaho“,” Bugle Call Jump“,” Give Me the Simple Life” and “One O’clock Jump”. Also, instrumentals “Yes, We Have No Bananas”, “Good-bye”, “Let’s Dance”, “Swing Time”, “Mission to Moscow” and “Clouds”.

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA


Glenn Miller was born Alton Glenn Miller at Clarinda, Iowa in 1904. He died on a flight over the English Channel when his plane was lost.

Glenn played the trombone and studied music at the University of Colorado under the tutelage of Boyd Senter. He started playing with the Ben Pollack Orchestra in 1928 and thereafter played with the Paul Ash Orchestra in 1929 and the Red Nichols Orchestra in 1930. He worked as a studio musician in 1934 and with the Dorsey Brothers in 1935.

In 1935 Glenn helped Tommy Dorsey and Ray Noble start their own bands. When Ray Noble left for Hollywood in 1937 Glenn Miller assumed leadership of the Noble band, which he had played in from inception. During that time he had discovered the reed voicing of the clarinet over saxes, which became his trademark.

Glenn always thought he was a poor trombone player so he did not solo very often. I thought he was a good musician but not the same caliber as Jack Teagarden or Will Bradley who also played in the Miller Orchestra. Glenn once said that Will Bradley could do more with a trombone then anyone else I know. Will later formed his own orchestra.

Glenn had made some recordings in 1935 with the Ray Noble Orchestra, using his own name on the label. At first, bookings came slowly.

Band members added later were sidemen Tex Beneke, who played the sax and doubled as a vocalist, Hal McIntyre on sax, Al Klink on sax and Chunky McGregor on piano.

In 1938 the band recorded for Blue Bird. They toured ballrooms and recorded from 1938-41. On September 26, 1942 Glenn Miller played his last engagement at Central Theater in Passiac, New Jersey. They played some of their most popular songs including “In the Mood”, ‘Moonlight Cocktail”, “I’ve Got a Gal In Kalamazoo” and his theme song, “Moonlight Seranade”, for the last time. I have over forty songs Miller recorded.

In 1942, the Miller Band was the top swing band according to jukebox records. Of the forty top songs from 1939-42 Miller had thirteen top songs, more than the next three big bands combined.

In 1942, Glenn felt a deep loyalty to the United States and the young WWII servicemen and women he had entertained. He joined the military to help the war effort and was assigned to help start a military band. I do know he did a great job and was made a major.

Some of the Miller songs I particularly like are “In the Mood”, “Little Brown Jug”, “In an Old Dutch Garden”, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree”, “Have you Ever Seen a Dream Walking”, “Bugle Call Rag”, “Kalamazoo” and “At Last”. Also, instrumentals “The Story of A.S.”, “Under the Double”, “Pagan Love Song”, “It Must be Jelly”, “Saint Louis Blues” and “Anvil Chorus”.



FLETCHER HENDERSON ORCHESTRA


Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, GA in 1897.

Fletcher was known as an arranger and piano player. His brother, who was also a bandleader, tells how their parents locked the six-year-old Fletcher in a room to make him practice the piano. When the sounds stopped coming from the room they would find Fletcher sleeping on the floor. By the time Fletcher was sixteen years old he was an accomplished pianist.

He majored in science while attending Atlanta University and earned spending money by playing the piano.

The young man traveled to New York City in 1920 with the intention of attending graduate school but decided he wanted a career as a musician after playing the piano on a Hudson River riverboat.

He found a job with the Harry Pace/W.C. Handy Music Company as a song demonstrator in 1920. Later that same year he became a recording director and accompanist for the Pace Phonograph Corporation under the Black Swan label. Fletcher then toured with the Black Swan Troubadours and Ethel Waters.

In 1924 Fletcher organized a big band that played regularly at clubs and ballrooms in New York. The band also toured widely and made many recordings.

In 1926 Fletcher Henderson’s band was chosen to play at the opening of the Savoy ballroom in New York City. Musicians who didn’t ordinarily play with the band were chosen to perform for the gala event. They were all sidemen and included Fletcher on the piano, Buster Bailey on clarinet, Louis Armstrong on lead trumpet, Elmer Chambers and Howard Scott on trumpets, Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman on sax and Ray Escudera on the tuba. I imagine the Savoy ballroom would have been fun on opening night!

Regular members of Fletcher’s band in 1927 were Jimmy Harrison and Benny Morton on trombone, June Cole on tuba, Kaiser Marshall on drums, Don Pasquall and Buster Bailey on sax, sideman Coleman Hawkins on sax, Tommy Laonier, Joe Smith and Russell Smith on trumpet, Clarence Holiday on guitar, Don Redman on sax and arrangements and of course, sideman Fletcher Henderson on the piano.

Many historians have attributed the invention of swing to Fletcher but I feel the arrangements of Don Redman, who started the concept block passages, should be credited. The concept is when a section, say the reeds, plays the same line together. Later this came to be rather commonplace with the big swing bands even before Benny Goodman made the new swing style famous.

Benny Goodman used two or three of Fletcher’s arrangements, which had been created by Don Redman who was also doing arrangements for other bands at the time. Other bands probably had charts like Fletcher’s when Benny played the famous swing at the Palo mar ballroom in Los Angeles. The following morning the famous radio broadcaster, Ed Baxter, reported that kids had gone wild at the Palomar when Benny Goodman played a couple of songs given to him by Fletcher Henderson. No one person invented this sound. It was the normal evolution of music.

In 1939 Fletcher Henderson joined Benny Goodman’s Orchestra as a staff arranger. Fletcher also turned over all of his charts to Benny.

Some of the Fletcher Henderson songs include his theme song, “Christopher Columbus”. Also, “Sugar Foot Stomp”, “Hot Mustard”, “King Porter Stomp”, “Happy Feet”, “Hotter Than Hell”, “Stealing’ Apples”, “Stampede”, “My Pretty Girl”, “Comin’ and Goin’”, “Grand Terrace Swing” and “Radio Rhythm.” all great swing songs.




RAY NOBLE ORCHESTRA


Ray Noble was born in Brighton, England. He was a renowned bandleader, composer and master arranger who won England’s prestigious Melody Award.

This fine musician rose to become director of light music for HMV, the English branch of RCA, holding this post from 1929-34. Ray’s house orchestra was a fine band called the Lew Stone Orchestra composed of England’s finest musicians including singer Al Bowly.

Ray Noble wanted to go to the United States so he accepted a job as the musical director for New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall, which is also one of my favorite spots.

It was widely known that Glenn Miller had helped Tommy Dorsey start his orchestra and Glenn was asked to help Ray start a band. Glenn knew many great musicians as he had made many friends in the music studios where he had worked during difficult times. Glenn was told Ray would be bringing his own drummer, Bill Hartley, and one of England’s best vocalists, Al Bowly.

Glenn hired his good friend, Charlie Spivak on lead trumpet, Will Bradley on trombone, Claude Thornhill on piano, Delmar Kaplan on bass, Bud Freeman on tenor sax, George Van Epps on guitar, George “Peewee” Irvin on trumpet, Johnny Mince on clarinet and Glenn Miller on trombone. All those listed above were sidemen.

The band’s first booking was at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, playing from nine o’clock at night to three o’clock in the morning for seven nights each week. Now, that’s what I call starting at the top! In 1935 Miller used this same band to make some recordings under his own name.

Early in 1937 the musicians were putting more trust in Glenn than Ray, both of whom were strong-minded director’s arrangers. Angry words were exchanged and Ray Noble left for Hollywood along with drummer Bill Hartley. Ray worked as a musical director for the Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy show and Burns and Allen radio program. He finished his career in Hollywood by doing some scoring for Hollywood studios, songwriting and recording.

Ray Noble wrote and played the following songs which I like:

The Very Though of You The Touch of Your Lips Love is the Sweetest Thing

By the Fireside Love Locked Out

www.musicweb.uk.net/encyclopaedia/c/C61.HTM

WOODY HERMAN AND THE HERMAN HERD

Woody Herman (1913-1987) was a musician who played the clarinet and saxophone. His first theme song was “Blue Prelude”, later changed to “Blue Flame”.

At the age of six he was a young showman singing and tap dancing in the local theaters and clubs in Milwaukee.

Woody studied music in 1923, becoming a very good musician playing the saxophone as he continued working in theater clubs. Woody had started out playing the sax and later the clarinet, becoming one of the very top clarinet players. ]

In 1930 Woody wanted a job in a band so he traveled to California and found part-time work with the Tom Gerun band. He later found work with the Harry Sosnik and the Gus Arneim bands.

Finally, Woody found a home by being employed with the very popular Isham Jones Orchestra. In 1933 illness forced Isham Jones to quit the band. The band was composed of musicians who had been playing together for some time and they desired to stay together as a group. The elected Woody Herman as president and leader of the band. A few of the older musicians dropped out of the band but continued to help out in any way they could. The band was known as “the band that plays the blues”.

By 1937 or 1938 the band was doing radio broadcasts from coast to coast. This was when I first heard Wood playing on that old radio. Even now, I can close my eyes and hear Woody playing on that clarinet and singing.

Woody’s band played every top ballroom in the country until about 1985.

Woody’s songs I like include everyone’s favorite, “Wood chopper’s Ball”, “Northwest Passage”, “Apple Honey”, “Caldonia”, “That Old Feeling”, “Amen”, “Blues in the Night”, “A Kiss Goodnight”, “Laura’, “Tenderly”, “That Old Feeling”, “I Double Dare You” and “By the River of Love”.

PHIL HARRIS

Phil Harris (1904-95) grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. He was a singer, actor, bandleader and drummer, playing with the Francis Graig Orchestra.

The first time I remember of hearing Phil was on the Jack Benny Radio Show in 1936. Jack always started off the show with music played by the Don Bestor Orchestra. Jack would crack a joke at Don and Don would give a smart retort. Jack would say, “Oh, play, Don, play”. One day when I was listening, Jack cracked a joke and a real wise crack was returned in a new voice. Jack said, “Oh, play, Phil, play” and Phil answered, “Okay, Jackson”, beginning a routine that lasted for ten years.

Phil married Alice Faye, a very popular singer and movie star. In 1947 Phil and Alice launched their own radio and TV comedy show, which lasted until 1954.

Phil’s songs that I like include “That’s What I Like About the South”, “Woodman, Spare that Tree”, “The Preacher and the Bear”, “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette”,
“The Old Master Painting”, “The Thing”, “You’ll Never Get Rid of the Boom-ba Boom No Matter What You Do”, “Is it True What They Say About Dixie”, “I’m a Ding-dong Daddy”, “Crawdad Song”, “Onesy Twosy”and “Darktown Poker Club”.

JACK TEAGARDEN ORCHESTRA

Jack was born Weldon Leo Teagarden at Weron, Texas in 1905. Jack’s was born into a musical family. His mother was a fine pianist and his father, Charlie, played trumpet. His brother, also named Charlie, was an excellent trumpet player. Another brother, Cloris, played the drums and sister, Norma, was a famous singer and pianist.

Jack’s mother started teaching him on piano when he was around five years of age. A little later, his father bought him a horn and by age ten Jack always played the trombone.

In 1918 Jack and his family moved to Chappell, Nebraska where Jack played in local theaters with his mother. Jack lived with a relative in Oklahoma, City for about a year, then moved to San Angelo where he played for some small dance bands. Next, he played with a quartet in San Antonio for a group led by Drummer Cotton Bailey who added the nickname “Jack” to Teagarden’s name.

In 1923 Jack played with Peck Kells’ Bad Boys band and with a number of other small bands before joining Billy Lustig’s Scranton Sirens who were playing at the famous Roseland Ballroom in New York City in early 1928. Later in the year he was with Ben Pollack in Chicago, Illinois where he worked part time for about five years. At the same time, he was putting together small groups and made a number of recordings including “Knockin’ a Jug” and “Making Friends”.

Jack created a unique new sound on the trombone by removing the bell and holding a glass over the open end of the tube while. He was working part-time for Louis Armstrong and Red Nichols.

In 1933 Jack played with Wingy Malone’s band at the Brewery Club at the time of the Chicago World Fair Exposition. Later in 1933 Jack worked for Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra, staying with him for six years.

Jack started his own orchestra early in 1939. The band was a great success but Jack seemed to have money problems, possibly due to his reportedly heavy drinking. When his band disbanded in 1946 Jack joined the Louis Armstrong All Stars. What a group that turned out to be with Louis on trumpet and Jack, one of the best trombone players ever, on the trombone. I loved to hear them play together “When the Saints Go Marching In”.

Great songs by Jack Teagarden I have enjoyed include
The Old Music Maker”, “I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues”, “Stars Fell on Alabama”, “Tiger Rag”, “You, Rascal, You”, “You’re Simply Delish”, “The Sheik of Araby”, “That’s What I Like About You”, “Rockin’ Chair”, “Junkman”, “China Boy”, “Chances Are”, “Aunt Hagar’s Blues” and “High Society”.

THOMAS “FATS” WALLER

Thomas Waller (1904-43) was a great rhythm pianist, organist and composer.

His father was a clergyman in an Abyssinian Baptist Church and had hoped his son would also wear the cloth.

Fats played loved playing the organ and served as organist in his father’s church. He won first place in an amateur contest.

After graduating from High School, Fats was employed as an organist in a Harlem Theater where he worked with the fantastic Negro vocalist, Florence Mills.

While yet only sixteen Fats found work as a pianist in different Harlem nightclubs. A year later he recorded his first piano rolls and cut his first record. He made his first radio broadcast at the age of nineteen.

In 1924 he began a tour of the vaudeville shows and had a chance to accompany the famous blue’s singer, Bessie Smith and also had the opportunity to play with Ted Lewis.

He was also cutting a few records. In 1925, his first published song was “Squeeze Me” with lyrics by Clarence Williams. In 1928, he wrote the score for the Broadway musical, “Keep Shufflin’” with J.C. Johnson and his collaborator. A year later Fats wrote the score for the musical, “Hot Chocolate”, a show that grew out of the original Cotton Club show concept. The show boasted the song, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, which was to become a Broadway show much later. I saw the show in 1978.

Fats wrote the song, “What Did I Do to be so Black and Blue” especially for Louis Armstrong who made it a hit.

Fats wrote many songs in 1929. Andy Razaf wrote some of the lyrics. Waller’s hits include “I’ve Got a Feeling I’m Falling”, “Honeysuckle Rose”, “Blue Turning Grey Over Your”, “Zonky”, “My Father In Your Hands”, “It Ain’t Love”, “Keepin’ Out Of Mischief Now”, “Ain’t Cha Glad” and “Doing What I Please”.

Instrumentals by Fats Waller include “Hand Full of Keys”, “Viper Drag”, “Minor Drag” and “London Suite”.

In 1938 Fats Waller toured Europe, London, Glasgow and the Scandinavian countries. Fats scored his last musical, “Early to Bed” in 1943.

Fats died in 1943 while riding the Super Chief on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, a railroad that was made even more famous by singer Johnny Mercer. The conductor found fats’ body in his compartment. A few empty whiskey bottles lie nearby.
Songs played by Fats Waller that I enjoy are “The Joint is Jumping”, ‘I’m Crazy ‘bout You”, “Tain’t Nobody’s Business’, “Little Curly Hair”, “Dry Bones’, ‘Little Bit Independent”, “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’’ and “Squeeze Me”.

KAY KYSER
And
HIS KOLLEGE OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE

Kay Kyser (1906-85) couldn’t play or read music.

While attending law school at the University of North Carolina, he became a friend of Hal Kemp, leader of the North Carolina Club Orchestra. When Kemp graduated in 1926 he asked Kay to lead the orchestra but he was too frightened to do so. Kay asked Johnny Mercer, who later became a famous singer, to lead the band.

By 1927 Kay felt courageous enough to lead the band so he advertised for musicians. Sol “Sully” Mason was the first to respond. Sol was a very good saxophone player with a good understanding of what was needed by the orchestra so Kay named him second in command. Mason was a high-energy scat singer and comedian who were given the nickname of “Ish Kabibble”.

Sometime in the early thirties the Kay Kyser and His College of Musical Knowledge had a local radio show that later went national. I can’t recall hearing the show on the radio until around 1938. As I recall he had some sort of contest whereas he would play a few notes from the start of a song and the members of the audience would try to guess the name of the song. Winners received a novelty gift. The show offered some of the popular songs plus a few novelty tunes. Famous guest musicians appeared on the show each week. I remember hearing the buxom Hollywood sex queen, Jane Russell sing with the band. Another memory is of Michael Dowd singing with his wonderful voice. He sang two Hoagy Carmichael songs, “Old Buttermilk Sky” and “The Old Lamp Lighter”, better than I have ever heard anyone sing them before or since. Later, he changed his name to Mike Douglas and had his own talk show.

The Kay Kyser band and radio show both ended in 1948. Some of the songs I remember hearing were “The Three Little Fish”, “Huggin’ and Chalkin’ Away”, “Woody Woodpecker Song”, “Strip Poker”, “The Little Red Fox”, “Who Wouldn’t Love You”, “There Goes that Song Again”, “The Umbrella Man”, “Jingle, Jangle, Jingle” and “Cry, Baby, Cry”.

LAWRENCE WELK
AND HIS CHAMPAGNE MUSIC

Lawrence Welk was born in 1903 in Strasburg, N.D.

Lawrence was a well-known and beloved accordionist and bandleader. In the 1920’s he began leading polka/sweet dance music with the theme song, “Bubble’s in the Wine”. He was as equally well known for the song, “Don’t Sweetheart Me”.

The Lawrence Welk story is one of the great sagas of the dance in the entertainment world. The Lawrence Welk Orchestra has been one of the longest lasting bands. They toured the country making countless contacts with the listening public entitling Welk to be not just another entertainer but also an interpreter of the musical taste of the nation. Welk has delighted the masses and he has also learned from them. It is not surprising that his champagne music continues to win a constant response.

Welk songs I enjoy listening to are “Too Fat Polka” and the “Pennsylvania Polka” with Frankie Yankovic, “Hoop-dee-doo”, “Ballroom Polka”, “There’s a Tavern in the Town”, “Champagne Polka”, “Dakota Polka”, “Laughing Polka”, “Chopsticks Polka” and “Ohio Polka”. Of course, I like other Welk songs as well; but these are my favorites when it comes to polka music.

Lawrence Welk’s family has continued this fine orchestra after he died in Santa Monica, CA in 1992.

ARTIE SHAW ORCHESTRA

Artie Shaw, the great clarinet and saxophone player was born in New York, New York in 1910. His theme song was “Nightmare”.

Artie was raised in Connecticut. When he was twelve years he started playing the saxophone with local bands. At fifteen years of age, he traveled to Kentucky for a promised job that did not materialize so he took some small jobs to earn enough money to get back home where he found a job in New Haven with the Johnny Cavallaro band. He later traveled to Cleveland to join the Merle Jacobs and Joe Cantor bands

In 1926, Artie found part-time work as and arranger and musical director for the Austin Wylie band. During this time he switched to the clarinet and played for the Irving Aronson Commanders Orchestra while also working for the Austin Wylie band.

In 1929, Artie moved to Harlem to join Willie “The Lion” Smith who was a jazz pianist working in a club called Pod’s and Jerry’s. At the same time, Artie was also working for another great jazz piano artist, Teddy Wilson, who played backup for the jazz singer Billie Holliday.

Artie worked with Red Nichols at the Central Park Hotel in 1933. The next year he managed a farm in Bucks County Pennsylvania, not far from New York. American farmers had trouble raising crops due to the drought. It was so dry in Iowa from 1934-36 you couldn’t raise a fuss. It was no surprise to hear Artie was aback in New York working clubs by 1935.

Artie put a small jazz band together in 1936. He had a couple of strings, guitar, bass and piano. Shaw booked the small band at the Imperial Theater in New York where it became successful enough to enable Shaw to form a dance band, which didn’t do as well as expected.

In 1937, Shaw hired a top arranger, Jerry Gray, before he formed a new band because he wanted to do it right this time. Musicians in this band were Tony Pastor, tenor sax and vocalist who later formed his own band; Johnny Best, trumpet sideman; Les Robinson, trombone sideman; George Auld, saxophone sideman and Cliff Leeman on drums. Many other great musicians played in this band including Buddy Rich, sideman drummer, probably the best drummer ever.

Shaw’s band played all the top spots in and around New York and ballrooms in many different states and recorded several songs. The top song of 1938 was “Begin the Beguine” which also became one of the top songs of the century. He had other songs I liked better.

In 1938, Shaw employed Billie Holiday, the great jazz and blues colored singer, but had to let her go due to the racial discrimination in the hotels and radio studios at that time. Some recording companies did not allow colored singers in white bands. Billie made one record with Shaw, “Any Old Time”, which is one of my favorites.

Artie disbanded this group and went to Mexico three months after having a tonsillectomy in 1939. A year later he returned to take part in the movie, Second Chorus, featuring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goodard. This film resulted in another hit song, “Frenesi”.

Artie formed another band built with a five-piece string section inside the big band. He named the string section The Gramercy Five, a name he jokingly said he took from the phone book. The accomplished sidemen in the band were Billy Butterfield on lead trumpet, Jack Jenney on trumpet, Nick Fatool on drums and Johnny Guarner on piano and harpsichord. As the band switched to the Gramercy Five, Guarner would switch to the harpsichord, giving the Gramercy Five a very distinctive sound. Some of my favorite songs made by this group were “Concerto for Clarinet”, “Summit Ridge Drive” and “Special Delivery Stomp”. This band was also short-lived.

In 1942, Shaw was in the navy. He chose some sidemen to tour the South Pacific war zone to entertain the troops. Two years later he received a medical discharge and started a small band but I don’t think his heart was in it, not at all like Shaw. The band folded quickly so maybe he just wanted to take a break.

Early in 1947 Shaw spent two years in an intensive study of the clarinet as used in classical music.

In 1949, Shaw played Nicolai Berezowski’s “Concerto for Clarinet” at Carnegie Hall in New York, with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, the Denver Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra in New York, the Mozart clarinet concerto with the Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded the “Modern Music For a Clarinet” album. Also, in 1949, Shaw formed an orchestra to make an album as the classics relate to the clarinet.

In 1951, Shaw quit the music business again. After a short while he made another comeback by forming a small group to play a one-week engagement at jazz clubs opening in Club Bop City.

In 1954 Shaw wrote the autobiography, “I Love You, I Hate You”. I wonder if the title referred to his many wives. Shaw’s first marriage at age 19 to Jane Carns was quickly annulled. Later, he married Ava Gardner two years after her marriage to Mickey Rooney had ended. Lana Turner was his third life. Next, he married a nurse, Margaret Allen. His fifth wife was a movie star like Ava and Lana, Evelyn Keyes. Then he married Doris Dowling, followed by Betty Kern who was the daughter of the great Broadway composer Jerome Kern. Artie’s last wife was Kathy Lee Winsor.

Artie changed bands and wives quite often. Artie’s hobbies were target shooting and fly-fishing.

Here is a short list of Artie’s music that I enjoy most. Instrumentals are “Alone Together”, “Sugar”, “Summit Ridge Drive”, “Special Delivery Stomp”, “Concerto for a Clarinet”, “Back Bay Shuffle”, ’Frenesi”, “Traffic Jam” and “Carioca”. Songs I like include “Begin the Beguine”, “Good Night Angel”, “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody”, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Small Fry” and “Any Old Time” as sung by Billie Holiday.

I think Artie Shaw was the greatest clarinet player of the century and I doubt hat anyone who has ever heard him would disagree.

BOB “BAZOOKA” BURNS
(1890-1956)

Bob was born in Van Buren, Arkansas. I remember Bob from a radio broadcast in 1938 when he appeared on Bing Crosby’s Kraft Music Hall Radio Show. He stayed with Bing until 1941 when he was given his own radio show called The Arkansas Traveler where Bob would tell stories about the hillbilly life in Arkansas. He could tell many hilarious stories, getting one laugh after another. Then, he would say he would play a couple of songs on the old bazoo and proceed to play a couple of songs on a homemade instrument he had made from a piece of pipe with a trumpet like arm. It sounded like the noise a hungry cow would make; but it did have a kind of rhythm. I’m sure he made up the names of the songs. The bazooka became so well known that he army named the shoulder held rocket launcher the same name.

I did enjoy listening to this very funny man whose fame was well known thru his radio show and a syndicated column he wrote for Esquire Features titled Well I’ll Tell You.

Bob Burns made a movie, Rhythm on the Range, with Bing Crosby in 1936. I saw it some time later.

CHARLIE SPIVAK ORCHESTRA

Charlie Spivak (1907-82) was born in Kiev, Ukraine. His parents moved to the United States when he was very young. Charlie started playing the trumpet when he was about ten years old.

While still a teenager, he was employed by local bands and later worked with the Don Cavallaro’s Orchestra. During the years of 1924-30 Charlie was with Paul Spech’s band, with the Ben Pollack band in 1931, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and Ray Noble’s Orchestra in 1935. He stayed with the Noble group working with his friend, Glenn Miller.In 1935, Glenn Miller took over the Noble Orchestra calling it the Glen Miller Orchestra. Charlie worked in the Miller Orchestra until 1937 when, with help from Miller, he formed an orchestra that failed because the musicians could not get along. With Glenn’s help the second Orchestra was formed. The Charlie Spivak Orchestra was successful, thanks in some measure to Glenn Miller’s assistance and two excellent sidemen in the rhythm section, drummer Davey Tough and Jimmy Middleton on bass. June Hutton and Garry Steven were vocalists for the band.

Charlie’s band was a major attraction in the entertainment world of the forties. When the big band mania slowed down Charlie moved to Las Vegas to work. He recorded until 1981 and was still active in the music industry when he died in 1982.

Charlie played lead trumpet in all the bands he worked with and he was great. I have long enjoyed these songs by Charlie: “Let’s Go Home”, “Autumn Nocturne”, “Star Dreams”, “Linda”, “That Old Devil Moon”, “Oh, What it Seems to Be”, “Penthouse Senora”, “My Devotion”, “You Are too Beautiful” and “It’s Been a Long, Long Time”.

JOE HAYMES
The Forgotten Man

Joe Haymes was a very talented leader and arranger who knew what it takes to produce a great band. He organized his first band in the early 1930’s. He was the band manager as well as the arranger. The band had three excellent sidemen in Toots Mondello, PeeWee Ervin and Bud Freeman.

After the first group disbanded, Joe formed a fourteen-piece orchestra, which was successful for nearly two years. He did have some hit songs during that time.

Joe’s fate was to form great bands only to be taken over by others. He couldn’t seem to keep the bands working despite the fact there were some very good booking agents available at the time.

In 1935, Tommy Dorsey took over Joe’s orchestra and very soon made it a success. Joe formed another good orchestra that Les Brown took to Buddy Lake and it, too became successful.

Joe truly deserves more credit for putting together two excellent bands and for having produced four hit songs from 1930 to 1935. They are “Great Cannonball”, featuring Wild Band members with vocals, “Louisville Lady”, “It’s About Time” and “When I Put On My Old Gray Bonnet”. Other songs of Joe’s, which are almost as forgotten as Joe include “Lost Motion”, “Puddin’ Head Jones”, “Don’t Believe an Eskimo”, “Bathtub Ran Over Again”, “Jazz Pie”, “Wah-hoo”, “That’s A-plenty” and “Ain’t Gonna Pay No Toll”.

HARRY JAMES ORCHESTRA

Harry James’ (1916-83) father was a bandleader for a traveling circus. Young Harry started out on drums at the age of seven. By the age of ten, he started taking trumpet lessons from his father. His natural talent for playing the trumpet was obvious from the start. By 1931 the family had moved to Beaumont, Texas where Harry won the state championship competition for his trumpet solo.

A little later, he worked for a number of small bands. By 1935-36 James was playing the trumpet with the well-known Ben Pollack band. He moved to the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 1937 where he became very successful due to Benny’s policy of allowing good sidemen to stand and solo. By 1938 Harry James was so popular he easily formed his own band, which opened in 1939 at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia. The band’s theme song was “Chibiribin”.

In the early forties Harry’s band was named the top orchestra in the country and produced a number of hit records. The band traveled from coast to coast playing in clubs and ballrooms. I was at the famous Tromar ballroom in Des Moines when Harry James’ band entertained there. He could really play that golden trumpet and the joint was jumping. It was an experience I will never forget.

The band continued to tour occasionally until the early 1950’s. In 1955, James appeared in the film, The Benny Goodman Story. In 1957, James toured Europe with his reformed band. In 1957, James’ band gave a concert at the Carnegie Hall in New York City.

James was first married to the singer, Louise Tobin. Later, in 1943, he married the famous actress, Betty Grable. They were divorced in 1965.

Songs I liked to hear James play include “And Then It’s Heaven”, “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You”, “I Cried for You”, “You Made Me Love You”, “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “My Buddy”, “Don’tcha Go Away”, “Cherry”. Instrumentals I like are “Estrellith”, Chibiribin”, “Back Beat Boogie”, “Hot Lips”, “Ten O’clock Jump” and “Two O’clock Jump”.

SAMMY KAYE ORCHESTRA

I first heard of Sammy Kaye (1910-1987) when his songs started showing up on jukeboxes around 1940. He was a clarinetist who had a good band with an excellent vocalist, Don Cornell. Kaye’s tag was “Swing and Sway, with Sammy Kaye”, which seems a bit misleading to me as I think of his music as being a ballroom type, more like Guy Lombardo’s style of soft and sweet songs.

Some of Kaye’s songs I really like are “Penny Serenade”, “I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen”, “Sooner or Later”, “That’s My Desire”, “The Old Lamplighter”, “I’m a Big Girl Now”, “Apple Blossom”, “Serenade of the Bells”, “There Goes That Song Again”, “Room Full of Roses” and “It Might as Well Be Spring”.

Kaye had a TV show in the 1950’s called So You Want To Lead a Band where Kaye would invite someone onstage and hand him or her the baton.

SPIKE JONES AND HIS CITY SLICKERS

Spike was born Lindley Armstrong Jones (1911-1965). His nickname was attained early in life when Spike worked on the railroad.

Spike was a good drummer who did some live back-up work with small groups and playing with Hoagy Carmichael, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Spike was among the group of musicians backing Bing when his most famous song, White Christmas, was recorded.

While playing with Bing Crosby’s radio show band, The City Slickers, Spike had an idea for a change. He added to the typical dance band sound by mixing in all kinds of noises such as alarm clocks, whistles, bells, old auto horns, gunshots and other noisemakers. The resulting song, In Der Fueher’s Face, became an instant wartime hit. The song was originally written for a Disney cartoon.

Using the same technique, Bob made more songs including “Cocktails for Two”, “Chloe” and “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”.

Spike Jones and his band were given a radio show with the Coca Cola Spotlight Revue in 1947. Two years later it was called the Spike Jones Show.

During the forties and fifties the Jones band traveled coast to coast with his cornball comedy act that was sometimes called The Musical Depreciation Band. Jones’ band was well dressed and would play regular music at the start of the show before Spike would announce a short intermission and the curtain would fall. Noises like gunshots, bull horns, etc. could be heard coming from behind the curtain for a very short time before the musicians emerged dressed as comics in colorful clothes and raggedy hats. Then, the comical band would play. I’ve laughed at seeing this band on TV, in movies and hearing them on the radio.

Spike Jones’ songs I particularly like are “Chinese Mule Train”, “The Man on the Flying Trapeze’, “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”, “That Old Black Magic”, “Nut Cracker Suite”, “Little Bo Beeb”, “Jones Polka”, “Hey, Mable” and “Behind Those Swinging Doors”.

BEN POLLACK ORCHESTRA

Ben Pollack (1903-71) was a drummer and bandleader who formed one of the finest bands of the twenties in 1925. Musicians who temporarily played with the band later became orchestra leaders were Glenn Miller on trombone, Jack Teagarden on trombone, Charlie Spivak on trumpet and Bob Crosby, leader and singer. Crosby took over the band in 1934 when Pollack abruptly quit. It has been said that Pollack grew tired of the band, as he wanted to devote his time to further the career of his vocalist wife, Doris Robin.

Pollack band musicians who went on to fame, as sidemen were Charlie Teagarden, Jimmy Partland, Bud Freeman and Fud Livingstone.

Songs I like to hear are “Futuristic Rhythm”, “Wang Wang Blues”, “Shout Hallelujah”, “In a Great Big Way”, “Two Tickets to Georgia”, “Deep Jungle”, “Swing Out”, “I’m Full of the Devil”, “I’m One Step Ahead of My Shadow”, “I Couldn’t be Mad at You”, “In a Sentimental Mood”, and “After You’ve Gone”.

These songs best represent the swing Dixieland music from the twenties through 1934.

In 1936, Lionel started a new orchestra featuring these yet unknown sidemen: FREDDY Slack on piano, Short Sherlock and Harry James on trumpet, sideman Irving Fazola on clarinet and Dave Matthews on sax. It time these musicians drifted to other orchestras.

After 1938, Ben finally settled on the west coast where he led small groups of Dixieland musicians with himself playing the drums. He finished out his career in business ventures such as running a small record company and even owned his own club.

He grew bitter with some of the big bands he thought had wronged him and started lawsuits against them. Lionel’s tragic death occurred in 1971 when he hung himself in his Palm Springs home.

LIONEL HAMPTON ORCHESTRA

Lionel Hampton (1909-2002) was a well-known bandleader who played the vibes, drums and piano. He was raised in Chicago.

Lionel began his career as a drummer for different local band before moving to California where he played with Reb Spikes, Curtis Mosby and Paul Howard. Lionel made his first recording in 1929 while he was with Howard.

He didn’t achieve fame until he joined Benny Goodmans Orchestra as a vibraphonist. Lionel had met Benny at an earlier time when he had played the vibes in Benny’s Quartet that also included Teddy Wilson on piano, Benny on the clarinet and Gene Krupa on drums.

When Benny started his big band, Krupa was hired as drummer. After the band became famous Teddy Wilson, a black pianist, joined the Benny Orchestra. When Krupa left the band to form his own group in 1938, Benny hired Lionel. By 1940, Lionel had left Benny’s band and formed his own band. The band’s theme song was “Flying Home”.

Lionel was the first to discover the great Dinah Washington who was his vocalist. Lionel led the band until it disbanded in 1946. He continued to play in quartets up into the nineties.

Songs of Lionel’s I like to hear include “Flying Home”, “Hamps Boogie Woogie”, “Central Park”, “Hey-ba-ba-re-ba”, “Hot Mallets”, “Midnight Son”, “After you’re Gone” and “I’m Confessin’”.

MC KINNEY’S COTTON PICKERS

The Cotton Pickers Band started in Kentucky as a quartet working in Paducah in 1920. It grew to a ten-piece band booked into Detroit’s Arcadia Ballroom by Jean Goldkette. Goldkette owned the Greystone Ballroom and this became their most frequent booking. Goldkette also kept them well booked into clubs and hotel ballrooms near Detroit.

In the mid twenties, the great arranger Don Redman who also played trumpet was with this group. Joe Smith and Sidney Deparis also played trumpet and George Thomas and Prince Robinson were on the saxophone. Don Redman also did vocals along with Thomas and Dave Wilborn. At times two great sidemen played with the band including hot piano player Fats Waller and Colman Hawkins on tenor sax. The band had two big hits, “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home” and “If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight”.

The band played for only a few years after Don Redman left in 1931. The band went downhill following Redman’s departure as he had drilled the band, did arrangements and played lead trumpet.

RAY MC KINLEY ORCHESTRA

Ray McKinley (1910-95) was an instrumentalist and vocalist. His theme was “Howdy Friends”.

Ray worked in local bands in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area at the beginning of his career. His big break came when he got a job with “Smith Ballew’s band in 1933 where he worked with Glenn Miller. McKinley and Miller both joined the Dorsey Brothers Band in 1934. When the Dorsey brothers separated in 1934 Ray remained with Jimmy Dorsey until he left to become the co-leader of the new Will Bradley Orchestra where he stayed until 1942 when there was a disagreement over the type of music the band should play.

Ray McKinley put together a nice dance band with Lou Stein on piano. Dick Cathcart played the trumpet. Imogene Lynn and Ray were vocalists. The band opened at New York’s Commodore Hotel. The group played in one movie, Hit Parade. In 1943 and they also recorded a few records.

When McKinley received his draft notice, he contacted Band Major Glenn Miller about joining his army band and he was quickly taken in as the band’s drummer. McKinley and Jerry Gray took over the army band after Glenn Miller was reported missing in action.

After the war McKinley formed a new band He hired a top arranger, Eddie Sauter, who also had done arrangements for Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnett and Artie Shaw, among others. He also got top sidemen Peanuts Huco on clarinet, Mundell Guitar and Rusty Dedrick on trombone. The band recorded two sides for Majestic Records. The band first opened at the Commodore Hotel. The band became known as “the most versatile band in the land”.

The band recorded for majestic until 1947 when it signed a contract with RCA Victor where they recorded until September 1950. The band broke up in 1952.

In 1953, McKinley made some recordings for Decca Records using a studio band. He recorded with Dot Record Company using a studio band in 1956.

The songs I like to hear seem to be the songs he helped make as co-leader with Will Bradley. I don’t have any of his records after he left Bradley and I can’t recall any songs except maybe “Green Eyes”.

TED HEATH

Ted Heath was born Edward Ted Heath in 1902. His father, Ted, taught him tenor horn at the age of six. By the time he was eight years old he was playing in local brass band contests.

When he was fourteen years old the younger Ted switched to the trombone. His father fell ill so Ted had to play in street bands to support the family. The British call this activity “busking”.

His first real job was with an American band tour in Europe with the Southern Syncopation Orchestra, which had bookings in Vienna and Austria and needed a trombone player. The band’s drummer was Benny Payton who taught Ted all about jazz and swing.

From 1925-1926, Ted played in London’s Kit Cat Club’s band led by American Al Starita. While there he heard Bunny Berrigan, The Dorsey Brothers and Paul Whitman when they were touring overseas.

Ted joined Bert Ambrose’s Orchestra in 1928. Ambrose taught Ted how to become a bandleader. During this time he also became a master of his instrument and swing music.

During the thirties and forties, Ted played as a sideman on several Benny Carter albums. From 1940-42, he was doing radio broadcasts, making recordings and composing songs. These recordings are the main reason I am including Ted in this story. Ted continued to make recordings through the forties and into the fifties and his songs sold very well in the United States.

In 1956, Ted went on tour of the United States, covering 7,000 miles as he played forty-three concerts in thirty cities. The trip culminated in a Carnegie Hall concert on May 1, 1956. This band was still playing in London in 2000.

I have played many of Ted’s recordings. Some I have enjoyed most are “That Lovely Week-end”, “I Got it Bad and that Ain’t Good”, “You Stepped Out of a Dream”, “The Touch of Your Lips”, “The Nearness of You”, “I’m in the Mood for Love”, “The Very Thought of You”, “You Go to My Head” and “My Silent Love”.

TEX BENEKE ORCHESTRA

Tex Beneke (1914-2001) played the saxophone and was a vocalist. Tex originally played with the Ben young Orchestra from 1935-37. In 1938, Tex joined Glenn Miller’s Orchestra where he was a sideman, well known for his flexible sax solos and his occasional singing, most notably the song, “Chattanooga Choo-choo””.

When Miller broke up his band in 1942 to build and lead an army band, Tex worked with the bands of Jan Savit and Horace Heidt prior to his joining the navy where he played for the navy band until he was discharged.

In 1946, Glenn Miller’s widow asked Tex to rebuild and take over the Miller Orchestra. Beneke assumed leadership of band and the famous Miller sound that was still a hot item as the demand for the music was even greater than ever, playing to capacity audiences.

I saw this band not long after it started in Des Moines in 1947 at the Tromar ballroom. It was a great show but it was almost too crowed to move. Tex played a great number of the Miller hits and sang “Chattanooga Choo-choo” followed by loud applause and everyone shouting, “More, More”. He played a saxophone solo for an encore. It was a great evening.

By 1970, Tex was still playing with the Miller style but with new songs keeping him active until the 1990’s, mostly touring the West Coast.

The Beneke songs I like so well were all Glenn Miller songs, which I have mentioned in his story.

WILL BRADLEY ORCHESTRA

Will Bradley was born Wilbur Schwictenberg in Newtown, New Jersey in 1910. He died in Flemington, New Jersey in 1978.

His name was quickly changed to Will Bradley when he began his musical career playing the trombone. Like so many others, Will began playing for studio bands and did some back-up work for Eddie Cantor. One of his first jobs with a working band was for Milt Shaw and his Detroiter’s Orchestra where he met drummer Ray McKinley, who would become the featured sideman in Will’s first band.

Glenn Miller hired Will to play in a band Glenn was forming for Ray Noble in 1935. Will left the band the following year to resume work as a studio musician.

In 1939, Will formed his first band at the suggestion of William Alexander from the Morris Talent Agency. Alexander felt Will was ready to start a band after Glenn Miller said Will could do more things with a trombone then anyone else he knew. He thought the best trombonist when combined with a swinging drummer would produce a special sound. The swing drummer they wanted was Ray McKinley who was then working with Jimmy Dorsey’s band. Ray was also a singer.

Other members of the band included Peanuts Hucko on tenor sax, who later became a fine clarinetist, and Freddie Slack on piano. Slack also came from Dorsey’s band.

Will Bradley’s band signed a contract with Columbia Records, making their first records on the Vocalion-Okeh label before appearing in public. In 1939, the band made its first live appearance at Boston’s Roseland State Ballroom.

The band played both swing tunes and ballads with McKinley as vocalist for the romantic ballads. Their first hit was “Celery Stalks at Midnight” in 1940. Later, the band opened at the famous Door on 52nd Street in New York City.

Freddie Slack who was a very good pianist left to form his own band in 1941. In 1942, the Will Bradley band, with their excellent vocalist, Ella Mae More, had a huge hit with the song “Cow Cow Boogie” followed by another hit song, “Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar”.

The Will Bradley Orchestra was really a co-led band with both Bradley and Ray McKinley as leaders, although Bradley fronted the band. The successful band ran from 1939-1942. Boogie was the band’s forte but McKinley evidently disagreed and left the band in 1942, about six months before the Will Bradley group disbanded and Bradley went back to studio work.

Some of the real swing songs of this band that I enjoy include “Beat Me Daddy to the Bar”, “Cow Cow Boogie”, “Celery Stalks at Midnight”, “Down the Road a Piece”, “Scrub me Mama with a Boogie Beat”, “Bounce Me, Brother, With a Solid Four” and “Fry Me Cookie, With a Can of Lard”.

I’m sure they had ballads I enjoyed but when I think of Will Bradley these songs come quickly to my mind. This is real swing.
BOBBY SHERWOOD ORCHESTRA

Bobby Sherwood (1911-81) played trumpet, trombone, guitar and piano. His parents had a vaudeville act and Bobby appeared in the act when he was very young.

In 1932, he found work playing as a guitar accompanist for the Bing Crosby Show. He had replaced a very good guitar player, Eddie Lang. For the next nine years he worked as a studio musician for MGM. He also led the band on the Eddie Cantor Radio Show.

In 1942, Eddy gave up a lucrative career to form his own orchestra working in the Los Angeles area. He had some great musicians including Zoot Sims on tenor sax, Dave Pell and Flip Phillips. All were sidemen.

He wrote his own arrangements and played with the orchestra. He quickly signed a contract with Capitol Records. Their first recording session produced a really great swinging song that became a million record seller, “The Elk’s Parade”. Another good song, “Moonlight Becomes You” sung by Kitty Kallen, was made at this session. She was a fantastic vocalist who left Bobby’s band shortly later. I know this hurt the band. Also, at about this time a record ban was in place because the material needed to make them was needed for the war effort. The ban remained in place for about a year longer. The ban was already in place when Bobby made his first recordings, but Johnny Mercer who was part owner of Capitol Records had bought a large supply of materials to make records before the ban was implemented.

The band went on tour but did not record for a year. In 1946, Bobby appeared as an actor in the Broadway show, Hear That Trumpet. In 1947, he was back in Los Angeles with his band where he was booked for three months at Casion Gardens. It was Bobby’s last successful big band booking.

He played many songs I like to hear including his first record, ‘The Elk’s Parade”, which is my favorite. Others are “Moonlight Becomes You”, “Sherwood Forest”, “This is the Night”, “All Too Soon”, “My Love For You” and “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive, sung by Johnny Mercer.
COLEMAN HAWKINS ORCHESTRA

Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969) was a gifted tenor saxophone player as a child.

In 1922, Mamie Smith spotted him in Kansas City while playing with Jesse Stone and his Blue Serenaders. She hired Coleman to play with her Jazzhounds. He appeared on some of her recordings, staying with her until 1923.

Coleman’s next big move was to go with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra where he stayed for ten years. In the meantime, he also recorded with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers and Red McKenzie’s’ Mound City Blue Blowers in 1929.

He moved to Europe in 1934 when he left Henderson, staying there until 1939.

Coleman returned to America at the onset of WWII where he recorded “Body and Soul”. This became his theme song and his biggest hit, so much so that when the song is mentioned, I always think of Coleman Hawkins.

In 1944, Coleman hired Thelonious Monk as part of his quartet for a be-bop recording session. The quartet also included Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. It was very early for be-bop sounds but he did all right with it and kept changing sounds. Coleman played into the 1960’s.

His songs from the forties that I like to hear are “Prisoner of Love”, “It Never Entered My Mind”, “Tangerine”, “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to” and “Shine on Harvest Moon. My favorite instrumentals are “Body and Soul” and “I’m Beginning to See the Light”.
DON REDMAN ORCHESTRA

Don was a colored man, born Donald Matthew Redman in Piedmont, West Virginia in 1900. He could play any wind instrument by the age of twelve. Don was noted for playing the sax, clarinet and for his leader, composer and arranger abilities.

Don’s father was a music teacher who encouraged Don to study music, which Don loved.
He studied at conservatories. In 1923, he joined Fletcher Henderson’s Orchestra as an arranger and sideman saxophonist. While with Henderson he became one of the principal inventors of jazz writing for a big band. He not only wrote separate parts for the reed and brass choirs but left room for the hot solos. By putting sections in opposition, he solved the problems of the new style, showing everyone how to do it. He wrote virtually all of Henderson’s arrangements. Yes, this was the start of the new swing style made famous by Benny Goodman’s Orchestra.

In 1927, Don went with the McKinney Cotton Pickers as musical director. While there, the Cotton Pickers were great. He was still with them in 1928 when he made some recordings on the side with Louis Armstrong.

In 1931, Don started his own orchestra after leaving the Cotton Pickers and taking some of the musicians with him. He led this band until it disbanded in 1940.

Looking back at some of his work. While with Henderson he created a completely new style of music, making Henderson’s band the band to beat. He also built the Cotton Pickers up to the top level, made some records with Louis Armstrong, performed in a Hollywood short film and was sponsored by Chipso for a radio broadcast.

Don wrote his own theme song, “Chant of the Weed”. He did some arrangements for Paul Whiteman, Isham Jones, Ben Pollack and Bing Crosby at the same time he was running his own band.

In 1942, Jimmy Dorsey hired Don as arranger. One of the arrangements that come to my mind is “Deep Purple”. In 1943, he formed a band for a short booking into the Zanzibar Club in New York. He was a free-lance arranger again in 1944 when he arranged for Harry James. James was voted the Number One Band of 1944.

From 1944-46, Don also did arrangements for Count Basie and the NBC studio orchestra. In 1946, Redman formed a small band for a European tour, which disbanded a few months later, but he stayed for about a year. In 1949, Redman did a TV series for CBS. He became a musical director for singer Pearl Bailey in 1951.

Don continued doing arrangements, playing the saxophone and had a bit part in a movie with Pearl Bailey called “House of Flowers”. Don Redman remained active until his death in 1964.

I will list a few of the great musicians, all sidemen, that Don Redman had in his orchestra from 1931 to 1940: Fred Robinson on trombone, Don Redman on sax, Manzie Johnson on drums or vibraphone, Claude Jones on trombone, Henry “Red” Allen and Sidney Deparis on trumpet and Benny Moten on trombone.

Don wrote and played all of these songs I like to hear: “Sophisticated Lady”, “That Blue-eyed Baby from Memphis”, “I Found a New Way to Go Town”, “Puddinhead Jones”, “Tired of it All”, “Keep on Doing What You’re Doing”, “No One Loves Me Like That Dallas Man”, “Lazy Bones”, “After Sundown”, “I Want to Be Loved”, “Our Big Love”, “Lonely Cabin”, ’Christopher Columbus” and “She’s Not Bad”.
EDDY HOWARD ORCHESTRA

Eddy Howard (1914-1963) was a well-known vocalist and guitar and trombone player. Theme in was “Careless”. Theme out was “So Long For Now”.

Eddy studied to become a doctor like his father. While enrolled in medical school at Stanford, he worked part-time as a singer at a local radio station and music became his main passion. He continued to working at radio stations in Los Angeles and at the San Francisco station KRFC while in school.

Eddy caught the attention of the Tom Gern Orchestra who signed him to sing weekends and summer vacations. In 1932, Eddy left school to pursue a career in a big band so he joined Ben Bernie’s Orchestra.

Eddy’s big break came in 1933 when he tried out with the Dick Jergens band for the position of trombone player. They soon found out his trombone playing left something to be desired. He was hired as a vocalist for the band he sang a few songs. His singing voice was his strong feature.

Eddy, with Jurgens as co-composer wrote many of the bands biggest hits and the recordings sold very well. Some of these songs were “If I Knew Then What I Know Now”, “Good-bye”, “Careless” and “A Million Dreams Ago”.

In 1941, Eddy Howard took over the Buddy Baer Orchestra based in Milwaukee. Eddy’s first booking was at the Casa Loma ballroom in St Louis. Following a few more bookings, the band was booked into the Aragon ballroom in Chicago where the band became a staple. The Aragon ballroom had a nationwide radio show so Eddy became very well known.

At the onset of WWII in 1941, most of the band members were drafted into the service. Eddy continued as a solo act.

In 1946, Eddy re-assembled the band and was signed to a recording contract by Majestic Records. He continued recording until 1957, writing and playing great music.

I love all these songs: “To Each His Own”, “It’s No Sin”, “My Adobe Hacienda”, “Ragtime Cowboy Joe”, “Careless”, “Room Full of Roses”, “Be Anything But Be Mine”, “I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder”, “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons”, “A Penny a Kiss”, “A Million Dreams Ago” and “If I Knew Then What I Know Now”,
ERSKINE HAWKINS ORCHESTRA

Erskine Hawkins (1914-92) was called the 20th century Gabrielle. He was a master on all of the instruments he played including trumpet, trombone, tenor sax and drums.

While attending Alabama State Teachers College, he was chosen to replace J.B. Sims as leader of the fantastic college band, The Bama State Collegians. This band toured the south and made records on the Vocalion label. The band made two trips to New York, first playing at the Harlem Opera House where they were well received. On the second trip they played at the Savoy ballroom with the Chick Webb band.

During the New York tour the band was renamed the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. Hawkins wrote “Tuxedo Junction”. Thanks to a trumpet solo by the great sideman Wilbur Bascomb, the song became a hit for Hawkins and later on, a bigger hit for Glenn Miller.

The Hawkins band had a number of other hits including “Gin Mill Special”, “Dolomite”, “Whispering Grass”, “Don’t Cry Baby” and “Tippin’ In”. I’ve enjoyed all.

In the mid 1950’s the orchestra disbanded and Hawkins formed a quartet, keeping busy into the eighties working clubs and he also attended many jazz festivals.
ERSKINE HAWKINS ORCHESTRA

Erskine Hawkins (1914-92) was called the 20th century Gabrielle. He was a master on all of the instruments he played including trumpet, trombone, tenor sax and drums.

While attending Alabama State Teachers College, he was chosen to replace J.B. Sims as leader of the fantastic college band, The Bama State Collegians. This band toured the south and made records on the Vocalion label. The band made two trips to New York, first playing at the Harlem Opera House where they were well received. On the second trip they played at the Savoy ballroom with the Chick Webb band.

During the New York tour the band was renamed the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. Hawkins wrote “Tuxedo Junction”. Thanks to a trumpet solo by the great sideman Wilbur Bascomb, the song became a hit for Hawkins and later on, a bigger hit for Glenn Miller.

The Hawkins band had a number of other hits including “Gin Mill Special”, “Dolomite”, “Whispering Grass”, “Don’t Cry Baby” and “Tippin’ In”. I’ve enjoyed all.

In the mid 1950’s the orchestra disbanded and Hawkins formed a quartet, keeping busy into the eighties working clubs and he also attended many jazz festivals.

ERSKINE HAWKINS ORCHESTRA

Erskine Hawkins (1914-92) was called the 20th century Gabrielle. He was a master on all of the instruments he played including trumpet, trombone, tenor sax and drums.

While attending Alabama State Teachers College, he was chosen to replace J.B. Sims as leader of the fantastic college band, The Bama State Collegians. This band toured the south and made records on the Vocalion label. The band made two trips to New York, first playing at the Harlem Opera House where they were well received. On the second trip they played at the Savoy ballroom with the Chick Webb band.

During the New York tour the band was renamed the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. Hawkins wrote “Tuxedo Junction”. Thanks to a trumpet solo by the great sideman Wilbur Bascomb, the song became a hit for Hawkins and later on, a bigger hit for Glenn Miller.

The Hawkins band had a number of other hits including “Gin Mill Special”, “Dolomite”, “Whispering Grass”, “Don’t Cry Baby” and “Tippin’ In”. I’ve enjoyed all.

In the mid 1950’s the orchestra disbanded and Hawkins formed a quartet, keeping busy into the eighties working clubs and he also attended many jazz festivals.
LARRY CLINTON

Larry Clinton (1909-85) was a bandleader, composer and arranger during the 1930’s and 1940’s. His forte was adopting the classics to popular music. He started his career by arranging for several orchestras including those of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and the Casa Loma band led by Glen Gray.

He formed a studio orchestra and made some fine recordings. Some made the Hit Parade, which was a very popular radio show at the time. Early in life I heard “Dipsy Doodle” of 1937, “My Reverie” of 1938, and “Our Love” and “Moon Love” of 1939.

In 1941, his career seemed to be over. He tried to make a comeback in the late 1940’s but had very little success.

The songs he recorded from 1937-41 were very nice. Songs of his that I like, other than those that made the Hit Parade are “Cry Baby, Cry”, “My Heart Belongs to Daddy”, “One Rose That was Meant for My Heart”, “Whistle While You Work”, ‘Heart and Soul”, “You go to My Head”, ‘Deep Purple”, ‘in A Persian Market”, ‘The Big Dipper” and “I’m Afraid the Masquerade is Over”.

I find it difficult to believe that a man who could write and play songs like these could have had such a short career. The ban on making records due to the need of the materials for the war effort may have played a part.
LEW STONE

Pianist Louis “Lew” Stone was born in England in 1898. Lew was self-taught and he developed into a first class musician and arranger. In my opinion, Lew led what I think was the top dance band in London after he learned from other good bandleaders such as Bert Ralston and Roy Fox whose band was playing at the Monseigneur Restaurant in Piccadilly when Lew joined the band.

When Fox left in 1932, Lew took over and used many of the musicians from the band to form his own orchestra. He had good musicians including drummer Bill Harty and singer Al Bowlly. They had three other male singers. Female singers had not caught on at that time.

The band had a regular radio broadcast on Tuesday night. The program began with the band’s theme song, “Oh, Susanna”. Throughout the thirties they played some hot numbers including “White Jazz”, “Blue Jazz”, “Tiger Rag”, “Milenbourg Joys”, “Call of the Freaks”, “Annie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”. Also, some sentimental ballads of the day sung by Al Bowlly like “I’ll Never be the Same”, “Just Let Me Look at You”, “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”, “How Could We Wrong”, “With My Eyes Wide Open”, “I’m Dreaming” and “Isle of Capri”.

Ray Noble used Law Stone’s band for his studio band under his name. Ray called this band the New Mayfair Dance Band. Ray was the Director of Light Music for HMV, a branch of RCA. When Ray came to America in 1934 he brought Al Bowlly and Bill Harty with him.

After Ray Noble and Ray Miller broke up, Al Bowlly returned to England and joined Lew Stone’s band. Al was killed in a 1941 German air raid. Lew died in 1969.

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ORRIN TUCKER ORCHESTRA

Orrin Tucker was born in 1911. He was trained to be a doctor but decided he preferred leading an orchestra, which he formed and it was well received. It didn’t become well known until one of his female vocalists, Wee Bonnie Baker made a recording of the song, “Oh, Johnny”. This one hit catapulted the band to national fame.

Orrin had a good orchestra that played all the top places including the Waldorf Astoria where they were billed as the Orrin Tucker Orchestra, featuring Wee Bonnie Baker from the Empire Room of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Orrin also had another female vocalist, Scottee Marsh.

In 1940, Columbia Records organized a champagne breakfast flight to promote Orrin’s first hit. The next booking was at the Edgewater Beach Hotel and the Palmer House in Chicago. Orrin played at the Chicago Theater, setting new attendance records and the “band played on”, and I do mean on as this band was still going strong in 1996.His theme song was “Drifting and Dreaming”.

Songs I like to hear are all from 1940-50. Wee Bonnie Baker sang “Oh, Johnny”, “Pinch Me”, “You’d Be Surprised”, “My Resistance is Low”, “Where’d You Get Those Eyes” and “Especially For You”. “Do I Worry” by Bonnie and Orrin and “Little Girl”, ’Goodnight My Love”, ’Too Busy”, ’What a Lie” and “I’m Sitting on Top of the World”, all by Orrin.

The blues song “Oh, Johnny” has a long history. During the Civil War in 1865, the song was sung at Gettysburg. “Oh, Johnny” was later sung by the WW1 troops. In 1934, Helen Morgan sang the song with the orchestra of Nat Shilkret as a jazz song. In 1940, the Orrin Tucker Orchestra played the tune and with Bonnie Baker’s singing, it became a swing song. In 1956, Elvis Presley made “Oh, Johnny” a hit rock song. At a Mountain View, Arkansas songfest on February 9, 1970, Ollie Gilbert sang ’Oh, Johnny” as a folk song. The song has a known history of 138 years and my research into the Civil War History of music claims the song was very old in 1865. I do know the song was sung in five different styles of music and with many changes in lyrics, but the title and story line stayed basically the same. For example, Bonnie Baker sang, “Frankie went down to the jailhouse”. Ollie Gilbert sang “Frankie went down to the bar to get a bucket of beer”.

If I were to write one it might read as follows: Frankie took a trip to Mars and looked among the stars. Still no Johnny. But when she did catch up to him making love to Nellie Bly, she zapped him with her ray gun. He was her man.
PAUL WESTON

Paul Weston (1912-2002) is best remembered for the great mood music he wrote and as one of the best managers in the music business. In 1935, he did an arrangement for Joe Haymes. Later, as the Haymes band became the Tommy Dorsey band, Paul Weston stayed on, doing arrangements for Tommy until the middle of 1941.

In 1941, while still with Tommy, Weston arranged a song for Frank Sinatra, who also was a vocalist at the time with Tommy. It was one of Frank’s big hits called, “Everything Happens to Me”. During 1941-42, Paul worked as an arranger for Bob Crosby. He arranged for Dinah Shore in 1943. Later the same year, Paul joined Capitol Records, directing music on the Johnnie Mercer radio show known as the Chesterfield Supper Club Show. Johnny Mercer was a half owner of Capitol Records. In 1952, he married Jo Stafford, the great vocalist.

In 1953, Paul wrote the instrumental theme for the movie, Shane. Some of the songs he wrote up to this time were “Nevertheless”, ‘I’m in Love With You”, “Let’s Get Away From it All” and “Everything Happens to me”.

In 1954, Paul worked with his wife, Jo, in a comedy duo with Jonathan and Darlene Edwards. They later formed the Corinthian Label, keeping some of their classic works in print.

In 1958, Paul was a founding member an the first National President of the National Academy of Recording Art’s and Sciences which began awarding Grammys in 1958.

Here are some of the songs Paul wrote and I have enjoyed. “I Should Care”, a 1945 hit for Dorsey. “Shrimp Boats”, a 1951 hit with Jo Stafford. “Day by Day”, a 1946 hit with Jo Stafford. Also, “Anna”, “Caribbean Cruise”, “Moonlight Becomes You”, “Mood Music by Paul Weston”, “Day by Day” and “Day by Night”. The last two songs were very well done by Doris Day in what I think was her best album.
PERCY FAITH

Percy Faith was born in Toronto, Canada in 1908. He was an arranger, conductor, composer and pianist. At the age of fifteen he gave a piano recital at Massey Hall, later playing in silent cinemas.

In 1926, Percy injured his hands in a fire, ending any prospect of a concert career. He then did some arranging for hotel orchestras and radio. From 1938-40 he had a radio show, Music By Faith. As his budget was cut, he moved to Chicago after accepting a job with NBC and later moved to New York. He became an American citizen in 1945.

In New York he arranged and also conducted for many radio shows including Carnation Contented Hour, The Buddy Clark Show and The Coca Cola Show. Percy was also recording for Decca Records. In 1950, he became part of the Columbia Record staff in charge of arranging and recording. He worked on many movie sound track arrangements and wrote songs. He was still working in 1970.

The 1950 song he wrote, “My Heart Cries for You”, is a great song but I remember Percy Faith more for the songs he wrote and directed in the following movies: Love Me or Leave Me, Tammy, Tell me True, I’d Rather be Rich, The Love Goddess, The Third Day and The Oscar.

Percy did arrangements for many great artists such as Tony Martin, Buddy Clark, Evelyn Knight, Frances Lankford, Billie Holiday, Eileen Farrell, and the great Missouri singer, Jane Froman.

Percy wrote, “Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess” for the Broadway live show, Porgy and Bess. He also wrote “autumn in New York” and “Catfish Row” and “The Buzzard Song” from Porgy and Bess. He had too many hits to list them all. Percy died in Encino, California in 1976.
RUSS MORGAN ORCHESTRA

Russ Morgan was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1904 and died in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1969. As a very young man, Russ learned to play the piano and later on the vibes, sax and slide trombone. By the time Russ was twenty-one years old he had done some arrangements for Victor Herbert and John Phillip Sousa, the march king.

Russ also became a songwriter composing several hit songs. “You’re Nobody ’til Somebody Loves You” became a smash hit with Dean Martin singing. “Does Your Heart Beat for me?” became Russ’ theme song. Two other hits he wrote were “So Tired” and “Somebody Else is Taking My Place”. I like all these songs very much.

Russ became an arranger and trombonist for the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. He held a saxophone chair with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Russ was hired as Recording Director of the Brunswick Record Company. He also worked as a studio musician in recording studios and radio stations. He was the staff conductor for NBC and Musical Director for the Phillip Morris and Lifebuoy radio shows.

Following Russ’ recovery from an automobile accident in 1935, he approached his lifelong friend, Freddie Martin, for a job. The two had worked together earlier in the Paul Spect Orchestra. Freddy already had the good musicians, Artie Shaw and Charlie Spivak in his band and hired Russ to play the trombone.

The Martin band was playing at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City. Russ developed his “wah-wah” style of trombone playing while with the Martin band. Freddie Martin’s tag was Music in the Martin Manner.

After Martin turned down a recording date, Russ put together an orchestra and did some recordings. In 1936, when Russ Morgan left the Martin band he used some of Martin’s arrangements when his band was booked at the Biltmore Hotel. Martin was a very nice person, always ready to help a friend so he had okayed the use of his arrangements. Russ’ band tag now became Music in the Morgan Manner. Some of the fine musicians in his orchestra were sidemen Claude Thorn hill on piano and Flip Phillips on tenor sax.

The Russ Morgan band played until 1967. At that time Russ’ son, Jack, became the leader and son, David, joined the band playing the guitar. The Morgan family band with Jack as leader was inducted into the Big Band Hall of Fame in 1997 after 70 years of service and now run by Jack’s son.

Russ had so many great songs it’s hard to narrow the list but I will name a few I enjoy. “I Dream of that Night With You, “I Can’t Begin to Tell You”, “The Object of My Affection”, “There Goes That Song Again”, “Somebody Else is Taking My Place”, “Forever and Ever”, “Cruisin’ Down the River”, “Come Back, Don’t be Blue Anymore”, “I’ve Got a Pocket Full of Dreams”, “Dance With A Dolly”, “The Merry-go-around Broke Down” and “Blue Skirt Waltz”.

SHEP FIELDS AND HIS RIPPLING RHYTHM



Shep Fields (1910-81) had a radio broadcast when I was young. I remember hearing it many times whey I was seven or eight years old. The show began with a sound I thought sounded like someone pouring water from a pitcher into an empty glass. I learned much later that he made this sound by blowing on a straw in a glass of water. This was his “rippling rhythm”. I remember only a few of his songs that I really liked including “Cathedral in the Park”, “In the Chapel”, “This is Worth Following”, “Harlem Noctune”, “South of the Border” and “Thanks for the Memory”.

Sid Ceasar played saxophone in Shep’s Orchestra. Ken Curtis (Gunsmoke’s Festus) sang with Shep’s orchestra. Strange, how it all comes back. I can almost hear the water, now.
STAN KENTON

Stan Kenton was born in Witchita, Kansas in 1912, moving to California with his family in 1917. Stan took fourteen piano lessons from a local pianist, Frank Hurst. Stan played in a quartet at Bell High School in Las Angeles.

In 1930, Stan went on tour to Las Vegas with the Flack Brothers septet. Then, he played with a territory band in Arizona. During 1933-34 he was a pianist with the Everett Hoaglund Orchestra playing at the Rendezvous ballroom in Balboa Beach, California.
He continued to play with a number of bands in the Los Angeles area until 1939. The following year Stan played in the pit band of the Los Angeles production of Earl Carroll’s Vanities.

In 1941, Stan formed a rehearsal band that was booked into the Rendezvous ballroom in Balboa Beach. This band had its first big booking at the Hollywood Palladian. Stan called his band “The Artistry in Rhythm Orchestra”. The band was geared to the needs of dance halls, later changing to a concert type orchestra.

Most of the musicians were young with an average age of twenty-seven. Musicians playing arrangements by Kenton were Shelly Manne, Kai Winding, Buddy Childers, Art Pepper, Bob Cooper and Laurindo Almeida. The vocalists included Chris Conner, Anita O’Day and June Christy. I know very little about which instruments each musician played.

The band quit in 1947 after which Stan made a new start with a new band formed in 1950-52. It was a really big forty-piece orchestra called “Innovations in Modern Music”. He tried to blend jazz and the classical sound together in an odd sort of way. By the end of 1952, he returned to a standard jazz band with a much-reduced orchestra that played into the 1970’s. Stan died in Los Angeles in 1979.

Stan Kenton songs I enjoy hearing include “Just a Sittin’ and a Rockin’”, “Tampico”, “The Peanut Vendor”, “Eager Beaver”, “How Many Hearts Have You Broken”, “A Sunday Kind of Day”, “I Cried for You”, ’Do Nothing ’til I Get There”, “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine”, “It Might as Well Be Spring’s “Lime House Blues” and “Lura”.
TEDDY WILSON ORCHESTRA

Teddy Wilson (1912-86) was a very good pianist whose theme song was “Jumping on the Blacks and Whites”.

Teddy played in a quartet with Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, and Lionel Hampton long before Benny Goodman formed an orchestra. When Benny did form his own orchestra he took along drummer Gene Krupa.

He would have liked to have also taken Teddy Wilson and Lionel Hampton but they were both black men who were not allowed to play in a white orchestra entertaining in the large hotels and ballrooms, nor could they even record at that time. Benny said he once tried to include Billie Holiday in an engagement and was turned down, making him feel badly. He did get to record one song with Billie. After he became famous everyone wanted Benny and he had a booking at a large hotel ballroom. Benny now made history when he told Teddy Wilson they were going to play and if anyone indicates Teddy was not welcome, they would all leave. Teddy was well received, opening the door for Lionel Hampton, another great musician Benny hired later. Benny once called Teddy Wilson the greatest piano player he had ever heard.

Teddy left Benny in 1939 to form his own orchestra, which lasted only about a year. Teddy thought he could do better in a sextet that he formed right away. He had a very successful career in small groups for the duration of his playing days.

It has never been clear to me why Teddy closed his band in 1940 as the band had some great musicians including sidemen Doc Cheatum and Hal Baker on trumpet, Rudy Powell and Ben Webster on saxophone, Al Casey on guitar, Al Hall and Teddy on drums, J.C. Heard on bass and Thelma Carpenter as vocalist. Billie Holiday sang a number of songs with this orchestra. In later years, many of the songs she sang were regarded as hers. Teddy Wilson chose the tunes, hired and paid the musicians. It was his name on the label.

Teddy’s biggest hits are on my list of favorites including “Carelessly”, sung by Billie Holiday, “Where the Lazy River Goes By”, sung by Midge Williams, “My Melancholy Baby” sung by Ella Fitzgerald, “Remember Me”, “Sweet Lorraine”, “Sing, Baby, Sing”, sung by Holiday, “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “You Can’t Stop Me”, “Hallelujah” and these three also sung by Holiday, “Autumn in New York”, “Body and Soul” and “Lover Man”.

VAUGHN MONROE ORCHESTRA

Vaughn Monroe (1912-1973) studied voice at the Carnegie Tech School of Music, as he wanted to be an opera singer.

He was an excellent trumpet player, winning a statewide trumpet contest in Wisconsin after his family had moved there from Ohio. He continued his pursuit of an opera career and once had a part in a small off-Broadway opera.

After the 1929 stock market crash, everything changed. Monroe was forced to quit his studies and started working for different bands.

He formed his own orchestra in 1940 and was booked at Sellers Ten Acres in Boston, Massachutess. Willard Alexander heard him sing and got Vaughn a recording contract with RCA Victor and another booking at the Glen Island Casino near New York. A little later, Vaughn was the host of the Camel Caravan Radio Show.

I saw Vaughn perform in Des Moines in the mid forties. I believe it was at the Val-Air ballroom. His voice is so distinctive; you will never forget it once you hear it. Some people called Vaughn “Old Leather Tonsils” or “The Voice with Muscles“. Also, “The Voice with Hair on its Chest“.

Songs I enjoy are “There I Go”, “Rum and Coca Cola”, “the Trolley Song”, “There, I Said it Again”, “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So”, ‘that Lucky Old Sun”, ‘Mule Train”, “Red Roses For a Blue Lady”, “Riders in the Sky”, “How Soon”, “Ballerina” and “Let’s Get Lost”.

BILLY MAY

Billy May was a great pianist, arranger and trumpet player. May’s pro career started as a twenty-one year old trumpet player with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra. In 1938, he also did arrangements for Charlie. Among the songs he arranged for Barnett was a song that Ray Noble wrote called “Cherokee”, which became Barnett’s greatest hit.

In 1940, he went to the Glenn Miller Orchestra as an arranger and trumpet player. He also did arrangements on the side.

May wrote arrangements for Ray Eberle, Red Nichols, Benny Goodman, Will Bradley and Frank Sinatra. During a session for the Burnished Brass Album, George Shearing was playing the melody of a piece he had wanted Billy to arrange. After one run-through, he started to play the song again and told Billy how he wanted it arranged. Billy said, “Hold it! Take it from the bridge as I have that much already arranged”.

One member of the Stan Freberg TV program said Billy is the only man I know of who could conduct a full orchestra and chorus while he was stoned. His drinking was out of control but his arrangements were great.

After Glenn Miller left to form an Army band Billy was never out of work. He could be heard on the radio playing for Red Skelton, Ozzie and Harriet and Bing Crosby. He also did arrangements for Les Brown, Alvino Rey and Woody Herman. When Capitol Records was formed, Billy was hired as the music director. He wrote and directed for many stars including Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. He did many arrangements for Frank as well as conducting and producing some of his biggest hits.

In 1951, Billy formed an orchestra but the big band era had come to an end. The Billy May Orchestra was well drilled in playing danceable tunes. The band had some good sidemen including Murry McEachern, Ted Nash and Alvin Stoller.

It has been said that May was a happy soul who didn’t drink, but poured. This didn’t affect his work. Billy told his musicians, “No drinking off the job”. Happy Billy.

Billy formulated a technique that voiced the reeds section in thirds, creating what has been described as a slurping saxophone.

Some songs this band played that I like are “Lean Baby” and “Fatman Boogie” written by Mays, “All of Me”, “Lulu’s Back in Town”, “Charmaine” and “When My Sugar Walks Down the Street”.

May was the only leader who had hit albums in the big band style in 1951-54. He sold the band to Ray Anthony in 1954 and began doing arrangements for Frank Sinatra.
AL TRACE ORCHESTRA

Al Trace was a bandleader, vocalist, and composer and played the piano and drums. He formed his first band for a booking at France’s “Streets of Paris” Pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933. Prior to this time he had been playing drums and singing in small bands around the Chicago area.

After the fair closed, Al began a successful booking at Chicago’s Black Rock Restaurant followed by a three-year stay at the Sherman Hotel. About 1940, I remember listening to the band’s funny radio show, It Pays To Be Ignorant.

Trace was making recordings with the Mercury Record Company, MGM, Columbia and Damon Recording Studios, Inc. of Kansas City, Missouri. All the labels claimed to be the original Al Trace recordings. The band was very popular, being booked into the best dancing and dining spots in Chicago and New York.

Al Trace wrote over three hundred songs. These are the songs I enjoy that take me back to radio days: “You Call Everybody Darling”, “If I Knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked a Cake”, “Sweet Words”, “Mairzy Doats”, “Wishing”, “Brush Those Tears From Your Eyes”, all written by Trace. Also, “I Wake Up With a Heartache”, “I Had My Heart Set on You”, “One More Beer”, “Pretty Eyed Baby”, “Mexican Rose” and “Sioux City Sue”. Al was the first to introduce “Sioux City Sue” in a radio broadcast of 1945.

Al Trace disbanded in the early 1950’s, went to California, opened a talent agency and also promoted his recordings.
WAYNE KING

Wayne King (1901-85) was a bandleader known as The Waltz King. He played the saxophone. The only waltz song I remember that he played was his theme song, “The Waltz You Saved for Me”.

It was in the late 1930’s when I first heard King’s radio show, The Lady Esther Serenade. Lady Esther was a well-known cosmetic company. He played the sax while someone read poetry. The show would not be very popular today but I understand King earned $15,000 a week, which would be roughly equal to $255,000 in today’s money.

King wrote a song “Goofus”. In the 1940’s King had another radio show and formed a band. The band had some big bookings as they toured. He had a TV show in 1949, but we did not have a TV until 1951. Wayne King ended the TV show in 1952. I don’t recall the waltz as being a big item with him. I do remember these songs:” Goodnight, Sweetheart”, “I Don’t Know Why I Just Do”, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, “Josephine”, “Maria Elena”, ‘Adorable” and “Wabash Moon”.

Much of King’s music I remember and like is for ballroom dancing, like Guy Lombardo’s music.
CHARLIE BARNET BAND

Charlie Barnet (1913-91) came from a wealthy family and studied to be a lawyer. He decided he preferred music and became a bandleader, vocalist and saxophone player. Barnet became one of the most musical and faithful to jazz of any of the big band era white leaders. He played in a small Red Norvo Quartet with Teddy Wilson and Artie Shaw.

In 1937 he formed his own band that included some black musicians including Frankie Newton and John Kirby. Later, Billy May joined them playing trumpet and doing arrangements. May did an arrangement of Ray Noble’s “Cherokee” that became Charlie’s biggest hit.

Charlie didn’t have any great sideman for soloing but he had very good players like Billy May. The band was known for swing dance music at its best.

My favorite songs are “Cherokee”, “Pompton Turnpike”, “The Count’s Idea”, ‘Smiles”, “I Hear a Rhapsody”, “Charleston Alley”, “Where Was I”, “The Dukes Idea”, “The Right Idea”, “Redskin Rumba”, “Sky Liner”, “That Old Black Magic”, “Cement Mixer” and “The Wrong Idea”.

This band really loved to swing. If you saw the name of Charlie Barnet on the list in the old jukebox, you would just put a nickel in and get ready to move on out.

FRANCIS CRAIG BAND

Francis Craig (1900--1966) was a pianist, vocalist and composer.

Around 1940 I remember having heard Craig on his radio show that I think was called The Francis Craig Radio Show. I know I liked the music. It was not broadcast nationally, only heard in the Midwest.

In 1947 Craig became nationally famous with just one song he wrote called “Near You”. It quickly became number one on the charts and stayed right up there for four months. The next year his song, “I Beg Your Pardon”, was the number three song on the charts for fourteen weeks. Bob Lamm was the vocalist and Francis Craig was the pianist for both songs.

Craig wrote other great songs including ‘A Broken Heart Must Cry”, “Foolin”, “Tennessee Tango” and “Do Me a Favor”.

Francis worked into the 1960’s before dying in 1966.
SI ZENTNER AND TED WEEMS

Si Zenther
Si was born in 1917. He played the trombone with the Van Alexander Band. He is probably best known for his trombone playing with the Les Brown Orchestra in the forties. He also played with Abe Lyman and the Jimmie Dorsey Orchestra. Si was on call with the major Hollywood studios and had worked at MGM as a staff musician. He launched his big band much too late in the big band era. He played two songs I like including “Up a Lazy River and “On the Road to My Heart”.

Ted Weems
Ted Weems (1901-63) played the trombone at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a student. He formed a small band that played in a Philadelphia café for a year. His early hit was “Somebody Stole My Gal”.

He toured the Midwest and got radio exposure with a novelty hit, “Piccolo Pete”. “Was Out of the Night” was his theme song. All of these songs were hits: “Heartaches” in 1933, “Oh, Mona”, “The Martins and McCoys” and “The One Man Band”.

In 1933 he worked on the Fibber McGee and Molly radio show. During 1940-41, he was with Garry Moore’s Beat the Band show. He served in the WW11 Merchant Marines in 1942.

He formed a band in 1945 and had ten hits on the posted charts by 1947. “Heartaches” was number one and the following re-issues also became hits: “Piccolo Pete”, “Oh, Mona”, “Mickey” and “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now”. The band did well until 1952. Mentioning these songs certainly brings back old memories.

Ivie Anderson
I don’t know any of his history. I do know he played one song I like, “Mexico Joe”.

BIG BAND ERA’S BEST SIDEMEN
Who later formed their own bands

Buddy Morrow
Buddy Morrow, born in 1919, was a great trombone player who played with Paul Whiteman, Eddy Duchin, Artie Shaw, Vincent Lopez, Bunny Berrigan, Tommy Dorsey, and Jimmy Dorsey. As the big band era was coming to an end he formed a band. Songs of his that I like include “A Hundred Years From Now”, “Scatter Brain”, “Night Train”, “Corrine Corrina”, “Beat Me Daddy 8 to the Bar”, and “Hey, Mrs. Jones”.

Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman was born in 1897. He was a bandleader in the 1930’s and 1940’s. I remember on song, “Amen”, I liked to hear.

Joe Liggins
I don’t know much about Joe except that in the 1940’s he played a song I like called “Got a Right to Cry”.

Billy Butterfield
Billy was born in 1917. He was a great trumpet player who played with Bob Crosby, Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman. He served in the U.s. Army, went with the Eddie Condon band and formed his own band in late 1940. He had two songs I like. They are “My Ideal” and his best, “Moonlight in Vermont”.
CLYDE MC COY
AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Clyde McCoy (1913-90) was best known for his theme song, “Sugar Blues”. He was sometimes called Clyde “Sugar Blues” McCoy.

He was a master of the trumpet, developing a very distinctive “wah-wah”sound by the use of a mute on the bell of the horn. This sound is amplified in his first big hit of 1931, “Sugar Blues”.

Columbia records sold several million “Sugar Blues” records. Later, Decca Records released another version of the song and sold at least a million more records.

Other hits of Clyde’s include “Smoke Rings”, “Wah Wah Lament”, “The Goona Goo”, “The Cool of the Night”, “Tear it Down” and “Basin Street Blues”.

I have enjoyed all these songs but “Sugar Blues” is my favorite.

GENE KRUPA ORCHESTRA

Gene Krupa (1909-73) was a drummer and bandleader. Gene studied musically formally with several different teachers after his family discouraged him from preparing for the priesthood.

He was influenced musically by listening to such New Orleans jazz drummers Tubby Hall, Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton. While still a teenager, he began playing in dance bands like Al Gale and Joe Kayser.

Gene made his first record with a band formed by Eddie Condon but fronted by Red McKenzie. In 1927 Gene was the first drummer to use a bass drum and tom-toms. The recording engineers were afraid the drum reverberations would lift the recording stylus from the wax disc.

In 1929 the top Chicago musicians, Eddy Condon and Gene Krupa, moved to New York City. It was tough going during the depression years. Krupa often played in theater pit bands led by Red Nichols and other sidemen such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. In the early 1930’s Gene found work in the bands of Buddy Rogers and Russ Colombo.

In 1934 Gene joined Benny Goodman’s new orchestra. He helped some in forming the bands distinctive sound and encouraged all the musicians to do their best. In 1935 when Benny Goodman’s orchestra became a huge success Krupa’s fame was assured. There was certain empathy between Krupa and Benny that brought out the best in each other.

Gene’s rhythm work lifted the Goodman Orchestra to a higher level. Later, Gene spoke of his delight in playing with Benny.

From 1937, it was Gene Krupa and Dave Touch who played dominant roles in stabilizing the standard drum set known as the full set. It contained the bass drum, snare drum, tom-tom, floor tom, high hat and two to four suspended cymbals.

Krupa is probably the man most responsible for making the drum a popular instrument to solo during the big band era. His work on “Sing, Sing, Sing” may be the best example.

Not long after the famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, Benny and Gene quarreled and Krupa left the Goodman band to form his own orchestra.

The quickly formed band opened at the Marine Ballroom in Atlantic City’s Steel Pier. They had some initial success and continued to grow. The theme song was “Drum Boogie”. In 1941 the band’s popularity jumped after Krupa added vocalist Anita Day and sideman trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

Their success did not last long. Krupa was arrested in a San Francisco drug bust, found guilty at trial and was sentenced to a one to six year sentence before being released on bail pending appeal.

He returned to New York and rejoined the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Krupa opted to stay behind when Benny took the band on an extended coast-to-coast tour, fearing the public would react badly toward him and by extension to the Benny band.

Krupa joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra for an engagement at New York’s Paramount Theater where he received a tumultuous welcome as he entered the stage. This act proved to be an emotional milestone in his rehabilitation. When his sentence was overturned on appeal, a judge ruled that all charges against him had been filed improperly. Krupa left Dorsey and formed a new band.

The new Krupa band had a slow start so he didn’t know if he should try to lead the band from the drummers throne much like Chuck Webb’s style, or if he should front the band and wave a baton. Krupa had a rocky start due to some relationship problems with his musicians. Krupa had just come from well-disciplined Tommy Dorsey band. Krupa was annoyed with his musicians because they had not quickly fallen into line. He was the boss and let the band know it. He was effective as a public personality but not really as a bandleader. Krupa’s band eventually began to work out their problems.

One night when the band was playing an overnight gig, the ballroom owner told him that it wasn’t necessary for every single tune to have a drum solo. This was eye-opening news for Krupa.

The Krupa band was very successful throughout the 1940’s until disbanding in 1951. Krupa thereafter played in quartets and operated a drum school with fellow drummer, William “Cozy” Cole.

The 1960’s often found him at reunions of the Goodman Quartet along with Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson before his health failed. He died in 1973.

Songs I like to hear include “Drum Boogie”, “Chickery Chick”, “Swanee River”, “Ball of Fire”, “Rocking Chair” and “Full Dress Hop”.
LOUIS PRIMA ORCHESTRA

Louis Prima (1911-78) was an excellent trumpet player, composer and bandleader. He started working as a teenager in a theater in his birthplace of New Orleans.

Around 1930 he formed a band called Louis Prima and His New Orleans Gang. The group had a good bunch of sidemen who loved to play including Eddy Miller, Nappy Lamare, Ray Bauduc, Sidney Arodin, George Brunis and, of course, Louis with his hot trumpet. This was a true Dixieland jazz band that loved to swing. Early in the 1930’s the band was broadcasting on a radio station based in New Orleans. By 1935 the big bands were hot but this small band was very popular.

Louis Prima had been writing songs before 1935. He had become well known for his writing “Sing, Sing, Sing” as a vocal for Helen Ward, a famous vocalist. The song was originally written as a three minute song until drummer Gene Krupa added five minutes to it when playing with Benny Goodman’s Orchestra. Since it was now an eight-minute song it would not fit on one side of a 78-rpm record.

Louis played the top ballrooms, hotels and large clubs. His band was very well booked until nearly the end of the big band era. Louis turned to pop music and continued on.

In 1954 Louis’ wife, Keely Smith, became a big hit singing in Las Vegas casinos and large restaurants with her supper club act.

Songs Louis played and that I still enjoy hearing include “Jump, Jive and Wail”, “Bell Bottom Trousers”, “You and the Night”, “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans”, “I Could Have Danced all Night”, “Bourbon Street Blues”, “I Ain’t Got Nobody”, “I Got it Bad and that Ain’t Good”, “Hey Boy, Hey Girl”, “When the Saints Go Marching In”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “I’m in the Mood for Love”.

The jazz swing movement in the year 2000 was in part brought on because of Louis Prima’s work.

LES BROWN
And His Band Of Renown

Lester Raymond “Les” Brown was raised in Tower City, Pennsylvania. His father, R. W., was a baker and a musician. Les said, “My father’s love was music but he was a baker so we could eat”.

R.W. played soprano sax in a quartet that performed the popular music of the day, the Marches of John Philip Sousa. Since Sousa was known as the March King, R.W. earned the title of the March Prince. Les was taught to play the sax very early in life. By the age of nine Les joined his first band using R.W.’s soprano sax.

When Les was fourteen years old he was a seasoned professional. He formed a band called The Royal Sereatad Ore. His beginning theme song was “Leap Frog” and the ending theme song was “Sentimental Journey”.

Although the sax remained his main interest, Les’ studied and mastered the classical clarinet at the Ithaca Conservatory of Music. Later, Les was quoted as saying, “Well, I ended playing the clarinet after listening to Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey and Woody Herman and decided I was not in their class as a soloist and never would be”.

After finishing at the conservatory Les enrolled at Duke University and performed with the “Blue Devils Band for four years. Les led this band during his junior and senior years at college. The final performance with the Blue Devils was in 1936 at Budd Lake, N.J., which was the hometown of Georgia Claire De Wolfe who was to become Les’ wife in 1938.

In 1937 Les moved to New York, N.Y. where he worked as an arranger for Jimmy Dorsey and Isham Jones.

In 1938 he found a good band but the leader was having problems getting bookings. It was Joe Haymes’, again. The same Joe Haymes where Tommy Dorsey, with Glenn Miller’s help, got his first band. Les booked this band for an engagement at Hotel Edison on Broadway in 1938 and soon signed a recording contract with Blue Bird Records. Two years later, the band was playing the Arcadia Ballroom and deputizing for Charlie Barnet at the Lincoln Hotel. During this time, Brown lured vocalist Doris Day away from Bob Crosby’s band. She didn’t stay with Brown too long before quitting but re-joined the band in 1943.

Les Brown’s music can best be described as easy swing dance music. Brown’s Orchestra has been famous for this style right up to this day in 2003. Les Brown, Jr, now leads this orchestra.

In 1941, Les Brown’s first hit song, “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio” was while the New York Yankees and their great hitter, Joe DiMaggio were at their peak. The song was at the top at the jukeboxes.

In 1942 Les’ band was on the radio broadcasting for Coca Cola. In 1943, Doris Day was back with Les and her first big hits were recorded including “You Won’t Be Satisfied”, “Til You Break My Heart” and “Sentimental Journey”.

Vocalist Betty Hutton had her great hit, “Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief” while she was with Les’ group in 1945.

In 1946 Les folded the Band of Renown before he remembered he still had a contract to play the Hollywood Palladium in March of 1947. He reformed the band to honor the commitment and was promptly hired as resident orchestra for Bob Hope’s weekly radio show, remaining in that position after Bob moved his show to television.

Les Brown’s orchestras toured the world with Bob Hop on the comedians many trips to entertain U.S. troops stationed overseas. A 1949 recorded concert tour with Bob Hope and Doris Day broke all sales records. Brown continued entertaining the troops with Bob Hope for many years.

These are the songs I like best: “Sentimental Journey”, “Ain’t She Sweet”, “it Could Happen to You”, “Leap Frog”, “I Only Have Eyes for You”, “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles”, “Undecided”, “That Old Black Magic”, “Satin Doll”, “Drop Me Off in Harlem”, “They Can’t Take that Away From Me” and “If Dreams Come True”.

RALPH FLANAGAN

Ralph Flanagan was born in 1919 in Loraine, Ohio. He was a bandleader, arranger and piano player.

He arranged for Charlie Barnet, Blue Barron, Gene Krupa, Tony Pastor and Sammy Kaye in 1940. Ralph supported vocalist Tony Martin and Mindy Carson and did arrangements and writings for the Perry Como Supper Club radio show.

Ralph served with the Merchant Marines during WWII. Following his discharge he returned to doing arrangements. In 1949 he formed his own orchestra with young musicians and was very successful in making recordings, club bookings and radio spots.

He continued to do well playing the Glenn Miller sound of music long after 1950.

Songs I like are “I‘m Getting Sentimental Over You“, “Where or When“, “Some Enchanted Evening“, “Moon over Miami“, “On the Beat“, “Smoke Dreams“, “If I Loved You“, “St. Louis Blues“, “Good-bye“ and “Make Believe.

Ralph played these songs into the seventies.

FREDDY MARTIN

Freddy Martin (1906-83) was best known for playing the saxophone but did play drums in the orphanage where he grew up. While attending Ohio State University, he played the saxophone with a group of students working clubs and school dances. At the same time he was working in a Cleveland music shop.

After hearing Guy Lombardo’s band Freddy tried to sell Guy some instruments but Guy didn’t need any at that time. They did become friends and Guy heard Freddy’s band. When Guy had a booking he couldn’t make he asked Freddy to fill in for him and Freddy’s career had begun.

Freddy had a good vocalist, Helen Ward, who sang regularly with the band. Buddy Clark, who had a great voice, so soft and smooth, also sang with the band. He was one of my favorite male vocalists.

Freddy called his orchestra Music in the Martin Manner. Later, his friend Russ Morgan asked if he would care if he used the slogan with his new orchestra, calling it Music in the Morgan Manner and Freddy agreed to the proposal. I have often heard and read that everyone liked Freddy. I do know how much he helped Russ Morgan and I also know how much Guy Lombardo helped Freddy. Freddy led Guy Lombardo’s band in 1977 when Guy was hospitalized.

These are some of his songs I enjoy hearing. “Tonight We Love”, “Scatter Brain”, “Dream”, “Bumble Boogie”, “I’ll be Tired of You”, “Hut Hut Song”, “Flight of the Bumble Bee”, “Dance Boogie”, “Warsaw Concerto”, “From Twilight to Dawn”, “Symphony” and “To Each His Own”.

He played for the following movies. Mayor of 42nd Street in 1942, Hit Parade, Seven Days Leave, Stage Door Canteen and What’s Buzzin’ Cousin in 1943, and Melody Time in 1948.

SAM DONAHUE

Sam Donahue (1918-74) was an arranger, bandleader and played the tenor sax. He led a small band in the 1930’s but it didn’t work out so he went to work for Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Harry James. Next, he formed a new band in 1940, producing a hit on Blue Bird, “Do You Care” sung by Irene Day.

Sam joined the navy and took over Artie Shaw’s navy band. He made a few recordings with the Navy band and some have been released on CD’s called Convoy and LST Party by Sam Donahue.

Following his stint in the Navy, he formed a new band and had hits with “Robin Nest”, “Saxophone Boogie” and “My Melancholy Baby. The hits were in 1946-48. Later hits were “Put that Kiss Back Where You Found It” and “I Never Knew”.

In 1954, Sam took over the Billy May band and let it for he Ray Anthony Organization.

HAL MCINTYRE ORCHESTRA

I don’t know a whole lot about Hal’s early history but I do know he formed a small band in his hometown of Cromwell, Connecticut. Hal was a great sideman on saxophone playing with Benny Goodman for about two weeks as a temporary replacement. Then he became a sideman for the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late 1930’s. With Miller’s help and encouragement, Hal formed an orchestra in 1941.

Glenn Miller had furnished money to start the band for a booking at the Glen Island Casino. The band was well received and consequently booked into many top spots including the Commodore Hotel in New York, the Sherman Hotel in Chicago, the Palladium Ballroom in Hollywood and the Meadowbrook Club in New Jersey. The band played for President Roosevelt’s birthday party in 1945 at the Slater Hotel.

The band played into the 1950’s. These are the 1940’s songs I remember: “Grand Central Station”, “This is the Army”, “Ecstasy”, “Moon mist”, and the big hit of 1945, “Sentimental Journey”.

JAN SAVITT AND HIS TOP HATTERS

Jan was born in Petrograd, Russia in 1914. He came to America the year of the stock market crash in 1929. Jan studied violin from the time he could hold the instrument. After winning scholarships for playing and conducting at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, he became the youngest musician to ever play with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. He was the concertmaster under Leopold Stokowski, worked for CBS and radio station KYW.

I remember him from my early radio days. He formed a band for the radio show, playing the classics as well as popular music. I recall one vocalist, Gloria Dehaven, who worked for Jan and later became a famous movie star. I have seen many of her movies.

Jan played many classic songs as well as popular tunes I have enjoyed. One song I recall was “When Buddha Smiled” and another was named “720 in the Book”. I later learned he didn’t have a name for the song that was 720 in the book, hence the title. Jan’s theme song was “Quaker City Jazz’.

The truly great musician died of a stroke in 1948.

ART MOONEY

Art Mooney (1911-93) began playing the sax at the age of sixteen. The 1947 hit song, “I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover”, that he played on MGM in 1947 is the one I most remember. It must be my Irish blood.

ART TATUM

I know nothing about Art except that in the 1940’s he had a hit song, “Hold that Tiger”, that played on the jukebox for a while. I also recall his “Tea for Two”.

BUDDY GRECO

All I know of Buddy is that he played one well-known song, “Rose of Picardo”, in the 1940’s.

CLAUDE THORNHILL ORCHESTRA

Claude Thornhill (1909-65) studied music at the Cincinnati Conservatory in Ohio. His first job was with the Austin Wylie band after clarinetist Artie Shaw had gotten him the job. Later, Claude played piano for Hal Kemp, Freddy Martin and Ray Noble. He started his own band in 1940. I remember Claude for these three songs: “A Sunday Kind of Love”, “Snowfall” and “Robin’s Nest”.

BILL ELLIOT ORCHESTRA

I remember Bill for three songs that played in the 1940’s but I have no history to report. The songs are “Tain’t What You do It’s How You do It”, “Tonight I’m Going Out” and “Swing on Nothing”.

FRANKIE VALLI ORCHESTRA

I remember one good song of Frankie’s, “My Eyes Adored You”.

COUNT BASIE

Count Basie (1904-84) was a jazz pianist and bandleader. Basie learned at a very early age to play the piano by his mother who was a music teacher. But it was in Harlem that he learned the rudiments of ragtime, stride piano and the organ from his good friend, Fats Waller.

Basie started his professional career in vaudeville acts while on tour. After he was stranded in Kansas City in 1928 Basie was the house organist in a movie theater for a short time before joining Walter Page’s Blue Devils. When that band broke up in 1929 Basie was hired as a pianist for Bennie Moten’s band. Five years later Basie was chosen to head the band following Moten’s death. He led the band for a very short time to finish the remaining commitments of the band.

Songs of Basie’s I like are “I Ain’t Got Nobody”, “Mister Five by Five”, “Blue Sentimental”, “Blue Skies”, “The Mad Boogie” and “Shiny Stockings”. Basie’s instrumentals I favor are “Jumping at the Woodside”, “Basie Boogie”, “One O’clock Jump” and “Spring is Here”.



















 






















































































































































 

# posted by Caren @ 8:40 PM