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NFO.NET BIG BANDS DATABASE PLUS
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| DATABASES | ARCHIVES | RESOURCES | INSTRUCTION | CONTACT US |
| American Band's Alphabetical Index |
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NFO.NET BIG BANDS DATABASE PLUS
A W rld of Information!
U.S.A.
|
| DATABASES | ARCHIVES | RESOURCES | INSTRUCTION | CONTACT US |
| American Band's Alphabetical Index |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
 [ Buddy Cole Orch ]
b: Dec 15, 1916, Irvine IL, USA. d: Nov 5, 1964, Hollywood, CA, USA. "In the early 1950's I bought this Decca 45 of Bing Crosby. I'll never forget; the two songs were, 'In A Little Spanish Town,' and 'Old Man River.' I like Crosby alright, but the combo on this 45 was so fun! The group almost swung poor Bing right off the sides. I do believe it was that sound, by that combo, lead by Buddy Cole, that first motivated me to play music." " ---Harrison Jordon, 1992. Cole was a pianist that freelanced mostly for recordings and movie studios during the 1940's and '50's. His work in Hollywood led to friendships with Bing Crosby, Phil Harris, Hoagy Carmichael and Tony Martin, all of which had Cole appear on their radio or TV programs. "What can I say about Buddy, - he was my brother in-law. [Alvino Rey's orchestra featured
On April 25, 1909, a sailor serving on the U. S. Navy's USS Tennessee, sent a postcard home advising that he "Heard Patrick Conway's Band at Idora park in Oakland (California) last night." Here's an excerpt from a Willow Grove Park Concert Program, June 3rd, 1923:
A leader of "Brass Bands", Conway nevertheless recorded a great many Popular tunes of the day, -probably well over a hundred.
Most of his long career was as a sideman for such leaders as; Willie Bryant, (the suave, Un-Official Mayor of Harlem), Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong. Even before these, Cozy had played with Benny Carter's first (and un-successful) band. That band also had such un-known names as Teddy Wilson (piano); Chu Berry (tenor sax) and a young trombonist named Dickie Wells. Almost with complete silence, Cozy broke many of the racial barriers in music. He was the first black musician on a network musical staff. CBS radio hired him to work with Raymond Scott in 1943. In 1985, Scott recalled, "Cozy was the most professional musician I've ever worked with." Cozy played a wildly rhythmic drum solo in the stage show "Carmen Jones" in 1943 saying, "I think I'm the only drummer to have been featured in a big Broadway show with his name on the program." In 1944, Benny Goodman and Cozy lead a small group at the Onyx Club in New York. His band began to tour and occasionally recorded. In the short times between the touring, Cozy also went off as a soloist to tour Europe along side Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines. In 1953, Gene Krupa and Cozy formed The Krupa And Cole Drum School in New York. "The more you study," Cozy said, "the more you find out you don't know; but the more you study, the closer you come." The school was a great success and remained in operation until Krupa's death in 1973. The Cozy Cole Combo played the Metropole in New York and recorded a million selling version of "Topsy" in 1958. His group also recorded other notable tunes such as, "Jersey Jump-Off," "Willow Weep For Me," and "Night Wind." During the 1960's he joined up with his long time friend Jonah Jones. Jones and Cozy played with Stuff Smith and Cab Calloway in the early days and reunited to tour and record. The team remained active throughout the 1970's. In 1978 Cozy was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Musical Arts at Capital University in Columbus. After his retirement, Cozy gained his degree at the same college in lecturer studies. Cozy Cole died at the age of 71 in Columbus January 31, 1981. "Cozy was like my brother. He was the most wonderful person I ever met. I first met him in 1936. I was new to New York and Cozy, being from New Jersey, showed me all around. In those days Harlem was full of great musicians and I was having a difficult time, because no one knew me. But old Cozy, he saw to it that I was offered jobs. One time Teddy Wilson offered Cozy a gig to record with some new singer. Cozy told Teddy that he would only take the job if Teddy hired me. That was how nice Cozy was. When Cozy and I got down there with Teddy, we met Johnny Hodges and that young singer's name was Billie Holiday. Cozy was one of a kind. There'll never be another Cozy, that is for sure." ---Jonah Jones, 1996.
For a short while Russ led a good dance band that had a few jazz-oriented sidemen, such as Gene Krupa. Unfortunately, one cannot tell from this film clip, but Russ' singing voice was quite unique and he became the darling of the ladies. His fame might well have surpassed Bing Crosby's had he lived. He is remembered today only for his crooning, not for his fiddle playing or his band. He was a very big part of that moment in time when the art of Crooning arose. The public went wild over such crooners as Gene Austin, Russ Columbo, Bing Crosby, Nick Lucas, Johnny Marvin, and Rudy Vallee. Prior to the invention of the microphone, all singers had to have powerful voices. If a singer could not be clearly heard in the back rows of a theater, he would be booed off the stage. But with a microphone and amplifier, it became possible to 'croon' softly into a microphone and be clearly heard everywhere in the house. Columbo disliked the label, but it caught on with the general public. Crooning gained popular credence, despite its initial use as a term of derision for the singers employing their low, soothing voices in romantic songs. By 1928, at just age 20, Columbo began working in motion pictures. It is interesting to note that in several of his early films, his voice and violin were overdubbed creating the illusion that the stars of the films were musical. Eventually, of course, he did Star in his own right. For a while, Columbo tried to run a nightclub but the venture was unsuccessful. In 1931, he traveled to New York with his manager, songwriter Con Conrad. who secured a late-night radio slot with NBC for Russ. This led to numerous engagments, a recording contract with Victor records, and tremendous popularity with legions of mostly female fans. Columbo was on the road to becoming a motion picture star when, in 1934, a fatal accident cut short his career. Russ (then the fiancé of actress Carole Lombard- she called him "the "love of my life"), was visiting a friend who used a set of ancient dueling pistols as paper-weights. Thinking the guns to be unloaded, his friend struck a match against one of the pistols while lighting a cigarette. When the gun fired, the bullet ricocheted off a desk striking Russ Columbo in the head. During his brief, spectacular four year career - 1931-34 - Columbo appeared in three full length feature films, and had a hand in writing several songs. Virtually all of Russ' recordings became some of the most popular songs of the early 1930's. Among his best-known recordings are:
After leaving Brown's orchestra, Comstock settled in Hollywood, where he found work arranging and conducting for the studios. Among the stars with whom he worked are Rosemary Clooney; Doris Day; Doris day; and Margaret Whiting. His radio and television work included composing the 'McHale's Navy' show theme song. Here's an early photo of the Clooney Sisters, Rosemary is on the Right side. In the late 1950's, he worked with the 'Hi Lo's', a critically acclaimed vocal group. In the late 1960's, he led the orchestra for the Jimmy Roger's variety show. But fans will always remember him for his "Music from Outer Space," probably the best known of all the 'space music' genre albums. Among his recordings are:
Zez completed his music training at the Chicago Musical College, where he studied the piano. After graduation, he worked at a number of different projects, including cutting a great many 'music rolls' for then popular player-pianos. During WW1, Zez served in the military service, and after his discharge, he adopted the name "Zez" and often found work in the radio studios. He also fronted his own 20 piece band, which continued introducing his songs well into the 1930's. It was at the historic Paul Whiteman Aeolian Hall Concert, where in Feb. 12, 1924 George Gershwin's famed "Rhapsody in Blue" had it initial public performance, that Zez also performed his own composition "Kitten on the Keys". During the 1930's, Confrey recorded for record labels such as Banner; Brunswick, and Victor. In 1922, his most successful composition "Stumbling" (he wrote both words and music), was recorded by Bob Crosby and his Bob Cats and also recorded by Joe "Fingers" Carr, among many others. This song was again revived in the 1967 film 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' that starred Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews. Among Confrey's compositions are:
Zez disbanded in the late 1930's, and devoted his remaining years to songwriting. He was 77 years old, when he died at his Lakewood (NJ) home.
Cook led several bands in Detroit. 'Cookie and His Ginger Snaps' was one, but Cook would leave Detroit and make Chicago his home, touring widely over the Midwest., in Chicago, Cook earned a bachelor's degree from the Chicago College of Music (not the American Conservatory, as some state ). In 1926, he earned his doctorate from the same institution, studying under William Abbott and composing a classical work called "Pro Arte" in fulfillment of his dissertation requirements. He thus became one of the first African Americans to receive a doctoral degree in music, and thenceforth billed himself as "Doc" Cook. After earhing his Phd, his band was known as the "14 Doctors of Syncopation". In the early world of Jazz, the "Doc" appellation was quite common, but Cook was one of the few musicians who could claim it legitimately. While greatly forgotten now, "Doc" had several bands during his lifetime, but is probably best remembered as the leader of the Dreamland Ballroom Orchestra, on the West side of Chicago, IL. Here's a publicity photograph showing the personnel of "Doc" Cook's Dreamland Orch., and here's a somewhat larger view of the whole Dreamland Ballroom Orchestra, shown at the center of the above photo. "Paddy" Harmon ran the Dreamland - an interesting combination of ballroom and roller skate rink. A kid could skate at "Paddy's" for a few cents and his parents didn't have to worry about him. Paddy expected everyone to "keep their nose clean". Cook's Dreamland Orchestra nurtured many of the old New Orleans Jazzmen who moved up to Chicago, and at various times, such stars as cornetists Freddie Keppard and George Mitchell, alto saxophonist Joe Poston, tenor saxophonist Jerome Don Pasquall, Clarinetist and alto saxophonist Jimmie Noone, banjoist Johnny St. Cyr, and drummers Zutty Singleton and Andrew Hilaire all worked for Cook. Jazz musician Billy Butler, talking about Cook at the height of his career in the mid-1920s once told interviewers: "When I joined him in Chicago, he already had an office in the State-Lake Building, and was doing overtures for important theatres, and a lot of orchestrations that were published widely." Butler also recalled Cook a skilled keyboard player, on the organ as well as the piano. Another Cook alumnus was trombonist William Dawson, who went on to a career as director of Alabama's famed Tuskegee Singers and who created many of the best-known modern arrangements of African-American spirituals. Cook was on friendly terms with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra of Kansas City, and did some arranging for them. Here's Doc and his Dreamland Orchestra playing the Isham Jones and Gus Kahn composition "The One I Love Belongs To Someone Else", as digitally re-engineered from the original Jan. 21, 1924 Gennett recording. Like so many others, Cook's band folded under the crunch of the Great Depression. In later life he suffered a stroke and was cared for by his former bandmate Butler. Modern listeners think of Jazz as music starting in New Orleans, during the 1890s-1910s, and then moving north to Chicago, IL. in the 1920s. The narrative usually goes on to state that Jazz was invented by African-American musicians in New Orleans, who expanded on such grassroots musical forms as the marching Brass bands, and the funeral procession bands, creating a new genre that would in time produce powerful soloists such as trumpeter Louis Armstrong and displacing the polished music of non-jazz dance bands. Charles "Doc" Cook led one of those 1920s non-Jazz dance bands. Although a Dance band leader, Cook's orchestras incubated many of the important Jazz players who had moved north from New Orleans. His recordings show Cook's group as an ensemble that could play many different kinds of music, Jazz included.
In 1898, Will composed music for the All-Negro show "Clorindy" (which opened in both New York City and London, England). Will was the leader of the Southern Syncopaters orchestra (all-Black) which, in 1919, toured the U.S. and Europe. (This was actually the James Reese Europe Orch., which Will took over when Reese was murdered - by the drummer. The band had Sidney Bechet and 16 banjos.) At another time, this orchestra was fronted by Sidney Bechet, who toured Europe with the band under the invitation of the great Swiss Conductor, Ernst Ansermet. Will composed such songs as, "I'm Coming Virginia", "Mandy Lou", and "Mammy".
In 1924, the Nighthawks became resident at Chicago's prestigious Blackhawk Restaurant. It was a duplication of their Muehlebach engagement. They were hugely successful and also were heard broadcasting from the restaurant. The broadcasts from the Blackhawk made them even more popular. Here's how the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, looked. Mr Leonard Schwarz has kindly sent along these interesting photos including the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks and then Another Photo. and then this very rare photo of Carlton Coon. Here is a 1925 photo of the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, which which author Fred Edmiston, in his book "The Coon-Sanders Nighthawks" has identified as (L-R): Bill Haid, John Thiell, Joe Richolson, Joe Sanders, Carleton Coon, Orville Knapp, Harold Thiell, Nick Musolino, and Pop Estep at Niles, Michigan in 1925. (Photos Courtesy of Mr. Leonard Schwartz - all rights reserved.) (It is said that a 4 year old Mel Torme sung with the band.) After their Blackhawk stay, they took the then usual tour of one-nighters. In 1931, the band opened in New York City. They again scored a smash hit, but this time tragedy was waiting in the wings. On the way to becoming one of the most sought after and successful of bands, Carlton Coon died as a result of a jaw infection caused by a diseased tooth. Sanders disbanded and the Nighthawks became a part of American Band history.
NOTES:
Coon died in May 1932, and in 1932, Joe Sanders started a band of his own. Here's a photo that one our site visitors, Mr. Aaron Z. Snyder, has identified as Joe Sanders and His Orchestra.. Vocalist Jane Kaye, was part of the band. . While it was an excellent orchestra, the Joe Sanders Band never achieved the fame of the Coon-Sanders aggregation. It only lasted briefly. Joe, "The Old Left-Hander" (a sobriquet left over from his youthful days as a minor league pitcher), no longer had a heart for the business. Sanders was also a composer. He penned such songs as, "Blue Moonlight", "Little Orphan Annie" (a minor hit), "She Loves Me Just The Same", and "Beloved". Joe Sanders died in May of 1965. Carleton Coon
The Sultans had some excellent sidemen with a front line of Cooper on both sax and clarinet, Sam Massenberg on trumpet, Rudy Williams on alto sax, and George Kelly on tenor sax. The back line rhythm section had Cyril Haynes on piano, Grachan Moncur on the bass (Cooper's half-brother and father of Grachan Moncur, III), and Razz Mithcell on drums. This small band had a tight, swinging sound and maintained both their popularity and the personnel until disbanding in 1946. Stylistically, the group's dance music had an affinity with other small groups of that same time period, - it was not the full, big band sound of the swing era. There was an echo of the band in 1974. David "Panama" Francis, formed a small band modelled on Al Cooper's original Sultans. From the late 1970s through the '90s, Panama Francis and his Savoy Sultans, which regularly included George Kelly in it's ranks, revived the spark and sounds of the original but with their very own exciting brand of swinging jazz.
In 1932, Corley's band was taken over by Terrence "T" Holder in Dallas (after Ramey left). The Corleys contunued to play in this band which also included sax players Buddy Tate and Earl Bostic. This band was the third incarnation of Holder's "Clouds of Joy" Orchestra; the first having been taken over by Andy Kirk in 1928. After leaving Holder, George Corley played in various other territory bands, including the Troy Floyd Band, and Boots and his Buddies, led by Clifford "Boots" Douglas. He wound up in California in the forties in a band led by Ben Watkins, returned to Texas in the fifties, and worked for singer Jimmy McCraklin after 1962.
William Cotton was born in Westminster and joined the British Army Band as a drummer. He formed his own band to play at the Astoria Ballroom in 1921. Nothing did more for his career than the live radio broadcasts beginning in the 1930's. The radio spots brought Cotton's style to the United States and much of the rest of the world. Bill Cotton was a large man, with a wire mustache and a broad smile. His jokes and showmanship became an icon in England. He even inspired cartoon figures. The band began playing sweet, smooth dance numbers, most notably, "Two Cigarettes in the Dark." The band later gained greater fame for their novelty numbers, which are now available on CD. Some of the band's most popular novelty hits include, "The Tattooed Lady," "Oh Monah," "Oh Nicholas! Don't Be So Ridiculous." "The Chicken Song," and, we can not forget, "Ev'ry Single Little Tingle Of My Heart." "I always wanted to have the talents and luck of Mr. Cotton. He always had a wonderful group of fellows, and he played most of his life [Cotton died on March 25, 1969, just hours after a performance.] Some say I have done that, but I still see things he did that I wish I had done." --Lawrence Welk, in
1982 at the time of his retirement.
After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, he formed his first band at the Claremont Hotel in 1933. His popularity in the bay area was unequaled, earning various record deals and radio show contracts, (The Kodak Camera Show, for example) often with large cash advances. He first toured the hotels and ballrooms of Seattle in the mid 1930's, and though it was less than commercially successful, he returned to California with some popularity. The band also toured to Hawaii, and here's a 1935 photo of the Courtney band entertaining passengers on the S. S. Lurline, during a trip to Hawaii. (Photo: Honolulu Advertiser) (And, -here are two menu covers 'The Essence of Aloha 1' and the 'The Essence of Aloha 2, both drawn by artist Frank MacIntosh in the 1930s for the SS Lurline and SS Matsonia Dinners that the passengers saw on those trips to Hawaii. ) He recorded regularly and packed local hotel ballrooms with his simple and sweet melodies. In 1938, his orchestra was heard on local radio remote broadcast from the Rainbow Room of the New Kenmore Hotel in Albany, New York. Joe Martin was the vocalist on "Sometimes I'm Happy", and other tunes. The crowds came well into the 1940's! The bands most notable songs include the, "An Apple for the Teacher," "Monstro the Whale," "The Singing Hill" with vocals by Joe Martin and "Hawaiian War Chant." In 1944, the M. M. Cole publishing company brought out a book of Boogie Woogie Tunes transcribed for piano by Courtney. Unbelievably, Del included "Boogie" versions of "Il Bacio", "Turkey in the Straw", and "The Skater's Waltz". In the 1950's he recorded two long playing albums that were real received, Dancing 'Till Daybreak and The Bay Area At Night. By the late 1940's, Del was touring again, with much better luck. The band played the New Yorker and Ambassador Hotels in New York, Edgewater and Stevens in Chicago, the Roosevelt in New Orleans, the Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu and their longest engagement, which was the famous Blackhawk Restaurant in Chicago, where the band played for thirty-two weeks. However, the band always returned to San Francisco and their loyal fans. After the end of the band era, Del Courtney opened a television dealership in Oakland, CA, and also worked on KSFO radio as a disc jockey. Actually, during 1965, KSOL, which was formerly KSAN, was a "Top 40 station" featuring popular rock-and-roll music, and was in fact owned by Lee Malloy and Del Courtney, both, by that time, well known San Francisco entertainers. Courtney's desire to lead a band never left him, he soon led a new band while working on radio. In the 1970's he led the band for the Oakland Raiders Football Team. Rollanda Lee may have been the vocalist with the band at that time. The Courtney band was led by various musicians when Del took time off to work on TV (The King Family Show), and during his vacations in Hawaii. In Feb. 20, 1986, Courtney's orchestra was playing for a Tea Dance at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, when when Dave Brubeck walked in and sat in with the band for a couple of numbers, "Take Five" and "Take the 'A' Train." Courtney and Brubeck were old pals -- fraternity brothers (Rho Lambda Phi) at the University of the Pacific. (Brubeck's brother, Henry, had played drums in an early Courtney orchestra.) His ghost band still performs at the Hyatt in San Francisco, and currently --2002 -- at 92 years of age, Del still appears with his band at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. Here's Del at age 90, leading his band on his 90th Birthday, at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. (Photo courtesy Honolulu Star-Bulletin.) Note; Sadly, Del left us at age 95.
While in Richmond, Ind. the band recorded their only studio session. This March 26, 1930 recording date produced one 78, "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" and "'Eleven-Thirty Saturday Night" Both featured the hilarious lyrics performed by McPoland. The recording was a local favorite, however no further recording dates were set.
If you were in the Southwest and Midwestern United States in the late 1920's through the 1940's you may have had the oppurnity to have heard the Coy band. The bands sound was a combination of sweet tones and jazz style precessions and featured Gene's wife, Ann, Alton Moore and Tyree Johnson. Big Band expert, Leo Walker recalled that the band, "played a one-nighter in Grants Pass, Oregon, at which time Coy was fronting a fine fourteen-piece organization. They arrived from Portland in a beat-up old bus to play to a capacity crowd, who went away highly appreciative of the band's efforts." The Coy Band remained on the road until the late 1950's. Gene Coy sold his musical book (for a mere $1,000) and moved to California were he died in
1966.
Bob Causer went on to be a bandleader of swing bands throughout the 1930s, Roy Johnston went on to work with Ray Miller, Gene Fosdick & His Hoosiers, and the California Ramblers.
In 1950, he first recorded with Tommy Dorsey's band, and in 1958 became the leader after Dorsey died. From 1961 into the '70s, Covington toured with the band (heading it under his name). During the '70s, he was heard on various film soundtracks, and also recorded with 'studio' big bands accompanying such stars as Bobby Hackett, Randy Weston, Charles Mingus, and George Benson. There is an interesting sidenote to Covington's stay with Heidt. Heidt had gotten the idea to own three places. He actually did buy the 'Casino Gardens', in Santa Monica, California. He also wanted to buy the 'Graystone Manor' in Detroit, and the 'Glen Island Casino', in New Rochelle, NY (then owned by the city). It was Heidt's idea to set up two more bands, - the Frankie Carle Orchestra, the Warren Covington Orchestra and his own Horace Heidt Orchestra. These three bands would rotate, broadcasting from each venue. As a benefit of the broadcasts, the bands could then set up tours. The plan came crashing down when an ASCAP-BMI fight caused a ban on recordings. In November 1945, Covington resumed work as a sideman, with Les Brown, remaining with Brown for five or six months, followed by a brief period with Gene Krupa. After his service discharge at the end of WWII, Covington became a 'sessions' man in the New York city studios. He spent about 10 years in the studios. In September 1950, he even played in Tommy Dorsey's band on a pair of recording sessions. In 1956-'57, while on the staff at CBS, he began to think about forming his own band. With the help of the Willard Alexander booking agency, he was signed as leader of 'The Commanders', a recording group on the Decca label. Then Tommy Dorsey died. The Dorsey estate contacted the Willard Alexander booking agency, and the Estate and Agency selected Covington as front man for a new Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, In February 1958, Covington and the band hit the road Covington led the Dorsey band for 3-1/2 years, through September 1961. However, having to play 6-7 nights a week took its toll, and even before his contract was up, he began hoping for a less hectic pace. So, he gave the estate a year's notice, and then continued on as 'Warren Covington and orchestra', doing that ever since. In 1969, he cut some Dorsey-style recordings of recent pop songs for the 'Reader's Digest'.company A few years later, he applied to the U.S. Patent Office for rights to the names "The Pied Pipers" and "The Clambake 7." Covington used the trademarks in his various tributes to the Tommy Dorsey band, including a 22-day tour to the United Kingdom in 1974, that also featured Dorsey alumni Sy Oliver, Skeets Herfurt, Johnny Mince, and Pee Wee Erwin. The "Tommy Dorsey Orchestra led by Warren Covington" also appeared on a PBS-TV fundraiser, "Big Band Bash," taped in New York City in 1978; and also appeared at one of President Reagan's inaugural balls in Washington, D.C. in January 1985. During his long career, Covington's musical talent helped the Big Bands of Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, and even the Allman Brothers rock band. He also helped such singers as crooner Perry Como. His talent was also used in the Hollywood studios, including playing on the soundtrack of "The Godfather". |
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