DeFord Bailey
BIRTHDAYS
1908 Morey Amsterdam Cellist/actor/composer
b. Chicago, IL, USA
d. Oct. 27, 1996, Beverly Hills, CA, USA. (Heart Attack).
In the mid-40s, he adapted a Calypso tune and added his own lyric.
The
tune became a huge hit for the Andrews Sisters - "Rum and Coca Cola".
1899 DeFord Bailey C&W vocals/guitar
b. Smith County, TN, USA.
d. July 2, 1982.
A pioneer member 'Grand Ole Opry'.
AAR BIO:
www.aaregistry.com/african_...Opry_Icon Country Music Hall of Fame Bio:
www.countrymusichalloffame.com/si...spx NR Bio & Sound Files:
www.npr.org/programs/lnf...4.bailey.html 1913 Theodore 'Ted' Guy Buckner soprano-/Alto Sax
b. St. Louis, MO, USA.
d. April 12, 1976.
He is the brother of pianist Milt Buckner
1917 Martha Davis Piano/vocals
b. Wichita, KS, USA
WIKI Bio:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mart...s_(singer) 1911 Charles "Chuck" Gentry Baritone Sax
b. Belgrade, Nevada, USA
Although he started out as a clarinetist, it was on much lower-pitched
horns that Chuck Gentry made his bread and butter. Gentry is one of the
rare jazz gentry whose name shows up in credits complete with a
military ranking--he was a seargent in the unit that made up Glenn
Miller's Air Force Band from 1943 through 1944. At that time Gentry had
been a professional musician for about a decade, beginning when he was
hired for bandleader Ken Baker's Los Angeles outfit. Prior to that he
had played clarinet in the school band in Sterling, Colorado and had
kept up his musical interests throughout an initial career stab at
becoming a teacher.
By the late '30s blackboards were the
last this on his mind as he began checking out both baritone and bass
sax parts in the reed section of the Vido Musso ensemble. From here he
went to even bigger bands, Harry James for two years beginning in 1940,
Benny Goodman for about a fourth that amount of time beginning in the
summer of 1941 and then Jimmy Dorsey until Uncle Sam demanded a change
of procedure. After the war he was busy with Artie Shaw, Jan Savitt and
then another short stint with Goodman. From about 1947 Gentry began to
work more and more in the studios, eventually becoming almost a part of
the scenery in certain Los Angeles recording factories. Much of the pop
material he appeared on is high quality, including Dean Martin and
Frank Sinatra sides. He should not be confused with the guitarist of
the same name.
~ Eugene Chadbourne
1898 Frederick Douglass Hall afro-American composer
b. Atlanta, GA, USA.
d. December 28, 1982
Frederick Hall received a B.A. from Morehouse College, a Teachers
Diploma and M.M. from Chicago Musical College, an M.A. and Ed. D. from
Columbia University. He did additional study at Julliard School of
Music, Royal College of Music (London), English School of Chuch Music,
and several others. He was presented an honorary Doctorate from Rust
College in Mississippi. Hall was the chairmand of the music departments
at Jackson College (MS), Dillard University (LA), Alabama State
Teachers College, and Clark College (Atlanta). He did research in Afro
- American music and West African music. His compositions and
arrangements include: "Deliverance," an oratorio; "Afro - American
Religious Work Songs: A Cycle;" and six volumes of arrangements for
mixed, male, and female voices.
~ Perkins Holly, Ellistine. Biographies of Black Composers and Songwriters
1910 Budd Johnson All Reeds/piano/vocal arranger/composer
b. Dallas, TX, USA. d. Oct. 20, 1984. né: Albert J. Johnson.
Taught music by Booker T. Washington's daughter. In 1924, he was
touring as a drummer, and took up the sax about 2 years later. In 1927,
was working w/George E. Lee Combo in Chicago, IL. Then had own combo
with Teddy Wilson until they joined Louis Armstrong in 1933. From
Sept.1939 - Dec.'42, worked on and off with Earl Hines Orch. His role
in "Bop" is rather unique. In the 1940's, there were just 5 "Big Bands"
(all Black) involved with the then new "Rebop" sound.
During the
1942-'44 period, Earl Hines and Boyd Raeburn took up the sound. Then
during 1944-'45, both the Woody Herman and Billy Eckstine bands, and
sometime in late '45, Dizzy Gillespie. A common thread linked all these
5 bands - Budd Johnson. He had played sax, or written for all of them
(possibly with the exception of Boyd Raeburn). He had previously (1944)
organized the very first 'bop' recording date (for Gillespie). While he
is little known today, he was one of the seminal figures in promoting
'Rebop'. In the '50s, he played with Cab Calloway and J. C. Heard.
In 1952, he was with Snub Mosely's band touring England on a USO
sponsored unit. During 1956-7, he wrote and played for the Benny
Goodman band, then working in New York's swank Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
and even toured Asia with Benny's band.
WIKI Bio:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budd_Johnson 1911 "Spike" Jones Drums/Leader
b. Long Beach, CA, USA
d. May 1, 1965, Beverly Hills, CA, USA. (Emphysema).
né: Lindley Armstrong Jones. Leader 'The City Slickers' band.
1932 Abbe Lane, vocalist. b. Brooklyn, NY, USA.
née: Frances Lassman.
Best recalled as wife (#4 1952-'64, divorced) and singer
with Xavier Cugat.
WIKI BIO:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbe_Lane 1891 Lester Melrose A&R (Bluebird label)
b. Olney, IL, USA
1903 William Owsley, guitar b. Galesburg, IL, USA
1922 Cecil Payne Baritone Sax/flute
b. New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
1902 Viola Gertrude Wells, Vocals b. Newark, NJ, USA.
d. Dec. 22, 1984, Belleville, NJ, USA.
aka: 'Miss Rhapsody'. Wells' career began with her first gig at the
Minis Theater in Newark, NJ. In the 1920s, she worked in some traveling
shows, and in the 1930s, she was a member of "Banjo Bernie's Band",
subsequently touring with singer Ida Cox. In the late 1930s, Wells
moved to Kansas City, where she ran a nightclub and led her own band.
In the 1940s, she moved back to Newark and was soon working in various
New York city venues, including appearances at 'Kelly's Stables' on New
York's famed 52nd Street, and at Harlem's Apollo Theatre (occasionally
as 'Viola Underhill'). Out of the public's eye for most of the 1950s
and early 1960s, her career revived in the mid-1960s. In the 1970s, she
toured with trombonist/singer Clyde Bernhardt's band. "Miss Rhapsody"
passed away at age 82.
Notable Events occurring
on this date include: 
1963. Dinah Washington vocals/piano
died in Detroit, MI
Age 39.
1966. Howard Ragsdale
C&W fiddler, died. Age: 62. (b. Feb. 9, 1904).
Played with "The Fruit Jar Drinkers", a band heard on the Grand Ole
Op'ry show, and also backed "Uncle Dave" Macon while he played his
banjo and sang.
1973. Jesse Rodgers C&W singer
died. Age: 62.
(cousin of Jimmie Rodgers).
Songs Recorded/Released
on this date include: 1944 Trolley Song, The , - Vaughn Monroe Orch and voc.
1959 Pretty Blue Eyes , - Steve Lawrence voc.
1968 Son-Of-A Preacher Man , - Dusty Springfield
