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Bill Pitman
William Keith Pitman (February 12, 1920 – August 11, 2022) was an American guitarist and session musician. As a first-call studio musician working in Los Angeles, Pitman played on some of the most celebrated and influential records of the rock and roll era. His mastery of the guitar placed him in high demand for popular music recordings, television programs, and film scores. The style and range of his playing covered a wide spectrum, from the distinctive ukulele in the Academy Award-winning song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", to a rich-sounding Danelectro guitar that gave ''The Wild Wild West'' its unique musical signature. Biography Early life Pitman was born in Belleville, New Jersey and grew up in Manhattan. He developed an interest in music at a young age when his father worked as a bass player on staff at NBC in Rockefeller Center. During the Great Depression, Pitman's father had steady income doing freelance work, radio shows, and movie soundtracks while he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibson ES-330
The Gibson ES-330 (1959-1972) is a thinline hollow-body electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It was first introduced in 1959 and the guitar had the same dimensions as the ES-335. History Sales of Gibson’s Electric Spanish guitars (ES-100 through ES-350) in the 1930s and 1940s encouraged the company to continue to produce more electric guitars. In 1955 Gibson released the ES-225T and the Gibson ES-350T ("T" is for thinline). In 1957 Gibson designed a new design which was the ES-335 double-cutaway and released it in 1958. The ES-330 was released by the Gibson Guitar Company in 1959. In 1959 when the 330 was released the retail price was $275. The 330s came in two different designs, a one P-90 guitar pickup model called the ES-330T and a two pickup model called the ES-330TD. Specifications The ES-335 was released in 1958 and it had the same dimensions as the ES-330. The 330s had a maple top, back and sides with two F Holes in the top. The body was lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Bay Publications
Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His ''Mel Bay's Deluxe Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords, Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller. Biography Early life Melbourne E. Bay was born on February 25, 1913, in the little Ozarks, Ozark Mountain town of Bunker, Missouri, Bunker, Missouri.Bay, Mel. ''Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method: Grade 1.'' Pacific: 1948. He bought a Sears, Sears Roebuck guitar at the age of 13 and several months later played his first "gig". Bay did not have a guitar teacher, so Bay watched the few guitarists he knew and copied their fingering on the fretboard, teaching himself chords. Once he felt he knew the rudiments of the guitar, he started experimenting with other instruments, including the tenor banjo, mandolin, Steel guitar, Hawaiian guitar, and ukulele.Mel Bay Blog"100th Anniversary of Mel Bay's Birth", ''Mel Bay Publications,'' 1 February 2013. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Hendrickson
Alton Reynolds Hendrickson (May 10, 1920 – July 19, 2007) was an American jazz guitarist and occasional vocalist. Biography When he was five years old, Hendrickson's family moved to California, where he grew up. He played early in his career with the Gramercy Five, Ray Linn, Artie Shaw, and Freddie Slack, then worked with Benny Goodman in both smaller and larger ensemble settings. He played with Woody Herman on several occasions in the late 1940s through the end of the 1950s, and also played with Neal Hefti, Bill Holman, Barney Kessel, Johnny Mandel, Billy May, Ray Noble, Andre Previn, Louis Prima, Boyd Raeburn, Shorty Rogers, and Bud Shank. In 1962, he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival alongside Louie Bellson and Dizzy Gillespie. He also worked as an accompanist and session musician for many popular vocalists, such as Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Lee Hazlewood, Eartha Kitt, Frankie Laine, Ann-Margret, Dean Martin, Ella Mae Morse, Harry Nilsson, and Elv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Roberts
Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early years Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 - a Gibson manufactured $18 Kalamazoo student model acoustic given to him by his parents at Christmas. He took lessons from Horace Hatchett who commented to Roberts’ father that Roberts, at the age of 15, “...has his own style of playing and there's nothing else I can show him. He plays better than I do.” By the time he was 15 he was playing professionally locally, predominantly blues based music, where he learned from a number of black musicians, trumpeter Art Farmer being among that group. In 1992 Roberts was quoted in "The Independent Newsletter" by Steve Voce saying he considered that early experience to be “the most valuable” to him in his development as a player.Sallis, James. "Middle Ground: Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Jim Hall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note in the United States in 1942 by Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva, and Glenn E. Wallichs. Capitol was acquired by British music conglomerate EMI as its North American subsidiary in 1955. EMI was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012, and was merged with the company a year later, making Capitol and the Capitol Music Group both distributed by UMG. The label's circular headquarters building is a recognized landmark of Hollywood, California. Both the label itself and its famous building are sometimes referred to as "The House That Nat Built." This refers to one of Capitol's most famous artists, Nat King Cole. Capitol is also well known as the U.S. record label of the Beatles, especially during the years of Beatlemania in America from 1964 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rusty Draper
Farrell Haliday "Rusty" Draper (January 25, 1923 – March 28, 2003) was an American country and pop singer-songwriter and radio and TV host who achieved his greatest success in the 1950s. Biography Born in Kirksville, Missouri, United States, and nicknamed "Rusty" for his red hair, he began performing on his uncle's radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid-1930s. Draper moved on to work at radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa—sometimes filling in for sports announcer Ronald Reagan—and in Illinois before settling in California. There, he began to sing in local clubs, becoming resident singer at the Rumpus Room in San Francisco. By the early 1950s, he had begun appearing on national TV shows, including ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' (CBS) and ''Ozark Jubilee'' (ABC). In 1952, Draper signed to Mercury Records and issued his debut single, "How Could You (Blue Eyes)". The following year, after a national club tour, his cover version of Jim Lowe's "Gambler's Guitar" made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades. Background Laurindo Jose de Araujo Almeida Nobrega Neto was born in the village of Prainha, Brazil near Santos in the state of São Paulo. Born into a musical family, Almeida was a self-taught guitarist. During his teenage years, Almeida moved to São Paulo, where he worked as a radio artist, staff arranger and nightclub performer. At the age of 19, he worked his way to Europe playing guitar in a cruise ship orchestra. In Paris, he attended a performance at the Hot Club by Stephane Grappelli and famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, who became a lifelong artistic inspiration. Returning to Brazil, Almeida continu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, Lee created a sophisticated persona, writing music for films, acting, and recording conceptual record albums combining poetry and music. Called the "Queen of American pop music," Lee recorded over 1,100 masters and composed over 270 songs. Early life Lee was born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, United States, on May 26, 1920, the seventh of the eight children of Selma Emele (née Anderson) Egstrom and Marvin Olaf Egstrom, a station agent for the Midland Continental Railroad. Her family were Lutherans. Her father was Swedish-American and her mother was Norwegian-American. After her mother died when Lee was four, her father married Minnie Schaumberg Wiese. Lee an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Bert
Edward Joseph Bertolatus (May 16, 1922 – September 27, 2012), also known as Eddie Bert, was an American jazz trombonist. Music career He was born in Yonkers, New York, United States. Bert received a degree and a teaching license from the Manhattan School of Music (1957). He taught at Essex College, University of Bridgeport, and Western Connecticut State University. Bert performed and recorded with many bands and orchestras. He spent the most time with Benny Goodman's Orchestra (1958–86), Charles Mingus (1955–74), The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (1968–72), New York Jazz Repertory Company (1973–78), The American Jazz Orchestra (1986–92), Loren Schoenberg Orchestra (1986–2001), and Walt Levinsky's Great American Swing Orchestra (1987–95). Bert is featured on hundreds of recordings and recorded extensively as a leader on various labels including Savoy, Blue Note, Trans-World, Jazztone, and Discovery Records. Bert continued to play sold-out shows until his death ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz, and later fusion. He also contributed to the musical background of hundreds of Hollywood films and television programs. Family and origins Manne's father Max Manne and uncles were drummers. In his youth he admired many of the leading swing drummers of the day, especially Jo Jones and Dave Tough. Billy Gladstone, a colleague of Manne's father and the most admired percussionist on the New York theatrical scene, offered the teenage Shelly tips and encouragement. From that time, Manne rapidly developed his style in the clubs of 52nd Street in New York in the late 1930s and 1940s. His first professional job with a known big band was with the Bobby Byrne Orchestra in 1940. In those years, as he became known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shorty Rogers
Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Biography Rogers was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States. He worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo. From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with Stan Kenton. On June 7, 1953, Rogers and his orchestra, including Johnny "Guitar" Watson, performed for the famed ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Earl Bostic, Nat "King" Cole, and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton. From 1953 through 1962, Rogers recorded a series of albums for RCA Victor (later reissued on RCA's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro, October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as part of a band or orchestra, and as accompaniment for vocalists. He recorded duets with guitarists Lonnie Johnson and Carl Kress and jazz violinist Joe Venuti, and played rhythm guitar in the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and was the favoured accompanist of Bing Crosby. Biography The son of an Italian-American instrument maker, Lang was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up with violinist Joe Venuti. His first instrument was violin when he was seven. He performed on violin in 1917 and became a member of a trio. In 1920, he dropped the violin for banjo and worked with Charlie Kerr, then Bert Estlow, Vic D'Ippolito, and Billy Lustig's Scranton Siren Orchestra. A few years later, he dropped the banjo for guitar when he became a member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
