Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an American jazz trombonist and singer. According to critic Scott Yannow of Allmusic, Teagarden was the preeminent American jazz trombone player before the bebop era of the 19 ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

Jimmy McPartland James Dugald "Jimmy" McPartland (March 15, 1907 – March 13, 1991) was an American cornetist. He worked with Eddie Condon, Art Hodes, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, and Tommy Dorsey, often leading his own bands. He was married to pi ...

, and

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

. This ability earned him the nickname the "Father of Swing".

Music career

Early years

Ben Pollack was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. He played drums in school and formed groups on the side, performing professionally in his teens. He joined the

Harry Bastin Harry Baisden (aka Harry Bastin, ''né'' Cyrus Harry Baisden; 18 April 1893 Lester Prairie, Minnesota — 4 December 1926 Augusta, Georgia) was an American composer of popular music, arranger, pianist and an acclaimed dance orchestra leader. While ...

Band and then the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. History The ...

in the 1920s. In 1924 he played for several bands, including some on the west coast, which ultimately led to his forming a band, the 12-piece Venice Ballroom Orchestra, there in 1925. In 1926, he had a band named the Ten Californians, which had some performances broadcast on

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

radio in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pollack's band

Pollack formed his own band in 1926. Over time the band included

, and

. One of the earliest members of his band was

Gil Rodin Gilbert A. Rodin (December 9, 1906 – June 10, 1974) was an American jazz saxophonist, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in the Russian Empire. Career Rodin was raied in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Rodin studied saxophone, clari ...

, a saxophonist whose business acumen served him well later as an executive for the

Music Corporation of America MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

. From about 1928, with involvement from

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

, members of Pollack's band moonlighted at Plaza-ARC and recorded a vast quantity of hot dance and jazz for their dime store labels —

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

, Perfect,

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...

, Cameo,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

— under the names Mills' Merry Makers, Goody's Good Timers, Kentucky Grasshoppers, Mills' Musical Clowns, The Lumberjacks, Dixie Daises, The Caroliners, The Whoopee Makers, The Hotsy Totsy Gang, Dixie Jazz Band, and Jimmy Bracken's Toe Ticklers. Combining Pollack's regular recordings with these side groups made Pollack's one of the more prolific bands of the 1920s and 1930s. Pollack's band played in Chicago and moved to New York City in 1928, having obtained McPartland and Teagarden around that time. This outfit enjoyed immense success, playing for Broadway shows and winning an exclusive engagement at the Park Central Hotel. Pollack's band was involved in extensive recording activity at that time, using a variety of pseudonyms in the studios. The orchestra also made a

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one th ...

short subject sound film. Pollack, in the meantime, had fancied himself as more of a bandleader-singer type instead of a drummer. To this end, he signed

Ray Bauduc Ray Bauduc (June 18, 1906 – January 8, 1988) was an American jazz drummer best known for his work with the Bob Crosby Orchestra and their band-within-a-band, the Bobcats, between 1935 and 1942. He is also known for his shared composition of " ...

to handle the drumming chores. Benny Goodman and Jimmy McPartland left the band in mid-1929. They were replaced by

Matty Matlock Julian Clifton "Matty" Matlock (April 27, 1907 – June 14, 1978) was an American Dixieland jazz clarinettist, saxophonist and arranger. Early years Matlock was born in Paducah, Kentucky, April 27, 1907, and raised in Nashville beginning in 1917. ...

on clarinet and Jack Teagarden's brother, Charlie, on trumpet. Eddie Miller was also signed as a

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while t ...

in 1930.

Breakup and reformation

The band broke up in 1934. Many of its members soon formed a group led by

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

, brother of

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

. Pollack reformed his band with

and Irving Fazola. With James he wrote the hit "Peckin'". In the early 1940s, he organized a band led by comedian Chico Marx. He started Jewel Records, opened restaurants in Hollywood and Palm Springs, appeared as himself in the movie ''

The Benny Goodman Story Dick Winslow ''The Benny Goodman Story'' is a biographical film starring Steve Allen and Donna Reed, directed by Valentine Davies, and released by Universal-International in 1956. The film was intended as a follow-up to Universal's 1954 hit '' Th ...

'', and made a cameo in ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''The Glenn Miller Story'' is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their second non-western collaboration. Plot The film follows big band leader Glenn ...

''. Pollack's bands from the 1920s–1940s included

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

Dick Cathcart Charles Richard Cathcart (November 6, 1924 – November 8, 1993) was an American Dixieland trumpet player who was best known as a member of ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' in which he appeared from 1962 to 1968. Cathcart was born in Michigan City, In ...

, Eddie Miller,

Frank Teschemacher Frank Teschemacher (March 13, 1906 – March 1, 1932) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto-saxophonist, associated with the "Austin High" gang (along with Jimmy McPartland, Bud Freeman and others). Early life and education He was born in ...

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...

, Irving Fazola,

Joe Marsala Joseph Francis Marsala (January 4, 1907 – March 4, 1978) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter. His younger brother was trumpeter Marty Marsala and he was married to jazz harpist Adele Girard. Music career He was born in C ...

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swin ...

, and

Yank Lawson John Rhea "Yank" Lawson (May 3, 1911 – February 18, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music. Born John Lausen in 1911, from 1933 to 1935 he worked in Ben Pollack's orchestra and after that became a founding ...

Personal life

Pollack and Doris Robbins, who had no children, were divorced in 1957. In later years, after suffering a series of financial losses, Pollack grew despondent and committed suicide by hanging in his home in Palm Springs in 1971. He was buried in the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

Labels

In 1926, Pollack began recording for the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. A 1927 newspaper ad promoted "a new Victor organization – Ben Pollack and His Californians." Pollack left Victor in late 1929 and recorded for

Hit of the Week Hit of the Week was an American record label founded in 1930 that sold low-priced records made of Durium instead of the usual shellac. History Around 1930, several types of thin, flexible records made of various plastic formulations were introduc ...

(1930), the dime store labels (

, Cameo,

, Perfect,

) (1930–1931), Victor (1933), Columbia (1933–1934), Brunswick,

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

and Variety (1936–37), and

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

(1937–1938). Most of these records are listed in discographical books (such as

Brian Rust Brian Arthur Lovell Rust (19 March 1922 – 5 January 2011) was an English jazz discographer. Career Rust was born in 1922 in Golders Green, then part of the Municipal Borough of Hendon in Middlesex. He collected records from the age of fiv ...

's ''Jazz Records'') as by Irving Mills. ''Jack Teagarden's Music'' lists them as a "Ben Pollack Unit".

Compositions

Pollack co-wrote the jazz standard "

Tin Roof Blues "Tin Roof Blues" is a jazz composition by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings first recorded in 1923. It was written by band members Paul Mares, Ben Pollack, Mel Stitzel, George Brunies and Leon Roppolo. The tune has become a jazz standard and is one o ...

" in 1923 when he was a member of the

. The band's trombonist

George Brunies George Clarence Brunies (February 6, 1902 – November 19, 1974), Georg Brunis, was an American jazz trombonist, who was part of the dixieland revival. He was known as "The King of the Tailgate Trombone".Stetler, Susan L. (editor) (1987), "Br ...

is also credited as a composer. In 1954,

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

recorded " Make Love to Me", which used Pollack's music from "Tin Roof Blues". "Make Love to Me" was No. 1 for three weeks in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine and No. 2 in '' Cashbox''. The song was also recorded by

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

and B. B. King.

Filmography

* ''

Presenting Lily Mars ''Presenting Lily Mars'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, produced by Joe Pasternak, starring Judy Garland and Van Heflin, and based on the novel by Booth Tarkington. The film is often cited as Garland's first film ...

'' (1943) – saxophonist in Bob Crosby's Orchestra (uncredited) * '' Dark City'' (1950) – bettor (uncredited) * ''Disc Jockey'' (1951) – himself * ''

'' (1954) – himself * ''

'' (1956) – himself

References

Notes

* ''Jack Teagardenn's Music – His Career and Recordings'' by Howard J. Waters, Jr. (Walter C. Allen, 1960) * ''Jazz Records 1897–1942'' by Brian Rust, 5th revised and enlarged edition (Storyville Publications, 1982)

External links

Ben Pollack recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

.
Ben Pollack: Profiles in Jazz
at The Syncopated Times
Ben Pollack (1903-1971
at the Red Hot Jazz Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollack, Ben American jazz drummers Musicians from Chicago American jazz bandleaders Jewish American musicians Big band bandleaders Swing drummers Savoy Records artists Suicides by hanging in California Musicians from Palm Springs, California 1903 births 1971 suicides Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Jazz musicians from Illinois Jazz musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians New Orleans Rhythm Kings members Discovery Records artists 20th-century American Jews 1971 deaths