Charlie Spivak (February 17, 1907 – March 1, 1982) was an American

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

, best known for his

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

in the 1940s.

Early life

The details of Spivak's birth are unclear. Some sources place it in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in 1907, and that his family emigrated to settle in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

while he was a child. According to his personal papers, the former scenario is correct. He learned to play trumpet and played in his

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

band, going on to work with local groups before joining Johnny Cavallaro's orchestra.

Big band era and style

He played with Paul Specht's band for most of 1924 to 1930, then spent time with

Ben Pollack 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, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

(1931–1934), the brothers

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

and

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

(1934–1935), and

Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

(1935–1936). He played on "

Solo Hop Solo Hop is a 1935 instrumental composed by Glenn Miller and released as a Columbia 78 single. The recording was part of Glenn Miller's earliest sessions as a leader recording under his own name. Background ''Solo Hop'' was a Top Ten hit from the s ...

" in 1935 by

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 ...

and the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...

. He spent 1936 and 1937 mostly working as a studio musician with

Gus Arnheim Gus Arnheim (September 4, 1897 – January 19, 1955) was an American pianist and an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He ...

, Glenn Miller,

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

's radio orchestra, and others, followed by periods with

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 younge ...

(1938),

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

(1938–1939), and

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 ...

(1939). Finally, with the encouragement and financial backing of Glenn Miller, he formed his own band in November 1939. Though it failed within a year, he tried again shortly afterwards, this time taking over the existing band of Bill Downer and making a success of it. Spivak's band was one of the most successful in the 1940s, and survived until 1959. He scouted top trumpeter

Paul Fredricks Paul G. Fredricks (July 14, 1918 – July 4, 2010) was an American brass musician of the Big Bands Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He is known for his unique skills as a trumpeter and left his mark on a range of larger bands such as the orchestr ...

(formerly of

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

's Orchestra) just as Fredricks left the service at the end of World War II, in 1946. Fredricks was instrumental in the band's success in the coming years as it reached its peak.
The Big Band Almanac
' (revised ed.; paperback), by Leo Walker ''(né'' Leo Edward Walker; 1910–1995),

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...

(1989), pps. 380 & 381; Spivak's experience playing with jazz musicians had little effect on his own band's style, which was straight dance music, made up mainly of ballads and popular tunes. Spivak himself (known as "Cheery, Chubby Charlie") had been noted for his trumpet's sweet tone and his strength for playing lead parts, rather than for any improvisational ability. He was also known as "The Man Who Plays The Sweetest Trumpet In The World". A number of the band's musicians were to make names for themselves, including drummer

Dave Tough Dave Tough (April 26, 1907 – December 9, 1948) was an American jazz drummer associated with Dixieland and swing jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Born in Oak Park, Illinois, United States, Tough was a friend of Bud Freeman, who was p ...

, bassist Jimmy Middleton, trumpeters

Les Elgart Lester Elliott Elgart (August 3, 1917 – July 29, 1995) was an American swing jazz bandleader and trumpeter. Early Years Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Elgart grew up in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey with his brother Larry. They were exposed to ...

and

, saxophonist

Don Raffell Don Raffell (born Donald Howard Raffell; Apr 26, 1919 – Mar 24, 2003) was an American saxophonist, woodwind doubler (multireedist), studio musician and educator. Raffell recorded on hundreds of records, movies, and T.V shows dating from the 1940 ...

, trombonist

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...

, trombonist

Jimmy Knepper James Minter Knepper (November 22, 1927 – June 14, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist. In addition to his own recordings as leader, Knepper performed and recorded with Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, Benny Goo ...

, and singers

June Hutton June Hutton (born June Marvel Cowan; August 11, 1919 – May 2, 1973) was an American actress and vocalist, popular with big bands during the 1940s. She was the younger sister of vocalist Ina Ray Hutton. Early years Hutton was born in Bloomin ...

and

Irene Daye Irene Daye (January 17, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts – November 1, 1971, Greenville, South Carolina) was an American jazz singer. Daye began her career at age 17 by singing in Jan Murphy's big band while still in high school in 1935, con ...

. (Daye and Spivak married in 1950.). Riddle was also responsible for many of the band's arrangements, together with

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

. The late

Manny Albam Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 – October 2, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, record producer, and educator. Early life A native of the Dominican Republic, Albam grew up in New York City. He was attracted to jazz at an ea ...

also arranged for the Spivak band.

Later career

When the Spivak orchestra broke up, he went to live in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he continued to lead a band until illness led to his temporary retirement in 1963. On his recovery, he continued to lead large and small bands, first in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, then in South Carolina. In

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

in 1967, he led a small group featuring his wife as vocalist. She died in 1971 after a long illness with cancer. During this time, Spivak was also resident band leader for a restaurant-nightclub, "Ye Olde Fireplace", in

. He played trumpet in the dance band that included a drummer, saxophonist, bass player and pianist. The band played standards from the big band era, but also took requests from the audience. Spivak continued to play and record until his death in Greenville in 1982, shortly after his 75th birthday.

Family

Spivak first married Freda Braverman in 1932. The marriage ended in divorce in 1947. He subsequently married his vocalist,

, in 1950.Spivak personal papers
libguides.furman.edu. Accessed December 18, 2022. Spivak's eldest son, Joel A. Spivak, was a television and radio broadcaster primarily in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

areas. Spivak's younger son, Steven Glenn Spivak, is a public relations manager in northern California. Spivak's stepson, Kevin Ingram, lives in Greenville, South Carolina. He is the owner of The Charlie Spivak Orchestra.

Discography

* 1958: ''Pinciana'' (Design) * 1977: ''Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra 1943–46'' (

Hindsight Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...

) * 1985: ''Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra'' (

Ranwood Ranwood Records was an American record label started in 1968 by Randy Wood (after he left Dot Records) and Lawrence Welk. Lawrence Welk owned all of the recordings that he released on Dot as they were produced and manufactured by Teleklew Produc ...

) * 1993: ''For Sentimental Reasons'' (Vintage Jazz Classics) * 2002: ''Dance Date'' ( Collectors' Choice) * 2005: ''What's Cookin' Charlie '41–'47''

References

External links

Charlie Spivak
— biography from ''Solid!'' *
Charlie Spivak 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 ...

Charlie Spivak Musical Collection - Furman University Special CollectionsAlphabetical List of Charlie Spivak Scores - Furman University Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spivak, Charlie 1900s births 1982 deaths American trumpeters American male trumpeters Big band bandleaders Jewish American musicians American bandleaders Year of birth uncertain Dance band bandleaders Dance band trumpet players Nightclub owners Abbey Records artists 20th-century American musicians Jewish jazz musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century American Jews