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 o ...

, 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 ...

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 inva ...

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 ...

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 (1931–1934), the brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey (1934–1935), and Ray Noble (1935–1936). He played on " Solo Hop" 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 US Army Air Forc ...

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's radio orchestra, and others, followed by periods with Bob Crosby (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 1 ...

(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 (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, 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 t ...

and Paul Fredricks, saxophonist Don Raffell, 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 Recor ...

, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, 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 Blooming ...

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. The late Manny Albam 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 ...

, 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 Veg ...

, then in South Carolina. In

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

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. Since ...

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