Dave Peyton (19 August 1889 – 30 April 1955) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, arranger, orchestra leader, and music critic columnist for the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

''. Peyton first began as a pianist in the trio of

Wilbur Sweatman Wilbur Coleman Sweatman (February 7, 1882 – March 9, 1961) was an American ragtime and dixieland jazz composer, bandleader and clarinetist. Sweatman was one of the first African-American musicians to have fans nationwide. He was also a trail ...

, along with George Reeves, where he played from 1908 to 1912. Following this Peyton led his own ensembles in various theaters in

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

. His sidemen included Charlie Allen, George Mitchell, Bob Shoffner, Reuben Reeves,

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz. He was ...

, Bud Scott, Jasper Taylor,

Jimmy Bertrand Jimmy Bertrand (February 24, 1900 – August 1960) was an American jazz and blues percussionist. Background Bertrand was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was active on the Chicago blues and jazz scene of the 1920s. Bertrand recorded with Loui ...

Baby Dodds Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important ...

Preston Jackson James Preston McDonald, better known by his stage name Preston Jackson (January 3, 1902 – November 12, 1983) was an American jazz trombonist. Biography Jackson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, and moved to Chicago, Illin ...

Darnell Howard Darnell Howard (July 25, 1895 in Chicago – September 2, 1966 in San Francisco) was an American jazz clarinetist and violinist. Early life Howard began playing violin at age seven, picking up clarinet and saxophone later in his youth. Caree ...

, Jerome Don Pasquall, and Lee Collins. While he only recorded under his own name once (with

Richard M. Jones Richard M. Jones, born Richard Marigny Jones (sometimes written Richard Mariney Jones), (June 13, 1892 – December 8, 1945) was an American jazz pianist, composer, band leader, and record producer. Numerous songs bear his name as author, includi ...

, on piano in ''Baby o’ Mine'' (1935, Decca 7115) or ''Joe Louis Chant''), his orchestra also recorded in 1928 under

Fess Williams Fess Williams ''(né'' Stanley R. Williams; April 10, 1894 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz musician.''Biography Index, A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines, Volume 10: September 1973 — August 1976'', Ne ...

's name (''Dixie Stomp''/''Drifting and Dreaming'', Voc. 15690). In the 1930s he led an orchestra at the Regal Theater, and from the mid-1930s until late-1940s played as a soloist in bars and

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. In the 1950s he changed career and opened a dry cleaning establishment. Peyton was known for his organising skills. He worked as a music contractor, filling orchestras with personnel upon request for the segregated black and white venues. He was able to do this in part because of his working relationship with Earnie Young (reputed to be one of the founders of the Music corporation of America). Peyton was also good at arranging music and could personalise songs for performers so that their performance of popular songs was distinctive. He did this for stars such as

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...

and

Eva Tanguay Eva Tanguay (August 1, 1878 – January 11, 1947) was a Canadian singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous". She was known as "The Queen of Vaudeville" during the height of her popularity from the early 1 ...

. He wrote a weekly music column in the ''Chicago Defender'' newspaper from 1925 - 1929. Peyton is best remembered for his songs, some of which became major hits; among them were the

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

I Ain't Got Nobody "I Ain't Got Nobody" (sometimes referred to as "I'm So Sad and Lonely" or "I Ain't Got Nobody Much") is a popular song copyrighted in 1915. Roger A. Graham (1885–1938) wrote the lyrics, Spencer Williams composed it, and Roger Graham Music Pub ...

" and the tunes "Hey Stop Kissin' My Sister" and "Roumania", both performed by Fats Waller.

References

American jazz pianists American male pianists American male songwriters 1889 births 1955 deaths American male jazz musicians 20th-century American male musicians {{US-musician-stub