Earl Burtnett (February 7, 1896 – January 2, 1936)
[Earl Burtnett at ParlorSongs.com](_blank)
/ref> was an American bandleader, songwriter and pianist who was popular in the 1920s and 1930s.
Life and career
Burtnett was born in Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. He attended Pennsylvania State College
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
but left after two years. He began having songs published, including " Canadian Capers" (1915) and "Down Honolulu Way" (1916), and in 1918 joined Art Hickman
Arthur George Hickman (June 13, 1886 – January 16, 1930) was a drummer, pianist, and bandleader of one of the first big bands.
Career
Hickman founded a sextet in San Francisco in 1913. The band's first job was playing at training camp for the b ...
's touring band. Shortly afterwards, promoter Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...
heard the band in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and featured them on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in the ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1920
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...
''.[Earl Burtnett at Big Bands Database](_blank)
/ref>[Earl Burtnett, ''Lyrics Vault'']
Retrieved 5 November 2022
After they moved back to California, Burtnett continued as lead arranger and writer for the Hickman orchestra, his successful songs including "Sleep
Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
", "Leave Me With A Smile" (1921), "Mandalay" (1924), and "If I Should Lose You" (1927). In 1929, he took over as band leader on Hickman's retirement. His band then had a residency at the Biltmore Hotel in 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 recorded for Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
History
From 1916
Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing produ ...
backing the Biltmore Trio. They also appeared in two films, ''The Flying Fool'' (1929) and ''The Party Girl'' (1930), billed as "Earl Burtnett and his Hotel Biltmore Orchestra and Trio".[ They played across the country in the early and mid 1930s, with periods at both the ]Rice Hotel
The Rice, formerly the Rice Hotel, is an historic building at 909 Texas Avenue in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The current building is the third to occupy the site. It was completed in 1913 on the site of the former Capitol buildin ...
in Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
(from 1933), and later at the Drake Hotel and other venues in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, where their concerts were often broadcast on WGN radio.
Burtnett recorded for Columbia from 1926 through 1928 when he signed with Brunswick and recorded prolifically through mid-1931. There was a further session in Chicago in May, 1934 for Columbia. During that break, his band was apparently making transcriptions, but none have ever turned up.
Death
On Christmas Eve, 1935, Burtnett underwent an appendectomy
An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...
at Illinois Central Hospital in Chicago. However, peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...
set in after the operation, and he died on January 2, 1936, at the age of 39.
References
External links
*
* Sheet music fo
"Leave Me With a Smile"
New York: Waterson-Berlin & Snyder Co. Fro
Wade Hall Sheet Music Collection
Earl Burtnett 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 ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burtnett, Earl
American bandleaders
Songwriters from Pennsylvania
Musicians from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1896 births
1936 deaths
Big band bandleaders
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Death in Illinois
20th-century American conductors (music)