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
"I Cried for You" is a pop and jazz standard with music written by Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman, with lyrics by Arthur Freed. It was introduced by Abe Lyman and His Orchestra in 1923. The recording by Benny Krueger and His Orchestra the same year p ...
" from 1923.
He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He also had a few small acting roles.
Career
Arnheim was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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 ...
, United States.
In 1919, three men who all would become famous band leaders played together at the Sunset Inn in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. Arnheim played piano,
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including ''Your Hit Parade''.
His name at birth was Abra ...
played the drums, and
Henry Halstead played violin. Arnheim grew up in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
and at one point was accompanist to vaudevillian
Sophie Tucker. When Lyman organized a full dance orchestra, Arnheim came along as pianist, leaving to start his own group in 1927. Arnheim's orchestra made at least three film
short subjects for
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
'
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 ...
Corporation in 1928–29.
Arnheim first recorded for OKeh in 1928–1929, when he signed with Victor in 1929 and stayed through 1933. He signed with Brunswick and recorded through 1937. In 1928–31, Arnheim had an extended engagement at the
Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. In 1930, when
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist.
As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, ...
finished filming ''
The King of Jazz
'' King of Jazz'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code color musical film starring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The film title refers to Whiteman's popular cultural appellation. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the genera ...
'' for
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
,
The Rhythm Boys
The Rhythm Boys were an American male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. Crosby and Rinker began performing together in 1925 and were recruited by Paul Whiteman in late 1926. Pianist/singer/songwriter Barris joine ...
vocal trio, consisting 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 ...
,
Harry Barris
Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was an American popular singer and songwriter. He was one of the earliest singers to use "scat singing" in recordings. Barris, one of Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, along with Bing Crosby an ...
and
Al Rinker
Al Rinker (December 20, 1907 – June 11, 1982) was an American musician who began his career as a teen performing with Bing Crosby in the early 1920s in Spokane, Washington. In 1925 the pair moved to Los Angeles, eventually forming the Rhythm ...
decided to stay in California and they signed up with Arnheim's band. While the Rhythm Boys only recorded one song with Arnheim, "
Them There Eyes
"Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey that was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was performed by Louis Armstrong in 1931. It was made famous by Billie Holiday, who recorde ...
" (which also happened to be The Rhythm Boys final recording), Arnheim's Orchestra backed Crosby on a number of songs released by
Victor Records
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 ...
in 1931. These popular records, coupled with Arnheim's radio broadcasts featuring Crosby's solo vocals, were a key element to the beginning of Crosby's popularity as a crooner.
Between 1930 and 1933, some notable people worked in or with Arnheim's band:
*
Fred MacMurray played clarinet and tenor sax in 1930-31 and sang on one recording ("All I Want Is Just One".
*
Russ Columbo
Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolfo Colombo (January 14, 1908 – September 2, 1934), known as Russ Columbo, was an American baritone, songwriter, violinist and actor. He is famous for romantic ballads such as his signature tune "You Call It Madness ...
played violin in 1930 and sang on "A Peach of a Pair".
* Future popular bandleader Jimmie Grier was staff arranger during this time. Grier had played lead
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
and
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
in Arnheim's band from its founding in 1928.
*
Eddie Cantor and
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
each recorded a song for Arnheim on July 23, 1931, although the Crawford side ("How Long Will It Last?") was not issued. Cantor's side, "There's Nothing Too Good for My Baby," was issued but without vocalist credit.
* Future popular singer
Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...
sang with Arnheim in 1932.
*
Shirley Ross
Shirley Ross (born Bernice Maude Gaunt, January 7, 1913 – March 9, 1975) was an American actress and singer, notable for her duet with Bob Hope, " Thanks for the Memory" from ''The Big Broadcast of 1938''. She appeared in 25 feature films be ...
sang with Arnheim in 1933
*
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...
played piano with Arnheim starting in 1937.
Between 1939 and 1944,
Mexican American crooner
Andy Russell played the drums and sang with Arnheim. Arnheim was the one who suggested that Russell sing bilingually in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and change his last name from Rábago to Russell (in honor of Russ Columbo) leading to his first million-selling record "
Bésame Mucho
"Bésame Mucho" (; "Kiss Me A Lot") is a bolero song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. It is one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and one of the most important songs in the history of Latin music. It was re ...
".
Gus Arnheim died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
in Los Angeles on January 19, 1955.
Radio
In the early 1930s, Arnheim "was heard on the ''Lucky Strike Dance Hour'', which was broadcast weekly on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
."
Compositions
Arnheim's musical compositions included "
Sweet and Lovely".
[
]
Bibliography
*Rust, Brian
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 ...
''The American Dance Band Discography'' 1975, Arlington House Publishers.
References
External links
Gus Arnheim 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:Arnheim, Gus
American bandleaders
Big band bandleaders
1897 births
1955 deaths
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
20th-century American conductors (music)
Okeh Records artists
Victor Records artists
Brunswick Records artists