George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 - March 18, 1971) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bandleader. Born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, Olsen played the drums and attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he was drum major. There he formed his band, George Olsen and his Music, which continued in the Portland area. The group's debut hotel engagement came at the Multnomah Hotel in Portland. He then made the cross-county transition to

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 ...

, appearing in ''

Kid Boots ''Kid Boots'' is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire and Otto Harbach, music by Harry Tierney, and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. The show was staged by Edward Royce. Produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, the Broadway production, opened on ...

'' (1923), the '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1924'', ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1925'', and '' Good News'' (1927). George Olsen and his Music were prolific Victor recording artists and their records are among the most numerous found by record collectors today, testifying to their original popularity. He and his orchestra were in

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences ...

's 1928 Broadway hit '' Whoopee!'', and in the 1930 movie version. In the ''Follies'' George met a singer,

Ethel Shutta Ethel Shutta (pronounced "shoo-TAY"; December 1, 1896 – February 5, 1976) was an American actress and singer, who came to prominence through her performances on Jack Benny's radio show, her role in the early Eddie Cantor musical ''Whoopee!'', ...

, who sings and dances memorably in '' Whoopee!'', and they married, appearing together in nightclubs and on radio. They had two children, George Jr. and Charles; following a divorce, Olsen opened a restaurant in

Paramus, New Jersey Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

. Olsen and Shutta were heard on the '' Oldsmobile Program'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

radio in 1933. He also was an orchestra leader for ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'' on radio. George Olsen at WJZ with double button microphone 1926

Olsen signed with Victor in 1924 and remained as one of Victor's most popular bands until 1933 when he signed with

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

. He stayed with Columbia through January, 1934. He recorded a single session in 1938 for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

, and one final date for the rare Varsity label in 1940. Olsen's bands produced few stars. Singer-saxophonist

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

passed through in 1930 on his way to eventual movie stardom, recording a vocal on ''I'm in the Market for You.'' Olsen's long-time alto saxist and singer, Fran Frey, with his distinctive, reedy bass-baritone, was perhaps the best known Olsenite until he left in 1933 for a career as a music director in radio. In 1936, Olsen became leader of

Orville Knapp Orville Knapp (January 1, 1904 - July 16, 1936) was an American dance bandleader born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was the brother of Evalyn Knapp. Orville Knapp was an autodidact on saxophone, and moved to New York City in the early 1920s, where h ...

's band after Knapp died in a plane crash. Olsen was chosen to lead the band by Knapp's widow. Morale problems plagued the group, and in 1938, after many musicians had already left, the group disbanded. A resident of

, Olsen ran a popular local restaurant there on Paramus Road for many years before he died there on March 18, 1971. According to John S. Wilson in ''The New York Times'', reviewing a retrospective of Olsen's recording "George Olsen and His Music" on RCA-Victor, in 1968, Olsen had a restaurant in Paramus, NJ called "George Olsen's". Wilson noted that "Olsen is there every day greeting guests at lunch and dinner... In the background, the original George Olsen records of the Twenties play softly. After his divorce from Shutta, Olsen married Claralee Pilcer.

Discography

Beale Street Blues (1924) Biminy (1924) Everybody Loves My Baby (1925) He's The Hottest Man In Town (1924) My Best Girl (1924) My Papa Doesn't Two-Time No Time (1924) Nancy (1924) Put Away A Little Ray Of Golden Sunshine For A Rainy Day (1924) Sax-o-phun (1924) The Slave of Love (1924) You'll Never Get To Heaven With Those Eyes (1924)

Lullaby of the Leaves "Lullaby of the Leaves" is a musical composition by composer Bernice Petkere and lyricist Joe Young. A Tin Pan Alley song first performed in 1932, the jazz standard is considered the biggest critical and commercial success of Petkere's composing ...

(1932)

References

External links

*
George Olsen 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:Olsen, George 1893 births 1971 deaths American bandleaders Big band bandleaders People from Paramus, New Jersey Musicians from Portland, Oregon University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians American radio bandleaders