George Arthur Rhodes (October 10, 1918 – December 25, 1985) was an American

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, conductor,

music director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

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 ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. He is most known for being

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

's long-time music director, arranger, and conductor. Rhodes made history as a

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

music director by being the first to work for a major network (at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in 1966 for ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'') and to work for a Las Vegas showroom (at the Tropicana Hotel in 1973). After being hired as a temporary pianist for Davis in 1955, Rhodes eventually became his principal arranger and conductor, working on his variety act, ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'', three of Davis' television specials, two musicals starring Davis, and three albums.

Biography

Early life

George Arthur Rhodes was born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

on October 10, 1918 to Margaret and James Rhodes." George Arthur Rhodes, Cartõ de Imigração; 1954." April 28, 1954. Cartões de imigração, Caixa 332, Maço 3, ''Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, registos de migração (parte 5), 1930-1970''. Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro), digitized by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 2011 accessed vi
FamilySearch
February 18, 2018. However, he moved to

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

and it is often credited as his hometown.

Career

Rhodes began his career in Chicago as a pianist for the blues singer

Lil Green Lil Green (December 22, 1919 (some sources give 1901 or 1910) – April 14, 1954) was an American blues singer and songwriter. She was among the leading female rhythm and blues singers of the 1940s, with a sensual soprano voice. Gospel singer R ...

in 1944. He continued to play piano for other black artists, such as the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

J. C. Higginbotham J. (Jack) C. Higginbotham (May 11, 1906 – May 26, 1973) was an American jazz trombonist. His playing was robust and swinging. Biography He was born in Social Circle, Georgia, United States, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1930s a ...

, and Arnett Cobb. While playing in Cobb's band, Rhodes moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he was a piano student at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. While in

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in the 1950s, he started his work as an arranger for a string of record labels: Apollo Records (from 1950 to 1952),

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

(1954 to 1955), and King Records (from 1955 to 1956). Rhodes also continued playing piano with jazz musicians such as

Jonah Jones Jonah Jones (born Robert Elliott Jones; December 31, 1909 – April 29, 2000) was a jazz trumpeter who created concise versions of jazz and swing and jazz standards that appealed to a mass audience. In the jazz community, he is known for his w ...

. In 1955,

, while in New York to star in the musical '' Mr. Wonderful,'' hired Rhodes as pianist in the band of his variety act, the

Will Mastin Trio The Will Mastin Trio (also Will Maston Trio on some bills) was a troupe of dancers and singers formed by Will Mastin, Sammy Davis Sr., and Sammy Davis Jr. The original members were Sammy Davis Sr., Howard M. Colbert Jr., and Will Mastin, although ...

, which was then led by

Morty Stevens Morton Stevens (January 30, 1929 – November 11, 1991) was an American film score composer. In 1965, he became director of music for CBS West Coast operations. He is probably best known for composing the theme music for ''Hawaii Five-O'', a C ...

, an arranger, conductor and pianist, himself. As Stevens began gaining independent success as a composer, Rhodes took over more responsibility as bandleader, eventually replacing Stevens as principal arranger and conductor when he left the act to work for

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 ...

. Rhodes would continue working for Davis for 30 years, until his death in 1985. In addition to their strong professional relationship, Rhodes also quickly became a good friend of Davis and they remained close for the rest of his life. In the 1960s, Rhodes served as music director for many of

's projects. In 1965, he returned to Broadway with Davis as conductor for the musical Golden Boy, for which Davis was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did no ...

. Rhodes became the first black music director to work for a major television network when he was conductor-arranger of ''The Sammy Davis Jr. Show'' for NBC in 1966. In the same year, he also was music director for "The Swinging World of Sammy Davis Jr.," a television variety special which was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special. In 1972, George Rhodes and his band accompanied Sammy Davis Jr to Vietnam to perform in USO show for American soldiers in various parts of the country. Besides Rhodes and Sammy Davis Jr, Lynn Kellogg, Ted Barret and several chorus girls performed for the GIs. Rhodes again broke barriers in 1973 by becoming the first black music director of a

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 Vegas ...

showroom A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921 A showroom, also referred to as a gallery, is a large space used to display products, entertainment or visual arts. Marketing location A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, suc ...

when he was hired by the Tropicana Hotel. This was precipitated by

becoming a director of the hotel (the first black director of a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

), at which he would also be performing. In 1978, Rhodes was set to conduct the orchestra during Davis' return to Broadway in the revival of ''

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'' as he had for ''Golden Boy'', but was dismissed during previews in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. It was reported that the producers had agreed to Davis' request for Rhodes to conduct only to placate him, but did not think Rhodes would be up to the job and instead wanted to use Ian Fraser, the arranger and music supervisor of the original 1961 production. However, upon finding out, Davis refused to continue in the production until he was reinstated, saying later "I told them I couldn't perform. It's like losing my family." The production team were forced to re-sign Rhodes as conductor/music director for the three week Broadway run.

Personal life

In 1958, Rhodes married Shirley Anne Vest, who became a manager for

They remained married until his death in 1985, and she described him as "a good, kind, gentle man." The couple had five children: George Jr., Shirley, Andrea, Gregory, and Eygie (Andrea and Gregory were children off Doris Jean Randolph and George Rhodes). He had a strong lifelong friendship with Sammy Davis Jr. who often referred to him as family. In response to his passing, Davis said "He was my brother on and off the stage, and no one can ever replace him in either area of my life."

Death

At the age of 67"George Rhodes, Dec 1985" ''United States Social Security Death Index'' U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, accessed vi
FamilySearch
/ref> Rhodes died of a heart attack in his sleep at his

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' ...

home early in the morning of December 25, 1985. Shirley reported that he had not been ill, and that the doctor who pronounced him dead said he "had no pain."

Discography

As leader

* ''Real George'' (Groove, 1956) * ''Porgy and Bess'' (AAMCO, 1959) * ''Rock, Rock, Rock'' (AAMCO, 1959)

As sideman

* Arnett Cobb, '' Arnett Blows for 1300'' (Delmark, 1994) *

, ''Jonah Jones at the Embers'' (Groove, 1956) * Jonah Jones, ''Muted Jazz'' (Capitol, 1957) *

, ''I Gotta Right to Swing'' (Brunswick, 1960) * Sammy Davis Jr., '' That's All!'' (Reprise, 1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, George A 1918 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists African-American conductors (music) African-American jazz pianists American male pianists American music arrangers American male jazz musicians Music directors 20th-century African-American musicians