Harlan Lattimore (November 25, 1908- July 1980), was a popular African-American singer with several jazz orchestras of the 1930s, most notably

Don Redman Donald Matthew Redman (July 29, 1900 – November 30, 1964) was an American jazz musician, music arrangement, arranger, bandleader, and composer. Biography Redman was born in Piedmont, West Virginia, Piedmont, Mineral County, West Virginia, Un ...

's. Starting in 1932, singing in the Don Redman Orchestra, Harlem nightclub Connie's Inn marketed Lattimore as the "colored Bing Crosby" 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''

Biography

Lattimore was born in 1908 in Cincinnati, where he built his reputation as a singer on that city's WLW radio station. By March 1932, he had arrived on the New York City music scene, and began his recording career with Fletcher Henderson's band. Not long afterwards, Lattimore was signed by

as his vocalist. This association lasted until 1936. His style of singing, as well as the timbre of his voice, closely resembling that 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 ...

, earned him recording dates with some of the top studio and dance bands of the era, most notably those of

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

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 ...

, and

Isham Jones Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. Career Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...

, as well a number of dates as vocalist for a number of generic dance records for ARC (on Melotone,

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

, Oriole,

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

, and Perfect). With the exposure of Lattimore to the public through radio broadcasts (with Don Redman), recordings and an appearance in a Vitaphone short subject film (with Redman), it seemed a foregone conclusion that he was headed for stardom. This was not to be. Lattimore's behavior became unreliable and erratic in the mid-1930s, and he made his last recordings with Redman in 1936. After service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he dropped out of the music scene. On November 11, 1949, he appeared at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in what was billed as a comeback, produced by Don Redman. Although the name Lattimore is now looked upon as a footnote in American popular music, he was pioneering African-American singer who established a style and role later filled by such musical luminaries as

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

and

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

.Eckstine cited Lattimore as the model he emulated to develop a style of singing away from the "hepcat" stereotype; see Cary Ginell, ''Mr. B: The Music and Life of Billy Eckstine'' (NY: Hal Leonard, 2013). The 1933 Vitaphone short, ''Don Redman and his Orchestra'', is included on the

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 ...

DVD of ''Dames'', where he sings a beautiful rendition of

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

's " Ill Wind", which the Redman band never recorded.

References

1908 births 1980 deaths American jazz singers Parlophone artists 20th-century American singers {{US-jazz-singer-stub