Husk O'Hare (October 27, 1896 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

– April 19, 1970 in Chicago) was an American

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

bandleader and impresario active during the 1920s and 1930s. O'Hare served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was discharged in 1921. Following this he was a booking manager for the Chicago-based group Friar's Society Orchestra, who would later be known as the

New Orleans Rhythm Kings The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians. They compos ...

. Soon afterwards he formed his own ensemble, the Blue Friars, which he later called O'Hare's Red Dragons and O'Hare's Wolverines.Leo Walker, The Big Band Almanac. Ward Ritchie Press, 1978, p. 323. O'Hare had bought the rights to the name Wolverines from Dick Voynow, who was a member of The Wolverines, and O'Hare performed under this name for several years, playing as a territory band in the mid-Atlantic and Ohio. His sidemen in the 1920s included

Muggsy Spanier Francis Joseph "Muggsy" Spanier (November 9, 1901 – February 12, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist based in Chicago. He was a member of the Bucktown Five, pioneers of the "Chicago style" that straddled traditional Dixieland jazz and swi ...

, Floyd O'Brien, and

Jim Lanigan Jim Lanigan (January 30, 1902 - April 9, 1983) was an American jazz bassist and tubist. Lanigan learned piano and violin as a child, and played piano and drums in the Austin High School Blue Friars before specializing on bass and tuba. Lanigan ...

. He recorded for

Gennett Records Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

and

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and led bands for most of the 1930s, in addition to managing dozens of other ensembles. In the early 1940s he left music to work in manufacturing.

References

;Sources *Charles A. Sengstock: ''That toddlin' town: Chicago's white dance bands and orchestras, 1900-1950''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohare, Husk 1896 births 1970 deaths American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Chicago Jazz musicians from Illinois The Wolverines (jazz band) members New Orleans Rhythm Kings members