Irving Aaronson And His Commanders
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Irving A. Aaronson (February 7, 1895 – March 10, 1963) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
pianist and
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
leader. Aaronson's most popular song, "
The Loveliest Night of the Year "The Loveliest Night of the Year" is a popular song. The music was first published as a waltz called " Sobre las olas" ("Over the Waves") in 1888, written by Juventino P. Rosas. In 1950, the music was adapted by Irving Aaronson with lyrics by P ...
", was not recorded with his band but was adapted by Aaronson in 1950 for the
Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
film ''
The Great Caruso ''The Great Caruso'' is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as Enrico Caruso. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenpla ...
''.


Early life and education

Aaronson was born in New York, United States. He learned the piano from Alfred Sendry at the David Mannes School for music.


Career

By age 11, he played accompaniment in silent movie theaters (called
nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
s).Lewis, Dave. ''Irving Aaronson'', redhotjazz.com He co-wrote a hit song, "Boo-Hoo-Hoo", in 1921. Aaronson's first band was called the Crusaders and recorded several sides for
Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's found ...
. His band signed with the
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label in 1926 and the band's name was changed to Irving Aaronson and his Commanders. While signed to Victor from 1926 to 1929, the band had a notable success with " Let's Misbehave" in 1927. The band appeared in
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...
's
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 ...
musical ''
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'', in 1928 and broadcast on
KFWB KFWB (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs a classic Regional Mexican music format. KFWB is owned by Lotus Communications. The station has a colorful history, being the radio voice of Warner Bros. Studios i ...
, Hollywood, California, circa 1929.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 9. In 1933, Irving Aaronson and his Commanders recorded for the
Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...
label. In 1934 and 1935, they recorded for the
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
label. It is difficult to evaluate these records as they have never been reissued, but fortunately, some of them have been uploaded onto the Internet in recent years; including the song “Let’s Be Thankful”. In 1935, Aaronson headlined the ''Irving Aaronson Orchestra'' radio program on
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. The band toured movie theatres and ballrooms across America. Aaronson's band included at various times such musicians as Phil Saxe, Joe Gillespie, and others who would become bandleaders themselves:
Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...
,
Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...
, and
Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...
.
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movie actor
Fuzzy Knight John Forrest "Fuzzy" Knight (May 9, 1901 – February 23, 1976) was an American film and television actor. He was also a singer, especially in his early career. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1928 and 1967, usually as a cowboy h ...
was a drummer with Aaronson's band in the late 1920s. In 1939 Billy Mann, a successful investor who had been a founding member of the
Yacht Club Boys The Yacht Club Boys were a quartet of American comic singers, popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The best-known set of Yacht Club Boys consisted of Charlie Adler, George Kelly, Billy Mann, and Jimmie Kern. They made recordings from the 1920s and appea ...
musical quartet, bought the Irving Aaronson band outright. Aaronson remained as the pianist, but only briefly; in 1940, he joined the
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film studio as a musical director. He remained in that capacity and served as assistant to producer
Joe Pasternak Joseph Herman Pasternak (born József Paszternák; September 19, 1901 – September 13, 1991) was a Hungarian-American film producer in Hollywood. Pasternak spent the Hollywood "Golden Age" of musicals at MGM Studios, producing many successfu ...
until his death from a heart attack in 1963. Some sources suggest his retirement at age 65, others have him active until his death.


Personal life and final years

Aaronson died in Hollywood of a heart attack in 1963, at 68 years old. He was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.


References


Other sources

* Clarke, Donald. ''The Penguin encyclopedia of popular music'', Viking, 1989. * Larkin, Colin. ''The encyclopedia of popular music'', third edition. Macmillan, 1998. * Sies, Luther F. ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960'', McFarland, 2000.


External links

*
Irving Aaronson Irving A. Aaronson (February 7, 1895 – March 10, 1963) was an American jazz pianist and big band leader. Aaronson's most popular song, "The Loveliest Night of the Year", was not recorded with his band but was adapted by Aaronson in 1950 for ...
at
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Irving Aaronson
at the Red Hot Jazz Archive *
Irving Aaronson
at Discography of American Historical Recordings {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaronson, Irving American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz bandleaders Musicians from New York (state) 1895 births 1963 deaths Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery Victor Records artists Columbia Records artists 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians