Michael Joseph O'Sullivan (November 4, 1906 – October 13, 1971) 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. Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in silent-movie theaters, on radio stations, and then with the dance orchestras, where he was exposed to jazz. He graduated from the Chicago Conservatory and was an important contributor to the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s. Sullivan's recording career began towards the end of 1927, when he joined

McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans was an American jazz band from Chicago, led by banjo player Eddie Condon and sponsored by singer and comb player Red McKenzie. Their four recordings in December 1927 were important influences on early Chicago styl ...

. Other musicians in his circle included Jimmy McPartland,

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, Bud Freeman,

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 Community Academy High School, Austin High School Blue Friars before sp ...

and Gene Krupa. In 1932 he was a member of recording group the

Rhythmakers Rhythmakers, sometime known as The Rhythmakers or the Chicago Rhythm Kings in later re-issues of their music, was a jazz recording group which recorded music in four sessions in New York City in 1932. A racially integrated ensemble, the group was u ...

. In 1933, he joined

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 ...

as his accompanist, recording and making many radio broadcasts. He contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1936, and while he was convalescing at a sanitarium in

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in 1937, Crosby organized and appeared in a five-hour benefit for him at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in

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on May 23, 1937 in front of an audience of six thousand. The show was broadcast over two different radio stations, with fourteen bands attending (including those led by

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Ray Noble Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...

, Jimmy Dorsey, Jimmy Grier, Louis Prima,

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, and

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) and other performers included Connie Boswell,

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, Red Norvo, and

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. Approximately $3,000 was raised for Sullivan. After suffering for two years with tuberculosis, he briefly re-joined Bing Crosby in 1938 and the Bob Crosby Orchestra in 1939. In 1940, when leading Joe Sullivan's Cafe Society Orchestra, he had a minor hit with "

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". By the 1950s, Sullivan was largely forgotten, playing solo in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Marital difficulties and excessive drinking caused Sullivan to become increasingly unreliable and unable to keep a steady job, either as band member or soloist. In 1963, Sullivan met up with old colleagues Jack and

Charlie Teagarden Charlie Teagarden (July 19, 1913 – December 10, 1984), known as 'Smokey Joe', was an American jazz trumpeter. He was the younger brother of Jack Teagarden. His nickname was ''Little T''. Born in Vernon, Texas, United States, Teagarden worked loc ...

plus Pee Wee Russell when they performed at the

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. The British poet (and jazz pianist)

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celebrated Sullivan's playing with a poem, "The Thing About Joe Sullivan", Joe Sullivan died in San Francisco in October 1971, at the age of 64.

Discography

* 1933: ''Gin Mill Blues'' (Columbia) * 1935: ''Little Rock Getaway'' (Decca) * 1941: ''Forevermore'' (Commodore) * 1953: ''Jazz, Vol. 9: Piano'' ( Folkways) * 1953: ''Hangover Blues'' (Brunswick) * 1953: '' New Solos by an Old Master'' (

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

) * 1954: ''Joe Sullivan Plays Fats Waller'' (Philips) * 1956: ''Mr. Piano Man'' (Down Home) * 1961: ''Chicago And All That Jazz!'' (

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

) * 1966: ''The Asch Recordings, 1939 to 1947 - Vol. 1: Blues, Gospel, and Jazz'' (Folkways) * 1973: ''The Musical Moods of Joe Sullivan: Piano'' (Folkways)

References

External links

Joe Sullivan Bio at Red Hot Jazz Archive

Sullivan Discography on Folkways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Joe 1906 births 1971 deaths Jazz musicians from Chicago American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Riverside Records artists Swing pianists Vocalion Records artists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians