Joe Bishop (November 27, 1907 – May 12, 1976) 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 m ...

multi-instrumentalist and composer.

Early life and education

Bishop was born in

Monticello, Arkansas Monticello ( ) is a college town in, and the county seat of, Drew County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,467. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long ...

. He learned piano, trumpet, and tuba when he was young, and also played flugelhorn and mellophone. He attended

Hendrix College Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled, mostly undergraduates. While affiliated with the United Methodist Church, the college offers a secular curriculum and has a student ...

and played professionally with the Louisiana Ramblers in 1927, including in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Career

Bishop played with Mart Britt, Al Katz, and

Austin Wylie Austin James Wylie (1893 – December 7, 1947) was an American jazz bandleader. Biography Wylie led a dance band in the 1920s and early 1930s which operated as a territory band based out of Cleveland, Ohio, though he also broadcast on national r ...

before joining Isham Jones's band for five years. He was a founding member of

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's band in the 1930s, but 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, i ...

in 1940 and had to leave the group. He was rehired by Herman as a staff arranger later in the 1940s, and his arrangements and compositions were recorded frequently by Herman, appearing on some 50 of Herman's albums. As a performer, Bishop played with

Cow Cow Davenport Charles Edward "Cow Cow" Davenport (April 23, 1894 – December 3, 1955) was an American boogie-woogie and piano blues player as well as a vaudeville entertainer. He also played the organ and sang. Davenport, who also made recordings under the ...

and Jimmy Gordon's Vip Vop Band, but retired from studio work due to his health in the 1950s. He quit music and opened a store in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

, and later retired to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Bishop's compositions include "Midnight Blue", "

Woodchopper's Ball "Woodchopper's Ball", also known as "At the Woodchopper's Ball" is a 1939 jazz composition by Joe Bishop and Woody Herman. The up-tempo blues tune in D-flat major was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular composition ...

", and "Blue Prelude" (with

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Lo ...

), and his work has been covered by musicians as diverse as

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Billboar ...

and

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

References

External links

Joe Bishop recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Joe 1907 births 1974 deaths American jazz tubists American male jazz musicians American jazz pianists American male pianists Hendrix College alumni People from Monticello, Arkansas People from Saranac Lake, New York 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) Jazz musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American male musicians