Richard Eldridge Maltby Sr. (June 26, 1914 – August 19, 1991) was an American

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

, most notable for his 1956 recording " (Themes from) ''The Man with the Golden Arm''". He was also the father of the Broadway lyricist and director

Richard Maltby Jr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin (1 ...

After studying briefly at Northwestern University's music school, he left college to become a full-time musician. He played trumpet with several big bands, including those of Jack Little, Roger Pryor,

Bob Strong Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

and Henry Busse, as well as also doing some arranging. In 1940, he took a job as an arranger for the orchestra of the Chicago-based radio station, WBBM, before moving to New York City in 1945 to become an arranger-conductor on network radio, where he worked with Paul Whiteman. In 1942,

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

recorded his composition "Six Flats Unfurnished." During the post-war years, he made several recordings for subsidiary labels of

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, and in 1954, finally scored a Top 40 hit with "

St. Louis Blues Mambo ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

". In 1955, he began leading his own dance band, with which he had his Top 20 hit, "(Themes From) ''The Man With the Golden Arm''", in the spring of the following year. He left RCA for

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 ...

in 1959, then moved to Roulette Records a year later. He stopped recording on his own during the mid-1960s. He was also the musical director of

SESAC Jazz Classics SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

between 1950 and 1965, and recorded several transcriptions for radio. As a conductor, he worked with singers such as

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, Johnnie Ray, Vic Damone and Ethel Merman, and after he stopped recording on his own, he served as an arranger and conductor for Lawrence Welk on records and television. A heart condition in his later years forced him into retirement, and he underwent several operations prior to his death. He died in 1991, aged 77.

References

Bibliography

External links

Richard Maltby Sr. papers, 1936-2006 (bulk 1956-1975)
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Music Division
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The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maltby, Richard 1914 births 1991 deaths American jazz bandleaders Bienen School of Music alumni American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters X Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians

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