William Alexander "Sonny" Greer (December 13, c. 1895 – March 23, 1982) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist, best known for his work with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

Biography

Greer was born in Long Branch,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, United States, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C., before joining Duke Ellington, whom he met in 1919. He was Ellington's first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians, and moved with Ellington into the Cotton Club. As a result of his job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, Greer was able to build up a huge

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

worth over a then-considerable $3,000, including chimes, a

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditiona ...

, and

vibes Vibes may refer to: * Vibes (percussion) or vibraphone, a musical instrument * Vibes (company) a mobile marketing company * The aura or energy given off by someone Media * ''Vibes'' (film), a 1988 comedy * ''Vibes'' (video game), a 2010 video ...

. Greer was a heavy drinker, as well as a pool-hall hustler (when he needed to retrieve his drums from the pawnbroker), and in 1950, Ellington responded to his drinking and occasional unreliability by taking a second drummer,

Butch Ballard George Edward "Butch" Ballard (December 26, 1918 – October 1, 2011) was an American jazz drummer who played with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Biography Ballard was born in Camden, New Jersey and grew up in the Frankford ...

, with them on a tour of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. This enraged Greer, and the consequent argument led to their permanent estrangement. Greer continued to play, mainly as a freelance drummer, working with musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Red Allen, J. C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, and Brooks Kerr, as well as appearing in films, and briefly leading his own band. Greer featured in the 1958 black-and-white photograph by Art Kane known as "

A Great Day in Harlem ''A Great Day in Harlem'' or ''Harlem 1958'' is a black-and-white photograph of 57 jazz musicians in Harlem, Manhattan, Harlem, New York, taken by freelance photographer Art Kane for ''Esquire (magazine), Esquire'' magazine on August 12, 1958. ...

". He was part of a tribute to Ellington in 1974, which achieved great success throughout the United States. Greer died of a heart attack on March 23, 1982 at Lenox Hill,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, New York City.

Discography

With

* ''Duke Ellington'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * ''The Duke in London'' (Decca, 1957) * ''At the Cotton Club'' (RCA Camden, 1958) * ''Caravan'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Jazz Cocktail'' (Columbia, 1958) * ''Johnny Come Lately'' (RCA Victor, 1967) * ''The Duke Elington Carnegie Hall Concerts, January 1943'' (Prestige, 1977) With Johnny Hodges * ''

Castle Rock Castle Rock may refer to: Geography Islands * Castle Rock (Alaskan Island), an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Alaska * Castle Rock, Hong Kong (螺洲白排), an island of Hong Kong, part of the Po Toi Islands * Castle Rock (Massachusett ...

'' (Norgran, 1955) * '' Creamy'' (Norgran, 1955) With others * Bernard Addison, ''High in a Basement'' (77 Records, 1961) * Louis Armstrong, ''Town Hall'' (RCA Victor, 1957) * Earl Hines, ''Once Upon a Time'' (Impulse!, 1966) *

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charle ...

, ''Lionel Hampton'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * Lonnie Johnson, ''Playing with the Strings'' (JSP, 2004) * Brooks Kerr, ''Soda Fountain Rag'' (Chiaroscuro, 1974) * Oscar Pettiford, ''Oscar Rides Again'' (Proper, 2008) *

Rex Stewart Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra. Career As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...

, Cootie Williams, ''Tea and Trumpets'' (His Master's Voice, 1955) * Victoria Spivey, ''The Queen and Her Knights'' (Spivey, 1965) * Josh White, ''Sings Ballads, Blues'' (Elektra, 1957)

References

Bibliography

*Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather & Brian Priestley. ''Jazz: The Rough Guide''.

External links

* Sonny Greer— brief biography by Scott Yanow, for Allmusic (also contains a discography
Sonny Greer
a
Drummerworld.com
*
Sonny Greer recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Sonny 1890s births 1982 deaths People from Long Branch, New Jersey Swing drummers American jazz drummers Duke Ellington Orchestra members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American male jazz musicians 20th-century American male musicians