Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, six or seven nights a week at venues like
VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...
halls,
Elks Lodge
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City.
History
The Elks began in 1868 as a so ...
s,
Lions Club
The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, ...
s, hotel ballrooms, and the like.
Francis Davis
Francis Davis (born August 30, 1946) is an American author and journalist. He is best known as the jazz critic for ''The Village Voice'', and a contributing editor for ''The Atlantic Monthly''. He has also worked in radio and film, and taught ...
, jazz critic for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', likened territory bands to "the
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
cover bands
A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...
(of the 1970s and 1980s) of their day, typically relying on stock arrangements of other ensembles' hits." He said, "many historians give much credit to territory bands for popularizing modern
ballroom dancing
Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...
that began during the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
era with the influence of
Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...
."
Territory bands helped disseminate popular music—which included swing, jazz, sweet dance music, or any combination thereof—bringing it to remote gin mills and dance halls that were otherwise ignored by national booking agents representing genuine recording stars like
Ellington and
Armstrong Armstrong may refer to:
Places
* Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places
Antarctica
* Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands
Argentina
* Armstrong, Santa Fe
Australia
* Armstrong, Victoria
Canada
* Armstrong, British Columbia
* Armstrong ...
. Many developed original repertoires and signature sounds, none more storied than
Walter Page
Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestr ...
's
Blue Devils, the Oklahoma City-based outfit that
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
joined in 1926.
History
Territory bands rarely recorded and were often considered secondary in ability. They played in particular states or regions of the country.
Ambitious and hopeful young musicians saw territory bands as a stepping stone to big bands. Audiences that wanted to dance kept the bands employed.
Territories
Home territories were loosely defined, but some classifications emerged. Generally, the areas were defined as Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West Coast, Southwest, and Northwest. In addition, some state-groupings became common. MINK comprised Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. VSA comprised Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama.
The Southwest proved especially fertile for territory bands. Texas, with its open geography and relatively large population, offered the greatest opportunity with developed markets for dance music in Austin, Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. The homegrown audiences of Texas bands were so plentiful that the bands developed to a high degree in relative isolation from outside influences.
One such band was that of
Alphonso Trent.
Two other important groups out of the Southwest, Kansas City specifically, were
Bennie Moten
Benjamin Moten (November 13, 1893 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
He led his Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchest ...
's band and
Jay McShann
James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...
's band. Musicians from the Moten band along with musicians from the Oklahoma City Blue Devils became one of the most influential jazz bands, under the leadership of
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
. McShann's band was on par with these groups and was where
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
began to show signs of true innovation. Bands from Los Angeles and Seattle performed not only in California, Oregon, and Washington, but also in Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. The
Glenn Henry Orchestra, which got its first big break playing summers at
Yellowstone Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
from 1935 to 1940, became a popular West Coast territory band. There were military territories, too, such as Officers' clubs and Non-commissioned Officer clubs. These clubs took bands to Bermuda, Greenland, Nova Scotia, Puerto Rico, as well as the U.S.
Styles
Audiences responded with great enthusiasm to the black bands in the Midwest. The East Coast black bands were popular in the 1920s, but swing came to that region in the form of
Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
joining the
Fletcher Henderson band when he went to New York City.
Territory bands were not all swing bands. The Midwest settlements of Europeans of various ethnicities, brought their community dancing and revelry with them, in the form of popular polka bands (and also old time
waltzes
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...
, leandlers, and
schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina ("chotis"Span ...
s).
They played at all the ballrooms and Elk Clubs and included Babe Wagner Band, Fezz Fritsche & His Goose-town Band,
Six Fat Dutchmen
The Six Fat Dutchmen was an American polka band, formed around 1932 by Harold Loeffelmacher in New Ulm, Minnesota, United States. The band was known mostly for playing the "Oom-pah" style of polka music that originated from Germany and the Germa ...
, and Whoopie John, a polka band from Minneapolis.
Pre 1920s
There were traveling bands well before the 1920s and 1930s. One of many examples were musicians who did their booking from
Redfield, South Dakota
Redfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The city was named for J. B. Redfield, a railroad official.
Geography
Redfield is located at .
According to th ...
. Redfield was a railroad hub in the
Northern Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and ...
. All their booking was up and down the rail line.
1920s swing and ballroom dancing
In 1924, according to ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', there were more than 900 dance bands, representing steady work for 7,200 musicians. There were 68
Whiteman orchestras across the country, playing music from the Whiteman library, eleven in New York alone. In the mid-1920s, bands typically had ten musicians: two
altos, one
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
(who often doubled on other
woodwinds
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...
and sometimes
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
), two
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s,
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
,
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
or
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
string bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
or
brass bass, and drums. Sometimes there were two trombones. If the band had only two saxophones, they would be alto and tenor.
Great Depression
The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, which hit bottom in 1933, was hard on territory bands. The public strained to afford entertainment. It was not uncommon for bands to be stranded for lack of funds. Many broke up during this period.
1940s decline
There are many theories on why swing music and territory bands declined. Here are a few:
#Unions restricted the fees of booking agents and managers.
#Unions required visiting bands to pay local musicians for displaced work (in small towns, unions were non-existent; but in large cities, unions often looked askance upon territory bands).
#Popularity of small combos
#Commercial Radio (introduced in 1922), better-quality gramophone discs, and television (giving greater access to entertainment in the home and access to different types of music). Changing technology (radio, TV, mobility, amplified music) shocked the music industry in a similar way that the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
has shocked the recording industry today.
#In the 1950s, most ballrooms in smaller towns of the Midwest closed, because people could drive to the city for everything.
#Record companies discovered — during the AFM recording bans of 1942-43 and 1948 — that they could profit from record sales, churning out
hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...
music with just singers, who were exempt from the recording bans. This marked a period when singers became more popular than bandleaders. The introduction and technological advancement of amplification and gramophone recording led to the development of
crooning
Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...
, an intimate vocal style perfected by singers such as
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 ...
and, later,
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
. The record companies gained control over what got recorded; therefore music that was slated for a new market of teenagers was born. This destroyed several booking agencies.
MCA, who broke up as many bands as it booked, moved to
Hollywood. Frederic Bros. (
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
) had a fallout with several of its bands.
The Vic Schroeder Agency (Omaha), was one of the more responsible bookers before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
but, little is known after — same with the White Agency.
#Amplification also led to the introduction of the
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...
, which enabled a very small band to project adequately in large-room settings. Bear in mind that, in the 1920s, an unamplified orchestra had to be large enough and play loud enough to entertain a dance hall of 3,000. Prior to the recording bans, the industry was bent on capturing the intent of composers as interpreted by musicians. Before the ban, gramophone consumers were primarily interested in authenticity of symphonies and famous orchestras (dance bands). Vocals, with no microphones, were only an incidental part of an arrangement. Vocals — like Bing Crosby's with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in the studio — could not be replicated live, on stage.
Rudy Vallée
Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type.
Early life
Hubert Prior Vall ...
used a cheerleader's
megaphone
A megaphone, speaking-trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced into ...
. Amplification and the record industry helped spur technical improvements, at the expense of performing musicians.
Female bands
In the history of traveling dance bands, all female bands are often excluded, or only given minor inclusion. Popular culture seemed to regard the musical performances dance bands provided as an area meant to be dominated by men. In the scenarios where women were allowed to join in, they were often denoted as separate. This is seen in the way many female singers were nicknamed "canaries," denoting them not as musicians, but as pretty objects meant to be on display. One example that shows just how foreign women could be considered appears in the name of a band
Mary Lou Williams
Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...
headed that was called "Six Men and a Girl."
Oftentimes these stereotypes surrounding performing women extended to instrumentalists.
All female performers were not a new idea in the dawn of traveling jazz bands though. All women groups performing American genres of music dates back to minstrel groups like Madame Rentz's Female Minstrels. Because women could not easily enter prestigious music bands that were essentially all male, all women groups continuously popped up as groups that allowed skilled female musicians to perform. Sometimes they were put together with help from outside sources. It was not uncommon for a group to be put together by a man or a talent agency, but to consist of all female performers. Sometimes performers received aide from family or friends involved in the business to help get their foot in the door. For instance,
Lil Hardin Armstrong
Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in ...
had an all woman dance band in the early 1930s. This group went by such names as "Lil Armstrong and Her Swing Band."
Other bands popular in the 1930s include
The Harlem Playgirls, The Dixie Sweethearts, the
Darlings of Rhythm The Darlings of Rhythm was an African American, all-female swing band from the 1940s.
The Darlings were often compared with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, another African American all-girl swing band. The Darlings were darker skinned tha ...
, and Gertrude Long and Her Rambling Night Hawks.
Even banding together with other women though, public perception would sometimes view all female bands as "all-girl gimmicks." Some talented musicians avoided joining all female bands in the fear that their talent would be disregarded in such a context.
Yet all female bands were also forced into the feminine appearances they were also demeaned for. In many ways, this made being in a traveling dance band more difficult for women than it had been for men. After a night spent traveling women were expected to be visions of beauty with perfect make up, hair, and personalities. Often the ultra feminine clothes they had to wear, such as strapless dress and high heels, also affected their ability to play and perform. As had been shown in previous attempts women had made to broach men's groups, attempting to break away from this dainty female image, could call the sexuality and morality of a performer into question. Yet women's performances were also often debased to their visual looks and sexual attractiveness, even though many reviewers criticized them for these elements.
A certain need to prove themselves seemed to exist among many of the female musicians who worked in dance bands. These performers inherited a lot of the stereotypes that surrounded their previous female performer counterparts: chorus line girls and girl singers. The sexual objectification of women that haunted those two careers was also a part of being in an all female band. Furthermore, chorus line girls had an association with loose morals and even prostitution, and loss of face for an instrumentalist could mean the end of a career. These kinds of associations also made many people assume that female instrumentalists were not talented players. Upon interviewing later in life, many women insisted that they were talented musicians who knew how to play. This insistence seems to be in direct reaction to the claims that circulated that female musicians were not meant to play well, but simply to look pretty. While it is true that many agencies required photographs in their applications to join female bands, the musicians in them still tended to be quite talented.
While many people view the end of the swing era as the opening of World War II, this was not the case for all woman dance bands. Instead, they flourished during the 1940s. Swing music became a form of patriotism to a country at war. The all-girl bands that did the best at this time, tended to be groups formed before American involvement in the war. Once it was realized that women could fill a major hole in the entertainment industry and that they could not be drafted, agencies and managers everywhere began trying to put together all female bands. In many ways, these musicians were very prepared to take over for the men because they had more advanced experience in playing instruments, either from hobbies or school bands. They were certainly more prepared for musical performance than many women were prepared for welding and factory work. Some groups connected to academic organizations, such as the
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...
or the
Prairie View Co-eds
The Prairie View Co-eds were an all-female band that formed in the 1940s at the historically black Prairie View A&M University. The band formed in response to more and more males being drafted into the armed forces. The Prairie View Co-eds' succe ...
did very well at this time. These groups of industrious young women could come to represent an image of what the United States was at war for. Some of these groups even did USO tours. Soldiers shipped off to foreign lands, under the pressure war and deprived of any female presence were more than welcoming to these all woman groups. The armed audiences were known to have shown extreme appreciation for these female performers
V-discs, recorded for broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network, often featured all-girl groups.
Ethnicity and race
There were black bands and white bands, and bands of various immigrant ethnicities.
There were also all-female bands, such as the
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...
.
Musician, composer, and scholar
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician.
Biography and works
Early years
Schuller was born in Queens, New York City, ...
asserted in one of his books, ''The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945 (The History of Jazz, Vol. 2)'' that, "territory bands, by definition, were black. There were, of course, many white bands in the 'territories' but they tended to have the more lucrative and permanent jobs and therefore not required to travel as much as the black bands."
Another musician (former territory band musician and historian),
Jack Behrens
Jack Behrens (born 25 March 1935) is a Canadian composer, music educator, and writer of American birth. A member of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his music has been performed throughout North Ame ...
, expressed in a book that Schuller's depiction of divergent work conditions was narrow. "During my playing days in the 1940s and 50s in several white territory bands, we didn't have "lucrative and permanent jobs" unless you count day labor in a dairy bar or clerking at a military surplus store. Worse, there were times we didn't get paid at all and we had little recourse given the cost of legal advice."
For most territory bands — whether black, white, integrated, male, female — the musicians were nearly always paid. Neither the booking agencies nor the musicians got rich, but regular salaries helped maintain pretty decent musicianship.
Most musicians witnessed and experienced
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
. One common present-day misconception is that Jim Crow practices were more prevalent in the South. The practices were prevalent everywhere, especially in New York City
and the Midwest. The bands that were racially integrated commonly experienced problems, mostly from having to dodge different applications and degrees of Jim Crow among cities and regions. Many bands, especially The
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...
, handled some of the absurdities with a degree of inward, sarcastic humor. When musicians grew wary or even felt vulnerable to injustices of Jim Crow, the band bus, for those who had one, served as a safe haven.
Bands and bandleaders
Alabama
* Carolina Cotton Pickers
Arkansas
* Original Yellowjackets
Colorado
* George Morrison
Florida
* Ross De Luxe Syncopators
* Smiling Billy Stewart's Celery City Serenaders (Florida)
Georgia
* J. Neal Montgomery & His Orchestra (Henry Mason, Trumpet) (Atlanta)
Illinois
*
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
(Chicago)
Missouri
* Art Bronson's Bostonians
*
Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra
Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra was the first Kansas City jazz band to achieve national recognition, which it acquired through national radio broadcasts. It was founded in 1918, as the Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, by drummer Carleto ...
*
Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy (Kansas City)
*
George E. Lee and His Singing Novelty Orchestra (Kansas City)
*
Bennie Moten
Benjamin Moten (November 13, 1893 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
He led his Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchest ...
's Kansas City Orchestra
* Jeter-Pillars Club Plantation Orchestra
* Original Saint Louis Crackerjacks
* Red Perkins & His Dixie Ramblers
Nebraska
*
Little John Beecher
*
Verne Byers Vincent LeRoy Beyer (March 14, 1918, Denver, Colorado – December 19, 2008 in Las Cruces, New Mexico), known professionally as Verne Byers or Vern Byers, was an American jazz bandleader, double bass player, promoter, and nightclub owner. He brought ...
Orchestra
* Bob Calame
*
Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders
* Al Hudson
*
Preston Love
Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...
* Clarence Love
*
Dick Mango Orchestra
* Walter Martie
*
Nat Towles
Nat Towles (August 10, 1905 – January 1963) was an American musician, jazz and big band leader popular in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, North Omaha, Nebraska and Chicago, Illinois. He was also music educator in Austin, Texas. The N ...
*
Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...
New York
*
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
(New York)
*
Casa Loma Orchestra (Detroit, then New York)
*
Harlem Playgirls
Harlem Playgirls was an African American swing band active in the Midwest and throughout the United States from the mid-1930s to the early 1940s.
History
Organized by Milwaukee-based drummer and band leader Sylvester Rice (1905–1984)''Late Eli ...
*
Edgar Hayes
Edgar Junius Hayes (May 23, 1902 – June 28, 1979) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, Hayes attended Wilberforce University, where he graduated with a degree in music in the early 1920 ...
(New York)
*
Gene Kardos
Eugene Kardos (June 12, 1899 – July 27, 1980) was the leader of a jazz and dance orchestra in the 1930s. He recorded for Victor in 1931–32 and then recorded for ARC's labels (Perfect, Melotone, Banner, Oriole, Romeo, Vocalion etc.) through 19 ...
& His Orchestra (New York)
*
Jimmie Lunceford
James Melvin Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Early life
Lunceford was born on a farm in the Evergreen community, west of the Tombigbee River, near Fulton, Mi ...
's Orchestra (Buffalo)
*
Mills Blue Rhythm Band
The Mills Blue Rhythm Band was an American big band active during the 1930s.
The band was formed in New York City, United States, in 1930 by drummer Willie Lynch as the Blue Rhythm Band, and then briefly operated as the Coconut Grove Orchestra. ...
(New York)
* Dave Nelson's Harlem Hot Shots (New York)
*
Willard Robison
Willard Robison (September 18, 1894 – June 24, 1968) was an American vocalist, pianist, and composer of popular songs, born in Shelbina, Missouri. His songs reflect a rural, melancholy theme steeped in Americana and their warm style has ...
& His Orchestra (New York)
*
Savoy Sultans The Savoy Sultans was the name of two related 20th-century American jazz ensembles.
Savoy Sultans (1937–1946)
The original Savoy Sultans were formed by saxophonist Al Cooper, and played at the Savoy Ballroom from 1937 to 1946. This small swing ...
(
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
in Harlem)
*
Chick Webb
William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader.
Early life
Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...
(New York)
Oklahoma
*
Walter Page
Walter Sylvester Page (February 9, 1900 – December 20, 1957) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, best known for his groundbreaking work as a double bass player with Walter Page's Blue Devils and the Count Basie Orchestr ...
's
Oklahoma City Blue Devils
The Oklahoma City Blue Devils was the premier American Southwest territory jazz band in the 1920s. Originally called Billy King's Road Show, it disbanded in Oklahoma City in 1925 where Walter Page renamed it. The name ''Blue Devils'' came from t ...
Ohio
* Chubb-Steinberg Orchestra
*
The Wolverines
*
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 ...
's Golden Pheasant Orchestra
* Zach Whyte's Chocolate Beau Brummels
Tennessee
* Snooks and His Memphis Stompers
* Slim Lamar and his Southerners
* Mart Britt and his Orchestra
Texas
* Don Albert Band
* Blue Syncopaters, El Paso
* Joe Buzze and His Orchestra, Waco
* Sunny Clapp's Band
* Happy Black Aces
* Clifford "Boots" Douglas and his Buddies
*
Troy Floyd
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
San Antonio
* Fred Gardner's Texas University Troubadours
* Milt Larkins, Houston
* Peck's Bad Boys (
Peck Kelley
John Dickson "Peck" Kelley (October 22, 1898 – December 26, 1980) was an American jazz pianist. He was best known for his 1920s band Peck's Bad Boys, which included Jack Teagarden, and Pee Wee Russell.
Early life
John Dickson "Peck" Kelley w ...
)
*
Alphonso Trent
Wisconsin
* Grant Moore and His Black Devils, Milwaukee
* Johnny Nugent Band Fox Valley
Unsorted
* Tommy Allan
* Buster Bailey
* C.S. Belton
* Bill Brown & His Brownies
* Sonny Clay Plantation Orchestra
* Ernest Coycault
* Deluxe Melody Boys
* Wilbur DeParis
* Tommy Douglas and His Orchestra
* Babe Egan's Hollywood Redheads
* Charles Fultcher Band (southern territory)
* Gabe Garland Band
* Frankie and Johnnie Gilliland Orchestra, Charlotte
* Mal Hallett (New England)
* Tiny Hill and the Hilltoppers
* Alex Jackson's Plantation Orchestra
* Willie Jones
* Jimmie Joy's Baker Hotel Orchestra
* Julia Lee
* Floyd Mills & His Marylanders
* Jerry Mosher
* Jimmy "Dancing Shoes" Palmer
* Leo Peeper and His Orchestra
* Doc Ross
* Jimmy Rushing
* Jack Russell and His Sweet Rhythmic Orchestra
* Snookum Russell
* Scranton Sirens Orchestra
* Buster Smith
* Sammy Stevens
* Royce Stoenner Orchestra
* Jesse Stone's Blue Serenaders
* Jimmy Thomas
* Washboard Rhythm Boys
See also
*
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
*
Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers and dance teachers who appeared on Broadway and in silent films in the early 20th century. They are credited with reviving the popularity of modern dancing. Castle was a st ...
*
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 ...
s
*
Castle Walk
Castle Walk is a dance originated and made famous by Vernon and Irene Castle. The Castle Walk became popular through its introduction into the Tango. "Castle Walk" is also a popular American song (1914) composed for Vernon and Irene Castle by ...
*
East Coast Swing
*
Jive
*
Lindy Hop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...
*
National Ballroom Operators Association
*
Swing dance
Swing dance is a group of social dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular "swing era". Hundreds of styles of swing dancing were developed; those that have ...
*
Swing era
The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...
*
Swing music
Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...
*
West Coast Swing
West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The ...
References
External links
Territory Bands Data Base(), maintained by Thomas Meyer,
Hamburg, Germany; formerly nfo.net of the late Murray L. Pfeffer (1926–2008)
Michelle Linsey Holland''Where East Texas Dances: The Cooper Club of Henderson, Rusk County, and Popular Dance Bands, 1932-1942'' Masters Thesis,
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
(May 2007)
*
Lee Barron (1915–1993) (author's real name is El Roy Vernon Lee), ''Odyssey of the Mid-Nite Flyer: a history of Midwest bands'', publisher – El Roy V. Lee, (c1987) {{ISBN, 0-9620437-0-2
20th century in music
American music history
Jazz culture
Jazz terminology
Musical terminology
Occupations in music
Types of musical groups