Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in

Cherokee, Kansas Cherokee is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 590. History Cherokee had its start in the year 1870 by the building of the ...

– December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) 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 ...

and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger.

Career

He began on piano at age nine and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938–39 before moving to Los Angeles and joining the Bobby Sherwood band at age 20. While serving in the military during

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 opposing ...

, he met guitarist Al Viola and bassist Lloyd Pratt, with whom he formed a trio. After the war's end they performed together in the style of the

Nat King Cole Trio Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, scoring a number of hits in the late 1940s, including " The Three Bears", " Walkin' My Baby Back Home", and " All of Me". Scott Yanow,

Page Cavanaugh Walter Page Cavanaugh (January 26, 1922 in Cherokee, Kansas – December 19, 2008 in Los Angeles) was an American jazz and pop pianist, vocalist, and arranger. Career He began on piano at age nine and played with Ernie Williamson's band in 1938 ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

The trio appeared in the films ''

A Song Is Born ''A Song Is Born'' (also known as ''That's Life''), starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, is a 1948 Technicolor musical film remake of Howard Hawks' 1941 movie ''Ball of Fire'' with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. This version was also d ...

'', '' Big City'', '' Lullaby of Broadway'' (with Doris Day) and ''

Romance on the High Seas ''Romance on the High Seas'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''It's Magic'') is a 1948 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, and starred Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore and Doris Day in her film debut. Busby Be ...

'' (Doris Day's first film, in 1948).Jazz Pianist-Singer Page Cavanaugh Dies at 86

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

, December 24, 2008. He recorded dozens of tracks with Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, June Christy,

Mel Torme Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

and other legendary singers. In the early 1950s, Cavanaugh had a program, ''Page Pages You'', on the short-lived

Progressive Broadcasting System The Progressive Broadcasting System (PBS) was a short-lived radio network of the early 1950s. " tering to smaller radio stations," the company had hoped to affiliate with around 1,000 radio stations in the United States which did not already have ...

. Additionally, the trio played on Frank Sinatra's radio program, ''Songs by Sinatra'', and on ''

The Jack Paar Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Cavanaugh played in Los Angeles nightclubs through the 1990s, both in a trio setting (with Viola for many years) and as a septet, the Page 7. He recorded with Bobby Woods & Les Deux Love Orchestra. He recorded for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, Star Line, Tiara, and Dobre Records over the course of his career, releasing his final trio album, ''Return to Elegance'', in 2006. Cavanaugh died on December 19, 2008, of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

Discography

* ''Page Cavanaugh Carries the Torch'' (ERA, 1956) * ''The Girl'' (Vaya, 1956) * ''Page Cavanaugh Plays for the Cocktail Hour'' (Tops, 1957) * ''Fats Sent Me'' (Capitol, 1957) * ''Music for the Cocktail Hour'' (Craftsmen, 1958) * ''Softly'' (Time, 1964) * ''Is Alive'' ( Dobre, 1978) * ''Return to Elegance'' (Moon over Leg, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanaugh, Page 1922 births 2008 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz singers Singers from Kansas RCA Victor artists People from Cherokee, Kansas Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century American singers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American military personnel of World War II