Wilbur Schwichtenberg (July 12, 1912 – July 15, 1989), known professionally as Will Bradley, was an American trombonist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. He performed swing, dance music, and
boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...
songs, many of them written by Don Raye.
Career
Born in
Newton, New Jersey
Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrat ...
, Bradley was raised in
Washington, New Jersey
Washington is a borough in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 6,461, In 1928, he moved to New York City and became a member of bands such as
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader.
Biography Early life and career
Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...
& His Five Pennies. During the 1930s, he was a
studio musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a t ...
for CBS except for one year with the
Ray Noble
Raymond Stanley Noble (17 December 1903 – 2 April 1978) was an English jazz and big band musician, who was a bandleader, composer and arranger, as well as a radio host, television and film comedian and actor; he also performed in the United ...
orchestra.
In 1939, he started a big band with
Ray McKinley
Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956.
...
, a swing drummer and vocalist from Texas, and changed his name from Schwichtenberg to Will Bradley. The band included
Freddie Slack
Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader.
Life and career
Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took u ...
Peanuts Hucko
Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko (April 7, 1918 – June 19, 2003) was an American big band musician. His primary instrument was the clarinet, but he sometimes played saxophone.
Early life and education
He was born in Syracuse, New York, United St ...
Pete Candoli
Pete Candoli (born Walter Joseph Candoli; June 28, 1923 – January 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton and worked in the studios of the recording and television industries.
Car ...
. Vocalists included Terry Allen, Carlotta Dale, Lynn Gardner, Steve Jordan, Ray McKinley, Phyllis Myles, Larry Southern, and Jimmy Valentine.
The Bradley band became well known for boogie-woogie, particularly with its hit record, " Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar". The song reached the top ten of ''Billboard'' magazine's popular music chart, as did "Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" and "
Down the Road a Piece
"Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy l ...
". The latter song was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio, consisting of McKinley, Slack, and Doc Goldberg, with guest vocals by songwriter
Don Raye
Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as " Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thr ...
.
In 1942, McKinley departed to form his own band. Bradley hired trumpeter
Shorty Rogers
Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arran ...
and drummer
Shelly Manne
Sheldon "Shelly" Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984) was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, ...
, but many members wound up in the military due to the draft, and the band dissolved. For the rest of his music career, Bradley composed chamber music and orchestral works.
Will Bradley was also a trombonist during the record "So Rare" with Jimmy Dorsey
Death
He died on July 15, 1989, in
Flemington, New Jersey
Flemington is a borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New Yo ...
as the show's host.
Discography
* ''Boogie-Woogie'' ( Epic, 1954)
* ''Jazz Encounter'' (Waldorf Music Hall, 1955)
* ''Jazz – Dixieland and Chicago Style'' (Waldorf Music Hall, 1955)
* ''1941'' (
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is con ...
, 1986)
With
Ruth Brown
Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...
* ''
Ruth Brown
Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...
'' (Atlantic, 1957)
With
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 ...
* ''
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 and ...
'' (
Clef
A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pi ...