Andrew Dewey Kirk (May 28, 1898 – December 11, 1992) 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 ...

saxophonist and tubist who led the Twelve Clouds of Joy, a band popular during the swing era. He was born in

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a majo ...

, United States. Kirk grew up in

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, where he was tutored by Wilberforce Whiteman,

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s, W ...

's father. Kirk started his musical career playing with George Morrison's band, but then went on to join Terrence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929, he was elected leader after Holder departed. Renaming the band Clouds of Joy, Kirk also relocated the band from

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, to Kansas City, Missouri. Although named the Clouds of Joy, the band has also been known as the Twelve Clouds of Joy due to the number of musicians in the band. They set up in the Pla-Mor Ballroom on the junction of 32nd and Main in Kansas City and made their first recording for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

that same year.

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, an ...

came in as pianist at the last moment, but she impressed Brunswick's

Dave Kapp Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to ...

, so she became a member of the band. After their first recordings in 1929–1930, they grew popular as they epitomized the Kansas City jazz sound. In mid-1936, he was signed to

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and made scores of popular records until 1946. He presumably disbanded and reformed his band during that six-year recording layoff, as his 1929–1930 Brunswick appeared to have sold well enough to stay in the catalog through the period and 1933-34 pressings (with the mid-1930s label variations) have been seen. In 1938, Kirk and band held the top spot of the '' Billboard'' chart for 12 weeks with "I Won't Tell a Soul (I Love You)", written by

Hughie Charles Hughie Charles (24 July 1907 – 6 October 1995), was an English songwriter and producer of musical theatre. Born Charles Hugh Owen Ferry in Manchester, he is best known for co-writing the songs " We'll Meet Again" and " There'll Always Be an Eng ...

and Ross Parker, featuring Pha Terrell on vocals. In 1942, Kirk and His Clouds of Joy recorded "Take It and Git", which on October 24, 1942, became the first single to hit number one on the

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, the predecessor to the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. In 1943, with

June Richmond June Richmond (July 9, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois – August 14, 1962 in Gothenburg, Sweden) was an American jazz singer and actor. June Richmond is considered the first African-American jazz singer who sang regularly in a white band when sh ...

on vocals, he had a number 4 hit with " Hey Lawdy Mama".

Clouds of Joy

The band at various times included

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All A ...

(tenor saxophone), Claude Williams (violin), Pha Terrell (vocals), Mary Lou's then husband, John Williams, Bill Coleman, Ken Kersey,

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, "Shorty" Baker,

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, Jimmy Forrest, Ben Smith,

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(briefly), Reuben Phillips, Ben Thigpen,

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, Milt Robinson, Floyd Smith, Hank Jones, Johnny Lynch, Joe Williams, Big Jim Lawson, Gino Murray and

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. Their pianist, and the band's arranger, was

, who went on to become a prominent figure in jazz. In 1948, Kirk disbanded the Clouds of Joy and continued to work as a musician, but eventually switched to hotel management and real estate. He also served as an official in the Musicians' Union.

Death

He died of Alzheimer's disease in New York at the age of 94.

Discography

* ''Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy: Souvenir Album, Vol. 1'' (recorded 1936–1941) (Coral #56019 0" LP 1951) * ''A Mellow Bit Of Rhythm'' (recorded 1956; re-recordings of 12 of his hits; album reissued as ''Clouds From The Southwest'') (RCA Victor #1302 P 1956; reissue: RCA France #42418 P 1979) * ''Clouds Of Joy'' (recorded 1930) (Ace Of Hearts #105 P 1966) * ''Twelve Clouds Of Joy'' (recorded 193?) (Ace Of Hearts #160 P 1967) * ''Instrumentally Speaking (1936–1942)'' ndy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy #1/Jazz Heritage Series #16(Decca #79232 P 1968; MCA France #510033 P197?; reissue: MCA #1308 P 1980) * ''Andy Kirk & His 12 Clouds Of Joy: March 1936'' (Mainstream #399 P 1973) * ''The Lady Who Swings The Band (1936–1938)'' ndy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy #2/Jazz Heritage Series #70(MCA France #510121 P 1975; reissue: MCA #1343 P 1982) * ''Clouds At Sundown (1938–1942)'' ndy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy #3/Jazz Heritage Series #74(MCA France #510133 P 1975) * ''The Best Of Andy Kirk'' (recorded 1936–1954) (MCA #4105 -LP set 1976) * ''Walkin' & Swingin' '' (recorded 1936–1941) (Affinity #1011 P 1983) * ''Cloudy'' (recorded 1929–1930) (Hep #1002 P 1984) * ''All Out For Hicksville'' (recorded 1930–1931) (Hep #1007 P 1985) * ''The Uncollected Andy Kirk And The Clouds Of Joy: 1944'' (Hindsight #227 P 1986) * ''Kansas City Bounce 1936–1940'' (Black & Blue #59.240, 1991) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His 12 Clouds Of Joy 1929–1931'' (Classics #655, 1992) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His 12 Clouds Of Joy 1936–1937'' (Classics #573, 1991) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His 12 Clouds Of Joy 1937–1938'' (Classics #581, 1991) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His 12 Clouds Of Joy 1938'' (Classics #598, 1991) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His 12 Clouds Of Joy 1939–1940'' (Classics #640, 1992) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His Clouds Of Joy 1940–1942'' (Classics #681, 1993) * ''The Chronological Andy Kirk And His Orchestra 1943–1949'' (Classics #1075, 2000) * ''Andy Kirk & Mary Lou Williams: Mary's Idea'' (recorded 1936–1937, and 1939–1941) (GRP #622, 1993) * ''Andy Kirk: The 12 Clouds Of Joy With Mary Lou Williams'' (recorded 1929–1940) (ASV Living Era #5108, 1993) * ''An Introduction To Andy Kirk: His Best Recordings 1929–1946'' (Best Of Jazz #4053, 1996) * ''Jukebox Hits 1936–1949'' (Acrobat #4077, 2005)

Notes

References

*Andy Kirk, ''Twenty Years on Wheels. As Told to Amy Lee''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989. *Frank Driggs & Chuck Haddix, ''Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop – A History''. Oxford: Oxford University, Oxford 2005;

External links