Fulton "Fidgy" McGrath (December 6, 1907 – January 1, 1958) 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 ...

pianist and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. McGrath played with

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 ...

early in the 1930s, then joined the band of

The Dorsey Brothers The Dorsey Brothers were an American studio dance band, led by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. They started recording in 1928 for OKeh Records. History The Dorsey Brothers recorded songs for the dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, ...

, in addition to working extensively as a studio musician and in radio orchestras. From 1935-37 McGrath played in

Lennie Hayton Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle. Early life Hayton was born in New Yor ...

's radio ensemble, then played later in the decade with

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

, Joe Venuti, and

Chauncey Morehouse Chauncey Morehouse (March 11, 1902 – October 31, 1980) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Morehouse was born in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, and was raised in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played drums from a very early ...

. After spending time in an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

orchestra, he moved to the West Coast around 1943, where he worked on

film soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s in Hollywood. McGrath was the father-in-law of

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

. His compositions include "Shim Sham Shimmy" and "Mandy Is Two", the latter of which was recorded by

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

References

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

, Fulton McGrathat

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Fulton 1907 births 1958 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists American male songwriters 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians The Dorsey Brothers members