Clyde Lanham Hurley, Jr. (September 3, 1916 – August 14, 1963) was a

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 standar ...

er during the

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 ...

era. He was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

to Clyde Lanham Hurley and Esther Brown.

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

describes Hurley as "a fine trumpeter with a fat tone and a hard-driving style". He died of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignor ...

in Fort Worth leaving two sons and a former wife.

Career

Self-taught, he learned to play the trumpet by playing along with Louis Armstrong records. He studied music at the

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

in Fort Worth from 1932 to 1936 where he participated in the school's jazz band. He began his career working with territory bands. In 1937, while drummer/band-leader

Ben Pollack Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

was touring through Texas he heard Hurley and invited him to join his orchestra where Hurley soloed on "So Unexpectedly". After a year with Pollack, while on tour in Los Angeles, Hurley left to become a studio musician. Hurley was playing with

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 ...

when

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

sent for him to join the Miller band on its Glen Island Casino opening in May 1939, the year following fellow Fort Worthian

Tex Beneke Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. Hi ...

joining Miller's band. Beneke recommended Hurley to Miller. During the time he was with Miller, Hurley was one of the key soloists. He appeared on the band's studio recordings and live performances throughout America, including Carnegie Hall, Cafe Rouge in

Hotel Pennsylvania The Hotel Pennsylvania was a historic hotel at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Opened in 1919, it was once the largest hotel in the world. ...

and the

Paramount Theatre Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to: Canada * Scotiabank Theatre or Paramount Theatre, a chain of theatres owned by Cineplex Entertainment ** Scotiabank Theatre Toronto or Paramount Theatre Toronto China * Paramount (Shanghai) o ...

, New York City. He shared trumpet solo honors with John Best, with Hurley taking the "hot" solos and Best taking the rest. Hurley played the trumpet solo on Glenn Miller's "

In The Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition " Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by ...

", "Slip Horn Jive" and "Tuxedo Junction." After a difference of opinion with Miller over the style of music the band was playing, Hurley left Miller in May 1940 to work with

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and then joined

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

in 1941. After his stint with Shaw, he did freelance work for the movie studios. In 1941, he played the trumpet track for the classic

Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lantz ...

cartoon "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B." He worked 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 ...

from 1944 to 1949 and for

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 ...

from 1950 to 1955. During the late 1950s, Hurley played in

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

groups, recording with

Matty Matlock Julian Clifton "Matty" Matlock (April 27, 1907 – June 14, 1978) was an American Dixieland jazz clarinettist, saxophonist and arranger. Early years Matlock was born in Paducah, Kentucky, April 27, 1907, and raised in Nashville beginning in 1917. ...

's Rampart Street Paraders. In 1954, he recorded live with

Ralph Sutton Ralph Earl Sutton (November 4, 1922 – December 30, 2001) was an American jazz pianist born in Hamburg, Missouri. He was a stride pianist in the tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Biography Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri, ...

and

Edmond Hall Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Over his career, Hall worked extensively with many leading performers as both a sideman and bandleader and is possibly best known for the 1941 cha ...

at the Club Hangover. His studio work in the 1950s included sessions with

Paul Weston Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the ...

. He played solo on "Memories of You" on Weston's "Solo Flight" album.

Family

On April 20, 1940, Hurley was listed in the census as living with his then wife, Katherine Ann Foster (b. June 7, 1917, d. September 3, 1994) at 4114 Prescott Ave., Dallas, Texas, the house of his in-laws.

Sources

*Flower, John (1972). ''Moonlight Serenade: a bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band''. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. . *Simon, George Thomas (1980). ''Glenn Miller and His Orchestra''. New York: Da Capo paperback. . *Schuller, Gunther (1991). ''The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945''. New York: Oxford University Press. .

References

Big Band Database Plus: ''Born On This Day - September 3''
Calendar editor: Ron Hearn. 1979–2005. Last Updated August 20, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Clyde American trumpeters American male trumpeters RPM Records (United States) artists People from Fort Worth, Texas Texas Christian University alumni 1916 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians Glenn Miller Orchestra members