Alvino Rey
Encyclopedia
Alvin McBurney known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American
swing era
musician
and pioneer, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar
. He was mainly associated with orchestra
l, big band
and swing music, and towards the end of his career, jazz
and exotica
.
, in 1908, but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio
. He showed very early signs of his mechanical and musical aptitude, he built his first radio at the age of 8 and, within a couple of years, became one of the youngest licensed ham operators in the country. His interest in music grew when he received a banjo
as a tenth birthday gift. He began studying guitar
at the age of 12, listening to recordings by guitarists Eddie Lang
and Roy Smeck
. At 15 he invented an electrical amplifier for the guitar, but neglected to have it patented. He did patent several later versions. In 1927, Rey landed a job playing banjo with Cleveland bandleader Ev Jones. "Yes, I joined the Union when I was 16," he said. He practiced amplifying acoustic instruments as a teenager, starting with this first banjo. "I went to Lakewood High School and from there I went to New York and never did come back." he recalled. His career began in 1927, when he played banjo with Ev Jones. He signed with Phil Spitalny
that same year, playing electric guitar in Spitalny's Orchestra. "I spent two years in New York with Phil Spitalny and then went to California," Rey recalled. "I joined Horace Heidt in San Francisco . . . he had a stage band, sort of like Fred Waring." During this time he also studied guitar with vaudeville
performer Roy Smeck
.
, he changed his name to Alvino Rey in late 1929, to coincide with the Latin music craze in the city. From January 1932 to early 1939 Alvino played steel and Spanish guitar and in Horace Heidt
's musical group, Horace Heidt And His Musical Knights. Here he pioneered the instrument, as well as becoming known for his unique sound, becaming one of the best-known (and best-paid) sidemen in the country, thanks to Heidt's weekly radio program. "And there I met the King Sisters, and I married Luise, one of the sisters, in 1937," Rey has reminisced. When in 1938 the Musical Knight's band landed a spot at the Baltimore Hotel
in New York
, Heidt was bitter and irritated that the sponsor signed them up because they were impressed by Alyce King's vocals. He took the first opportunity to fire her - when she dropped her microphone and it hit an audience member. The other Sisters immediately resigned, followed by Alvino, and then saxophonist Frank DeVol.
to produce a prototype pickup with engineers at the Lyon & Healy company in Chicago, based on the one he developed for his own banjo. The result was used for Gibson's first electric guitar ES-150
. The prototype is kept in the Experience Music Project
museum in Seattle, commonly known as the Hendrix
Museum.
Starting in 1939, Rey used a carbon throat microphone to modulate his electric guitar sound. The mike, developed for military pilots, was worn by Rey's wife Luise, who stood behind a curtain and sang along with the guitar lines. The novel combination was called "Singing Guitar", and later became known as the Sonovox. Along with early Vocoders (initially called Voders), which were initially developed to scramble messages between the Pentagon and field commanders during WWII, the Sonovox innovation was one the first known talk box
experiments. A Soundie film of Rey using the Sonovox is posted on You-Tube and further info about Rey and the Sonovox can be found in the Dave Tomkin's book, "How To Wreak A Nice Beach" (How to Recognize Speech).
. The band was Mutual Broadcasting
's houseband for three years, and through the band passed such musicians as Johnny Mandel
, Paul Fredricks
, Skeets Herfurt
, Neal Hefti
, Dave Tough
, Mel Lewis
, Don Lamond
, Andy Russell
, Alfred Burt
and three of Woody Herman
's future "Four Brothers" sax section: Al Cohn
, Zoot Sims
, and Herbie Steward
. Notable arrangers in the band included Nelson Riddle
, George Handy
, Billy May
, Ray Conniff
, and DeVol. In 1941 the group filled in for Dinah Shore
at New York's Paramount Theater
, which led to greater exposure.
Soon afterward, they became one of the most popular acts in the country, while recording top ten hits and making appearances in Hollywood films. In 1942 Rey re-organized the orchestra, expanding the brass section. Although very popular, the ban by the Musicians' Union
of 1943 put an end to their recordings.
aircraft factory in Burbank
. Rey himself worked as a mechanic. During this time the group disbanded. In 1944, Rey joined the United States Navy
, where he was assigned to develop radar systems and also led a service band. After his discharge in late 1945, he formed a new orchestra, which signed with Capitol Records
and immediately produced a hit - a cover of Slim Gaillard
's "Cement Mixer". Despite this, the band broke up circa 1950, and Rey went on to lead smaller bands, sometimes with his brother-in-law, Buddy Cole
. This continued through the 1950s, mostly in Southern California.
aired a special featuring the King family, which grew into a series (called The King Family Show
) spanning five television seasons. Rey was musical director for the show, simultaneously producing a series of record albums featuring the cast of the program. After the ABC show Rey worked on exotica
projects with such artists as Esquivel
, George Cates
, and he also teamed with Jack Constanzo and other session aces in the Martin Denny
-inspired group, The Surfmen for Somerset Records. He played the theme to the film The Bat (1959 film)
He also continued performing well into his eighties, leading a band that played Disneyland each year from the theme park's opening in 1955.
, Utah
. There he formed a jazz quartet which played clubs locally with Luise sometimes sitting in. The couple finally retired in 1994 and his last public appearance was the same year, but he retained his interests in music and electronics into his mid-nineties. He started, but had to give up his own website selling Luise's memoir, "Those Swinging Years" and CDs.
Rey's daughter, Liza Butler, is the mother of Win
and William Butler
, members of Canadian
indie rock
group Arcade Fire. Their debut album Funeral
was heavily influenced by Rey's death, along with the deaths of relatives of other members of the band, during the recording period. The band released a live 1940 broadcast recording of Rey's song My Buddy, which appears as a b-side on their singles "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
" and "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
."
In 2004, after breaking his hip and suffering complications including pneumonia
and congestive heart failure
, Alvino Rey died at age 95, at a rehabilitation center in Utah. He died seven years after his wife's death; they had been married fifty-seven years. He was still an amateur radio operator, holding the call W6UK.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
swing era
Swing Era
The Swing era was the period of time when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though the music had been around since the late 1920s and early 1930s, being played by black bands led by such artists as Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Moten, Ella Fitzgerald,...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and pioneer, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
. He was mainly associated with orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l, big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
and swing music, and towards the end of his career, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
.
Early life
Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, in 1908, but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He showed very early signs of his mechanical and musical aptitude, he built his first radio at the age of 8 and, within a couple of years, became one of the youngest licensed ham operators in the country. His interest in music grew when he received a banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
as a tenth birthday gift. He began studying guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
at the age of 12, listening to recordings by guitarists Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang
Eddie Lang was an American jazz guitarist, regarded as the Father of Jazz Guitar. He played a Gibson L-4 and L-5 guitar, providing great influence for many guitarists, including Django Reinhardt.-Biography:...
and Roy Smeck
Roy Smeck
Roy Smeck was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, steel guitar, and especially the ukulele earned him the nickname "Wizard of the Strings."-Background:...
. At 15 he invented an electrical amplifier for the guitar, but neglected to have it patented. He did patent several later versions. In 1927, Rey landed a job playing banjo with Cleveland bandleader Ev Jones. "Yes, I joined the Union when I was 16," he said. He practiced amplifying acoustic instruments as a teenager, starting with this first banjo. "I went to Lakewood High School and from there I went to New York and never did come back." he recalled. His career began in 1927, when he played banjo with Ev Jones. He signed with Phil Spitalny
Phil Spitalny
Phil Spitalny was a musician, music critic, composer and bandleader heard often on radio during the 1930s and 1940s...
that same year, playing electric guitar in Spitalny's Orchestra. "I spent two years in New York with Phil Spitalny and then went to California," Rey recalled. "I joined Horace Heidt in San Francisco . . . he had a stage band, sort of like Fred Waring." During this time he also studied guitar with vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer Roy Smeck
Roy Smeck
Roy Smeck was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, steel guitar, and especially the ukulele earned him the nickname "Wizard of the Strings."-Background:...
.
Horace Heidt
Alvino played in other bands, including alongside such names as Russ Morgan and Freddie Martin. While playing with Phil Spitalny's orchestra in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, he changed his name to Alvino Rey in late 1929, to coincide with the Latin music craze in the city. From January 1932 to early 1939 Alvino played steel and Spanish guitar and in Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television through the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:Born in Alameda, California, Heidt attended Culver...
's musical group, Horace Heidt And His Musical Knights. Here he pioneered the instrument, as well as becoming known for his unique sound, becaming one of the best-known (and best-paid) sidemen in the country, thanks to Heidt's weekly radio program. "And there I met the King Sisters, and I married Luise, one of the sisters, in 1937," Rey has reminisced. When in 1938 the Musical Knight's band landed a spot at the Baltimore Hotel
Baltimore Hotel
Baltimore Hotel may refer to:*Baltimore Hotel *Hilton Baltimore...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Heidt was bitter and irritated that the sponsor signed them up because they were impressed by Alyce King's vocals. He took the first opportunity to fire her - when she dropped her microphone and it hit an audience member. The other Sisters immediately resigned, followed by Alvino, and then saxophonist Frank DeVol.
Pioneer of electrified instruments
In spring of 1935 Rey was hired by the Gibson Guitar CorporationGibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
to produce a prototype pickup with engineers at the Lyon & Healy company in Chicago, based on the one he developed for his own banjo. The result was used for Gibson's first electric guitar ES-150
Gibson ES-150
The Gibson Guitar Corporation's ES-150 guitar is generally recognized as the world's first commercially successful Spanish-style electric guitar. The ES stands for Electric Spanish, and it was designated 150 because it cost $150, along with an EH-150 amplifier and a cable.After its introduction in...
. The prototype is kept in the Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
The EMP Museum is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction located in Seattle, Washington...
museum in Seattle, commonly known as the Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
Museum.
Starting in 1939, Rey used a carbon throat microphone to modulate his electric guitar sound. The mike, developed for military pilots, was worn by Rey's wife Luise, who stood behind a curtain and sang along with the guitar lines. The novel combination was called "Singing Guitar", and later became known as the Sonovox. Along with early Vocoders (initially called Voders), which were initially developed to scramble messages between the Pentagon and field commanders during WWII, the Sonovox innovation was one the first known talk box
Talk box
A talk box is an effects unit that allows a musician to modify the sound of a musical instrument. The musician controls the modification by lip syncing, or by changing the shape of the mouth...
experiments. A Soundie film of Rey using the Sonovox is posted on You-Tube and further info about Rey and the Sonovox can be found in the Dave Tomkin's book, "How To Wreak A Nice Beach" (How to Recognize Speech).
Orchestra
Rey formed his own group with the King Sisters (as lead singers) and Frank DeVol, heading for Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The band was Mutual Broadcasting
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
's houseband for three years, and through the band passed such musicians as Johnny Mandel
Johnny Mandel
Johnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
, Paul Fredricks
Paul Fredricks
Paul G. Fredricks was a German-American brass musician of the Big Bands Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He is known for his unique skills as a trumpeter and left his mark on a range of larger bands such as the orchestras of Alvino Rey, Charlie Spivak, Les Brown's Band of Renown, and Mel Torme's...
, Skeets Herfurt
Skeets Herfurt
Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist....
, Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
, Dave Tough
Dave Tough
Dave Tough was an American jazz drummer associated with both Dixieland and swing jazz in the 1930s and 1940s...
, Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
, Don Lamond
Don Lamond
Don Lamond was an American jazz drummer.Lamond attended the Peabody Conservatory in Philadelphia in the early 1940s, and played with Sonny Dunham and Boyd Raeburn at the outset of his career...
, Andy Russell
Andy Russell (singer)
Andy Russell was an American popular vocalist, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music.He was born Andrés Rabago Pérez in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles. He was one of ten children born to parents who were Mexican immigrants of Spanish descent...
, Alfred Burt
Alfred Burt
Alfred Shaddick Burt was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols between 1942 and 1954. Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his immediate family circle during his lifetime.-Early life:Burt was born in Marquette, Michigan...
and three of Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
's future "Four Brothers" sax section: Al Cohn
Al Cohn
Al Cohn was an American jazz saxophonist and arranger and composer.-Biography:Alvin Gilbert Cohn was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was initially known in the 1940s for playing in Woody Herman's Second Herd as one of the Four Brothers, along with Zoot Sims, Stan Getz, and Serge Chaloff...
, Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
, and Herbie Steward
Herbie Steward
Herbert Steward , is an American jazz saxophonist.He is best known for being the tenor saxophone player in Four Brothers, part of Woody Herman's Second Herd.-Discography:...
. Notable arrangers in the band included Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
, George Handy
George Handy
George Handy was a jazz music arranger, composer and pianist whose musical beginnings were fostered under the tutelage of pianist Aaron Copland...
, Billy May
Billy May
William E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
, Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
, and DeVol. In 1941 the group filled in for Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
at New York's Paramount Theater
Paramount Theater (New York City)
The Paramount Theatre was a noted movie palace located at 43rd Street and Broadway in the Times Square district of New York City. Opened in 1926, it was the premiere showcase for Paramount Pictures and also became a popular live performance venue. The theater was closed in 1964 and its space...
, which led to greater exposure.
Soon afterward, they became one of the most popular acts in the country, while recording top ten hits and making appearances in Hollywood films. In 1942 Rey re-organized the orchestra, expanding the brass section. Although very popular, the ban by the Musicians' Union
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
of 1943 put an end to their recordings.
Navy service, new orchestra and disbanding
The ban led to financial hardship for the band, who all took jobs at a local war-plant - the LockheedLockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
aircraft factory in Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. Rey himself worked as a mechanic. During this time the group disbanded. In 1944, Rey joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, where he was assigned to develop radar systems and also led a service band. After his discharge in late 1945, he formed a new orchestra, which signed with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and immediately produced a hit - a cover of Slim Gaillard
Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout"...
's "Cement Mixer". Despite this, the band broke up circa 1950, and Rey went on to lead smaller bands, sometimes with his brother-in-law, Buddy Cole
Buddy Cole
Buddy Cole may refer to:* Buddy Cole , jazz pianist and orchestra leader* Buddy Cole , Scott Thompson's fictional character from The Kids in the Hall...
. This continued through the 1950s, mostly in Southern California.
King Sisters reunion
In the late 1950s, Rey served as musical director for the King Sisters. In 1965, ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
aired a special featuring the King family, which grew into a series (called The King Family Show
The King Family Show
The King Family Show was an American musical variety series that featured The King Sisters and their extended musical family. The series first aired on ABC from January 1965 to January 1966...
) spanning five television seasons. Rey was musical director for the show, simultaneously producing a series of record albums featuring the cast of the program. After the ABC show Rey worked on exotica
Exotica
Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny album of the same title, popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s, typically with the suburban set who came of age during World War II. The musical colloquialism, exotica, means tropical ersatz: the non-native, pseudo experience of Oceania...
projects with such artists as Esquivel
Juan García Esquivel
Juan García Esquivel often simply known as Esquivel!, was a Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer for television and films. He is recognized today as one of the foremost exponents of a sophisticated style of largely instrumental music that combines elements of lounge music and jazz with Latin...
, George Cates
George Cates
George Cates was an American music arranger, conductor, songwriter and record executive known for his work with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra....
, and he also teamed with Jack Constanzo and other session aces in the Martin Denny
Martin Denny
Martin Denny was an American piano-player and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing well into his 80s, he toured the world popularizing his brand of lounge music which included exotic percussion, imaginative rearrangements of popular songs, and...
-inspired group, The Surfmen for Somerset Records. He played the theme to the film The Bat (1959 film)
The Bat (1959 film)
The Bat is a mystery film directed by Crane Wilbur, and starring Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead. Its tagline was "When it flies, someone dies!" The film was based on the 1920 Broadway play by Avery Hopwood and Mary Roberts Rinehart, which was previously filmed as The Bat and as The Bat...
He also continued performing well into his eighties, leading a band that played Disneyland each year from the theme park's opening in 1955.
Late career and retirement
In the early 1990s, Rey moved with his wife Luise to Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. There he formed a jazz quartet which played clubs locally with Luise sometimes sitting in. The couple finally retired in 1994 and his last public appearance was the same year, but he retained his interests in music and electronics into his mid-nineties. He started, but had to give up his own website selling Luise's memoir, "Those Swinging Years" and CDs.
Personal life
Some sources claim Rey became a Mormon about the time of his marriage to Luisa in 1937. However it appears that he was not actually received into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1969.Rey's daughter, Liza Butler, is the mother of Win
Win Butler
Win Butler is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire. His wife Régine Chassagne and his brother William Butler are both members of the band.-Life and career:...
and William Butler
William Butler (musician)
William Pierce Butler is a multi-instrumentalist who is best known as a member of the indie rock band Arcade Fire. William plays synthesizer, bass, guitar and percussion. He is known for his spontaneity and antics during performances...
, members of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
group Arcade Fire. Their debut album Funeral
Funeral (album)
Funeral is the debut full-length album by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 in North America by Merge Records and on February 28, 2005 in Europe by Rough Trade Records...
was heavily influenced by Rey's death, along with the deaths of relatives of other members of the band, during the recording period. The band released a live 1940 broadcast recording of Rey's song My Buddy, which appears as a b-side on their singles "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)
"Neighborhood #1 " is a song by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire, and the first track on their debut album Funeral. It is the first of the four-part "Neighborhood" series found on Funeral....
" and "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Neighborhood 2 (Laïka)
"Neighborhood #2 " is the second single by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire from their debut album Funeral. Released on 28 March 2005, the single reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, and was released on the Rough Trade Records record label...
."
In 2004, after breaking his hip and suffering complications including pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
, Alvino Rey died at age 95, at a rehabilitation center in Utah. He died seven years after his wife's death; they had been married fifty-seven years. He was still an amateur radio operator, holding the call W6UK.
Sources
- Jazz Journalists Association
- SpaceAgePop.com
- Encyclopedia of big band, lounge, classic jazz and space-age sounds (with wrong year of birth-1911)
- New York Times obituary
- Gibson Guitars - Adventures In Archives
- 1993 QRZ listing for Alvino Rey
External links
- Alvino Rey plays "St. Louis Blues" with Stringy the talking steel guitar! 1944 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPd9cxqKCVg