Art Ryerson
Encyclopedia
Art Ryerson was a jazz
guitarist
who emerged in the 1930s, playing acoustic
and electric guitar
, as well as the banjo
. He played with jazz orchestras and bands in the 1930s and the 1940s. In the early 1950s, he played on the early rock and roll
recordings of Bill Haley
, including the landmark 1953 recording of "Crazy Man, Crazy
", which reached no.12 on the Billboard pop chart and no.11 on the Cashbox chart. He was very influential in the Brill Building music production scene.
before switching to the guitar. In the early 1930’s he joined The Rhythm Jesters at Radio Station WLW
. In 1935, he organized a quartet in New York
and began appearing in Manhattan
jazz clubs
and at the famous Nick’s Tavern in Greenwich Village
. He typically played the Gibson Super 400
guitar.
He was featured on the Columbia Saturday Night Swing Session and on the Fred Allen
radio show. He played guitar in the live concert by the Paul Whiteman
Concert Orchestra recorded at Carnegie Hall
in New York on December 25, 1938. In 1939, he joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra as the guitarist in the Whiteman band and wrote the arrangements for Whiteman’s Swinging Strings, Bouncing Brass, and Sax Soctette.
In his arrangements for the Paul Whiteman Swinging Strings, Reyerson used four guitars. He also used multiple guitars on recordings by Peggy Lee
and Frankie Laine
.
Ryerson joined the Raymond Scott
Orchestra in the early 1940s and began soloing on the electric guitar.
Ryerson was recruited into the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He became a Staff Sergeant in the 34th Special Services as a bandleader
. His army band performed for U.S. troops in England
, France
, and Belgium
.
He was the first electric guitarist to perform and tour with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the direction of James Levine
. In 1975, he toured the Soviet Union
as part of a program organized by the U.S. State Department.
Art Ryerson died in 2004.
, Tony Bennett
, Bill Haley, Peggy Lee, Red Norvo
, Fats Waller
, Charlie Parker
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Errol Garner, Lionel Hampton
, Artie Shaw
, Mildred Bailey
, Mel Torme
, Anita O’Day, George Van Eps
, and George Barnes
.
Art Ryerson played on the 1946 Crown Album, Mildred Bailey With Red Norvo and His Music, Crown Album No. 2, on the 78 Columbia recording by Marlene Dietrich
and Rosemary Clooney
, "It's the Same", and on Frankie Laine's "Love is Such a Cheat" on Columbia.
He played guitar on Tony Bennett's classic releases "Blue Velvet
", "Rags to Riches
", and "Sing You Sinners". "Rags to Riches" was number one for six weeks on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1953, from November 21 to December 26.
In the early 1950s, Ryerson played electric lead guitar
on seminal recordings made by Bill Haley, when he began recording as Bill Haley with Haley's Comets
. These recordings were the first rock and roll records. Fred Bronson
of Billboard Magazine wrote in 2003: "The Saddlemen became the Comets in 1953, and their first chart hit, "Crazy Man, Crazy," went to number 15 on Billboard and is the first rock and roll record to ever make the chart." Ryerson played lead guitar on Bill Haley classics such as "Crazy Man, Crazy
", "What'cha Gonna Do?", "Fractured
", "Pat-a-Cake", "Live It Up", "Farewell, So Long, Goodbye", "Ten Little Indians
", "I'll Be True
", "Straight Jacket", "Yes, Indeed", and "Chattanooga Choo Choo
", released on Essex Records
. "Crazy Man, Crazy
", recorded in April, 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, was released as Essex 321 backed with "What'cha Gonna Do?", reaching no.12 on the national Billboard Juke Box pop singles chart for the week ending June 20 and no.11 on the Cash Box chart on June 13. "Fractured" and "Live It Up" also made the Billboard Top 40, reaching no.24 and no.25 respectively in 1953.
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...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
who emerged in the 1930s, playing acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, as well as the 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...
. He played with jazz orchestras and bands in the 1930s and the 1940s. In the early 1950s, he played on the early rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
recordings of Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
, including the landmark 1953 recording of "Crazy Man, Crazy
Crazy Man, Crazy
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
", which reached no.12 on the Billboard pop chart and no.11 on the Cashbox chart. He was very influential in the Brill Building music production scene.
Career
Art Ryerson began playing the banjo in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
before switching to the guitar. In the early 1930’s he joined The Rhythm Jesters at Radio Station WLW
WLW
WLW is a clear channel talk radio station located in Cincinnati, Ohio, run by Clear Channel Communications. The station broadcasts locally on 700 kHz AM...
. In 1935, he organized a quartet 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...
and began appearing in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
jazz clubs
Jazz club
A jazz club is a venue where the primary entertainment is the performance of live jazz music. Jazz clubs have been in large rooms in the eras of Orchestral jazz and big band jazz and when its popularity as a dance music was common...
and at the famous Nick’s Tavern in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. He typically played the Gibson Super 400
Gibson Super 400
The Gibson Super 400 is an archtop guitar, "the biggest, fanciest, and most expensive archtop ever built," and a highly influential model guitar which inspired many other guitar makers . It was first sold in 1934 and named for its $400 price.The Super 400 was the largest guitar that the Gibson...
guitar.
He was featured on the Columbia Saturday Night Swing Session and on the Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
radio show. He played guitar in the live concert by the Paul Whiteman
Paul Whiteman
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
Concert Orchestra recorded at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York on December 25, 1938. In 1939, he joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra as the guitarist in the Whiteman band and wrote the arrangements for Whiteman’s Swinging Strings, Bouncing Brass, and Sax Soctette.
In his arrangements for the Paul Whiteman Swinging Strings, Reyerson used four guitars. He also used multiple guitars on recordings by Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
and Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
.
Ryerson joined the Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
Orchestra in the early 1940s and began soloing on the electric guitar.
Ryerson was recruited into the U.S. Army during the Second World War. He became a Staff Sergeant in the 34th Special Services as a bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
. His army band performed for U.S. troops in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
He was the first electric guitarist to perform and tour with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under the direction of James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
. In 1975, he toured the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as part of a program organized by the U.S. State Department.
Art Ryerson died in 2004.
Studio Session Guitarist
He became a studio session guitarist after World War II. He played guitar on recording sessions with Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Bill Haley, Peggy Lee, Red Norvo
Red Norvo
Red Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments...
, Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Errol Garner, Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
, Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
, Mel Torme
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Anita O’Day, George Van Eps
George Van Eps
George Van Eps was an American swing and Mainstream jazz guitarist noted both for his recordings as a leader, and for his work as a session musician. He was also the author of instructional books that explored his approach to guitar-based harmony...
, and George Barnes
George Barnes (musician)
George Barnes was a world-renowned swing jazz guitarist, who claimed he played the first electric guitar in 1931, preceding Charlie Christian by six years. George Barnes made the first recording of an electric guitar in 1938 in sessions with Big Bill Broonzy.-Biography:George Barnes was born in...
.
Art Ryerson played on the 1946 Crown Album, Mildred Bailey With Red Norvo and His Music, Crown Album No. 2, on the 78 Columbia recording by Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
, "It's the Same", and on Frankie Laine's "Love is Such a Cheat" on Columbia.
He played guitar on Tony Bennett's classic releases "Blue Velvet
Blue Velvet
Blue Velvet is a 1986 American mystery film written and directed by David Lynch. The movie exhibits elements of both film noir and surrealism. The film features Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern. The title is taken from the 1963 Bobby Vinton song of the same name...
", "Rags to Riches
Rags To Riches
Rags to Riches is an American musical comedy drama series that was broadcast on NBC for two seasons from 1987 to 1988. Set in the 1960s, the series tells the story of Nick Foley, a self-made millionaire who adopts five orphan girls...
", and "Sing You Sinners". "Rags to Riches" was number one for six weeks on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1953, from November 21 to December 26.
In the early 1950s, Ryerson played electric lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
on seminal recordings made by Bill Haley, when he began recording as Bill Haley with Haley's Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
. These recordings were the first rock and roll records. Fred Bronson
Fred Bronson
Fredric M. Bronson is an American journalist, author and writer. He is best known for his appearances on American Idol, the weekly "Chart Beat" column in Billboard magazine, and as the author of books related to Billboard charts.Born to Irving and Mildred Bronson and raised in Culver City,...
of Billboard Magazine wrote in 2003: "The Saddlemen became the Comets in 1953, and their first chart hit, "Crazy Man, Crazy," went to number 15 on Billboard and is the first rock and roll record to ever make the chart." Ryerson played lead guitar on Bill Haley classics such as "Crazy Man, Crazy
Crazy Man, Crazy
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
", "What'cha Gonna Do?", "Fractured
Fractured
Fractured is an Industrial band created by Canadian Nick Gorman in 2003. Formed in Toronto, his self produced release CD-R demo titled Contami-Nation caught the attention of European label Dependent who signed them. After the release of the demo Gorman was joined by Famine and in 2006 released...
", "Pat-a-Cake", "Live It Up", "Farewell, So Long, Goodbye", "Ten Little Indians
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a children's rhyme. The song is usually performed to the Irish folk tune "Michael Finnegan". It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13512.-Lyrics:The modern lyrics are believed to be public domain and are as follows:...
", "I'll Be True
I'll Be True
"I"ll Be True" is a 1953 song by Faye Adams. Faye Adams' second R&B chart entry resulted a second number one on the chart. "I'll Be True" stayed at number one for one week and was backed by the Joe Morris Orchestra.-References:...
", "Straight Jacket", "Yes, Indeed", and "Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
", released on Essex Records
Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
. "Crazy Man, Crazy
Crazy Man, Crazy
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
", recorded in April, 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, was released as Essex 321 backed with "What'cha Gonna Do?", reaching no.12 on the national Billboard Juke Box pop singles chart for the week ending June 20 and no.11 on the Cash Box chart on June 13. "Fractured" and "Live It Up" also made the Billboard Top 40, reaching no.24 and no.25 respectively in 1953.
Sources
- Classic Jazz Guitar.com website: http://classicjazzguitar.com/artists/artists_page.jsp?artist=53
- Swenson, John. Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll. New York: Stein and Day, 1983.
- Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. NY: Billboard Books, 2003.
- Billboard Magazine, June 27, 1953.