Gus Arnheim
Encyclopedia
Gus Arnheim was an early popular band leader. He is noted for writing several songs with his first hit being "I Cried for You
" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He also had a few small acting roles.
In 1928-31, Arnheim had an extended engagement at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. In 1930, when Paul Whiteman
finished filming The King of Jazz for Universal
, The Rhythm Boys
vocal trio, consisting of Bing Crosby
, Harry Barris
and Al Rinker
decided to stay in California and they signed up with Arnheim's band. While the Rhythm Boys only recorded one song with Arnheim, "Them There Eyes
", which also happened to be The Rhythm Boys final recording, Arnheim's Orchestra backed Crosby on a number of songs released by Victor Records in 1931. These popular records, coupled with Arnheim's radio broadcasts featuring Crosby's solo vocals, were a key element to the beginning of Crosby's popularity as a crooner.
Arnheim grew up in Chicago
and at one point was accompanist to vaudevillian Sophie Tucker
.
In 1919 three men who all would become famous band leaders played together at the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica, California. Arnheim played piano, Abe Lyman
played the drums, and Henry Halstead
played violin.
When Lyman organized a full dance orchestra, Arnheim came along as pianist, leaving to start his own group in 1927.
Arnheim's orchestra made at least two film short subjects for Warner Brothers' Vitaphone
Corporation in 1928-29.
In 1930 and 1931, some notable people worked in or with Arnheim's band:
Gus Arnheim died from a heart attack
in Los Angeles on January 19, 1955.
(This information is standard, known information found in the Brian Rust
's "The American Dance Band Discography" 1975, Arlington House Publishers.)
I Cried for You
"I Cried for You" is a song by Georgian born songstress Katie Melua, and was the second single from her second album, Piece by Piece. The single is a double A-side consisting of "I Cried for You", which is one of Melua's own compositions, and a cover of The Cure's song "Just like Heaven", the...
" from 1923. He was most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. He also had a few small acting roles.
In 1928-31, Arnheim had an extended engagement at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. In 1930, when 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"...
finished filming The King of Jazz for Universal
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, The Rhythm Boys
The Rhythm Boys
The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. Crosby and Rinker began performing together in 1925 and were recruited by Paul Whiteman in late 1926. Pianist/singer/songwriter Barris joined the team in 1927. They made a number of recordings with the...
vocal trio, consisting of Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Harry Barris
Harry Barris
Harry Barris was an American popular singer and songwriter.Born in New York City, he was a member of the Rhythm Boys, a late 1920s singing trio which included Al Rinker and Bing Crosby, and was Crosby's entry into show business...
and Al Rinker
Al Rinker
Al Rinker began performing as a partner with Bing Crosby in 1925 and the two singers formed the Rhythm Boys, which singer/songwriter/pianist Harry Barris later joined. Barris wrote the songs Mississippi Mud, I Surrender, Dear, and Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams among others...
decided to stay in California and they signed up with Arnheim's band. While the Rhythm Boys only recorded one song with Arnheim, "Them There Eyes
Them There Eyes
"Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey. It was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was done by Louis Armstrong in 1931...
", which also happened to be The Rhythm Boys final recording, Arnheim's Orchestra backed Crosby on a number of songs released by Victor Records in 1931. These popular records, coupled with Arnheim's radio broadcasts featuring Crosby's solo vocals, were a key element to the beginning of Crosby's popularity as a crooner.
Arnheim grew up in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and at one point was accompanist to vaudevillian Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker
Sophie Tucker was a Russian/Ukrainian-born American singer and actress. Known for her stentorian delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in America during the first half of the 20th century...
.
In 1919 three men who all would become famous band leaders played together at the Sunset Inn in Santa Monica, California. Arnheim played piano, Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade....
played the drums, and Henry Halstead
Henry Halstead
Henry Halstead was a U.S. bandleader.Henry Halstead's Orchestra began in early 1922 and over the next 20 years Halstead's band engagements extended from coast to coast, including the Blossom Room at Hotel Roosevelt, New York City; the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California; the St...
played violin.
When Lyman organized a full dance orchestra, Arnheim came along as pianist, leaving to start his own group in 1927.
Arnheim's orchestra made at least two film short subjects for Warner Brothers' Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
Corporation in 1928-29.
In 1930 and 1931, some notable people worked in or with Arnheim's band:
- Fred MacMurrayFred MacMurrayFrederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
played clarinet and tenor sax in 1930-31 and sang on one recording ("All I Want Is Just One" on 3/30/30). - Russ ColumboRuss ColumboRuggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo , known as Russ Columbo, was an American singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love", his compositions "Prisoner of Love" and "Too Beautiful For Words", and the legend surrounding his early...
played violin in 1930 and sang on "A Peach Of A Pair" (6/18/30). - Future popular bandleader Jimmie Grier was staff arranger during this time. Grier had played lead alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
in Arnheim's band from its founding in 1928. - Eddie CantorEddie CantorEddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
and Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
(!) each recorded a song for Arnheim on July 23, 1931, although the Crawford side ("How Long Will It Last?") was not issued. Cantor's side, "There's Nothing Too Good for My Baby," was issued but without vocalist credit.
Gus Arnheim died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Los Angeles on January 19, 1955.
(This information is standard, known information found in the Brian Rust
Brian Rust
Brian Rust , was an English jazz discographer.Brian Arthur Lovell Rust was born in London, and collected records from the age of five. He worked in the BBC's record library from 1945 to 1960, and supervised broadcasting selections...
's "The American Dance Band Discography" 1975, Arlington House Publishers.)