Jimmy Cavallo
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Cavallo is an American musician best known for performing with his band in the 1956 movie, Rock, Rock, Rock
, by pioneering music DJ Alan Freed
. Jimmy and the Houserockers were the first all-white band to play at the Apollo Theatre
in Harlem
, where they celebrated the movie's release.
in the early 1940s, he played in a swing band, playing harmony on alto sax
. He knew even then that playing the harmony was not for him, and he wanted to do the melody line, sing and lead a band. Cavallo started buying Louis Jordan
records and learning those songs, and other jump blues
records, and soon switched to tenor sax
because that was the lead horn in jump blues. When Cavallo was around 16, he formed his own band, but the only work they got was playing local Italian weddings (and the occasional Polish, Jewish, or Irish wedding).
at the end of World War II
, Cavallo took his saxophone with him. While in the service in North Carolina
, and Washington DC, he spent his free time in black clubs, listening to the latest in the blues, and jamming with some of the rising stars of what would soon be called rock and roll
.
Upon his discharge, Cavallo hit the Carolina beaches with a band called the Jimmy Cavallo Quartet, one of the world's first white R&B bands, playing Wynonie Harris
, Louis Jordan, and Hucklebuck Williams tunes, as well as originals. The line-up was Bobby Wrenn, drums; Max Alexander, bass; Bobby Hass, sax, and Diz Utley, sax. They played in the beach music
or "shag" scene all over North Carolina through 1947 and '48, and during 1949 had a residency in Carolina Beach at a dance club called Bop City, drawing huge crowds of dancers. (A first-hand account of this scene can be found in Shagger Magazine, volume 2 issue 2).http://www.hoyhoy.com/artists/cavallo3.htm
on Oneida Lake
.
Word spread fast in Central New York's large Italian community, and Jimmy drew a crowd from an area which spanned from Utica
to Rochester to Binghamton
, with people flocking by the thousands to dance to Jimmy Cavallo's rocking R&B. In 1950, Jimmy's band was drawing crowds of 1000 to 1200 every Sunday afternoon to DiCastros. In 1951, they cut 2 records for the tiny BSD label, numbers 1004 and 1005. These records were recorded in the basement of the home of label owner Angelo Pergolito, in Auburn, New York
, 25 miles from Syracuse. This record label, which lasted from 1951 to 1955, was strictly aimed at recording local talent.
Side A of BSD 1004 was "Ha Ha Ha Blues," which was Jimmy's reworking of a Joe Morris
tune, also from 1951, called "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" The flip side was "I Got Eyes For You." BSD 1005 had on the A side, Cavallo's cover of Jimmy Preston
's "Rock The Joint." Bill Haley
and his Saddlemen's 1952 waxing of that tune marked the dawn of guitar-based rockabilly
, but Cavallo's earlier record was done with saxophones and brass in the germinal rock and roll style.
[*NOTE: A better argument can be made for The Saddlemen's 1951 (June) version of "Rocket 88" as the first guitar based rock and roll song]
Side B, "Leave Married Women Alone," is an original done also in that vein. He wrote the tune with Diz Utley, another tenor saxophonist, who had honked alongside Cavallo in the earliest days in North Carolina. Other artists on these two recordings are Syracuse natives Elmer "Al" Antonello on drums, Sam Barone on bass, Mike Peluso on keyboards, and Georgie Horton on trumpet. (note: the song was re-written as "Soda Shop Rock" in 1956). Vocals on "Rock The Joint" are Jimmy in the lead with Diz and Horton backing up.
They played Di Castros for two more years and disbanded, and Jimmy went on the road with a new band, in 1953 and '54. A falling-out in Detroit led to this band's demise, and Jimmy's manager appointed him as the new leader of tenor saxophonist Joe Marillo's band, an already-working R & B band in the Buffalo
area, and named them "Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers." With the dual-sax sound of Marillo and Cavallo, national recognition came for the House Rockers after an audition, in July 1956, for Alan Freed
in his studio at WINS
in NYC
. They soon began appearing at Alan Freed shows and making records for the Coral label.
and Big Joe Turner
, after which they appeared with Freed in the Vanguard movie Rock, Rock, Rock, in which they played the title song, and another tune called "The Big Beat," (that's Joe Marillo in the movie on second sax). The movie was released December 5, 1956, and the House Rockers played Harlem's Apollo Theater at the same time to promote the movie's release. In the 10-day extended gig, the House Rockers were augmented by a big band of veterans of the Duke Ellington
and Count Basie
orchestras, led by Sam The Man Taylor. Playing the Apollo in December 1956 was special, because it put the House Rockers in the books as being the first white rock 'n' roll act to play the celebrated Apollo Theater
(Buddy Holly would play there in 1957). In 1957, they did a summer-long residence in Wildwood, New Jersey
at a club called Harry Roeshe's Beachcomber, and the headliners of this bill were the Treniers. After that, Freed put them in another movie, Go, Johnny, Go, in 1959. After cutting 12 tracks for Coral, they waxed for the Sunnyside and Hand labels in 1959, the Darcy label in 1963, and the Romar label in 1965.
, and had a resident engagement at P.G. Doogie's in Deerfield Beach and Saba Asian Restaurant & Lounge in Boca Raton, until recently.
After years of playing R&B in America, Cavallo finally played his first gig in the United Kingdom
on November 22, 2002 at Rhythm Riot festival in Rye, England. Joe Marillo lives in San Diego and still plays actively. The dual-sax sound of Cavallo and Utley, heard on the beaches of North Carolina in 1947 and in the 50's with Cavallo and Marillo, has echoed in Cavallo's work ever since.
Jimmy has three CDs on PetCap called Jimmy Cavallo Live at The Persian Terrace, of big band music, Live At Freddy's, recorded in 2003, and Jimmy Cavallo and the Houserockers, Then and Now, released in 2006. They can be bought directly from Petcap Music. There also is a CD of new recordings cut in 2002, called The Houserocker released on Blue Wave Records, which can be purchased directly from them. Also available from Blue Wave is a compilation CD that has every record Jimmy made from 1951 to 1973, even the rare BSD records, a total of 29 sides. Petcap also gave Jimmy a dedicated web site, www.jcavallo.comhttp://www.jcavallo.com.
Rock, Rock, Rock (film)
Rock, Rock, Rock is a 1956 black-and-white motion picture featuring performances from a number of early rock 'n' roll stars, such as Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Teddy Randazzo, The Moonglows, The Flamingos, and The Teenagers with Frankie Lymon as lead singer. Future West Side Story cast member David...
, by pioneering music DJ Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
. Jimmy and the Houserockers were the first all-white band to play at the Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, where they celebrated the movie's release.
Starting out In Syracuse
When Cavallo (often misspelled Cavello) was in high school in SyracuseSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
in the early 1940s, he played in a swing band, playing harmony on alto sax
Alto saxophone
The 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...
. He knew even then that playing the harmony was not for him, and he wanted to do the melody line, sing and lead a band. Cavallo started buying Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
records and learning those songs, and other jump blues
Jump blues
Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll...
records, and soon switched to tenor sax
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
because that was the lead horn in jump blues. When Cavallo was around 16, he formed his own band, but the only work they got was playing local Italian weddings (and the occasional Polish, Jewish, or Irish wedding).
The Navy Years and Time in North Carolina
When he left home to serve in the United States NavyUnited 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...
at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Cavallo took his saxophone with him. While in the service in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, and Washington DC, he spent his free time in black clubs, listening to the latest in the blues, and jamming with some of the rising stars of what would soon be called 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...
.
Upon his discharge, Cavallo hit the Carolina beaches with a band called the Jimmy Cavallo Quartet, one of the world's first white R&B bands, playing Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, Louis Jordan, and Hucklebuck Williams tunes, as well as originals. The line-up was Bobby Wrenn, drums; Max Alexander, bass; Bobby Hass, sax, and Diz Utley, sax. They played in the beach music
Beach music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, is a regional genre which developed from various musical styles of the forties, fifties and sixties. These styles ranged from big band swing instrumentals to the more raucous sounds of blues/jump blues, jazz, doo-wop, boogie, rhythm and blues,...
or "shag" scene all over North Carolina through 1947 and '48, and during 1949 had a residency in Carolina Beach at a dance club called Bop City, drawing huge crowds of dancers. (A first-hand account of this scene can be found in Shagger Magazine, volume 2 issue 2).http://www.hoyhoy.com/artists/cavallo3.htm
Success in upstate New York
At the end of the summer of 1949, Cavallo moved back to Syracuse, got together some local musicians, [Sam Barone, bass; Al Antonello, drums; Mike Peluso, piano] and went looking for work, but the clubs in the white section of town were still playing hotel music, so in order to get work, he had to play in black clubs like the Penguin. His big break came at the end of 1949 when his uncle, who owned a large night club called Sorrentos, let him play there. He was expected to play old standards to the mostly Italian audience, but when he sneaked in uptempo R&B numbers, the crowd went nuts. After that, the Jimmy Cavallo Quartet started packing the club, and playing all the R&B they wanted. The band was a phenomenon. In the summer of 1950, he got a steady gig at Di Castros in Sylvan BeachSylvan Beach, New York
Sylvan Beach is a village in Oneida County, New York, USA. The population was 1,071 at the 2000 census.The Village of Sylvan Beach is in the western end of the Town of Vienna.Verona Beach State Park is south of the village on Route 13.- History :...
on Oneida Lake
Oneida Lake
Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York State . The lake is located northeast of Syracuse and near the Great Lakes. It serves as one of the links in the Erie Canal. It empties into the Oneida River which flows into the Oswego River which in turn flows into Lake Ontario...
.
Word spread fast in Central New York's large Italian community, and Jimmy drew a crowd from an area which spanned from Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
to Rochester to Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, with people flocking by the thousands to dance to Jimmy Cavallo's rocking R&B. In 1950, Jimmy's band was drawing crowds of 1000 to 1200 every Sunday afternoon to DiCastros. In 1951, they cut 2 records for the tiny BSD label, numbers 1004 and 1005. These records were recorded in the basement of the home of label owner Angelo Pergolito, in Auburn, New York
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
, 25 miles from Syracuse. This record label, which lasted from 1951 to 1955, was strictly aimed at recording local talent.
Side A of BSD 1004 was "Ha Ha Ha Blues," which was Jimmy's reworking of a Joe Morris
Joe Morris
Joe Morris is the name of:* Joe Morris , British film writer, producer and director. * Joe Morris , American jazz guitarist * Joe Morris , American studio drummer...
tune, also from 1951, called "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" The flip side was "I Got Eyes For You." BSD 1005 had on the A side, Cavallo's cover of Jimmy Preston
Jimmy Preston
Jimmy Preston was an R&B bandleader, alto saxophonist and singer who made an important contribution to early rock and roll....
's "Rock The Joint." 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:...
and his Saddlemen's 1952 waxing of that tune marked the dawn of guitar-based rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, but Cavallo's earlier record was done with saxophones and brass in the germinal rock and roll style.
[*NOTE: A better argument can be made for The Saddlemen's 1951 (June) version of "Rocket 88" as the first guitar based rock and roll song]
Side B, "Leave Married Women Alone," is an original done also in that vein. He wrote the tune with Diz Utley, another tenor saxophonist, who had honked alongside Cavallo in the earliest days in North Carolina. Other artists on these two recordings are Syracuse natives Elmer "Al" Antonello on drums, Sam Barone on bass, Mike Peluso on keyboards, and Georgie Horton on trumpet. (note: the song was re-written as "Soda Shop Rock" in 1956). Vocals on "Rock The Joint" are Jimmy in the lead with Diz and Horton backing up.
They played Di Castros for two more years and disbanded, and Jimmy went on the road with a new band, in 1953 and '54. A falling-out in Detroit led to this band's demise, and Jimmy's manager appointed him as the new leader of tenor saxophonist Joe Marillo's band, an already-working R & B band in the Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
area, and named them "Jimmy Cavallo and The House Rockers." With the dual-sax sound of Marillo and Cavallo, national recognition came for the House Rockers after an audition, in July 1956, for Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
in his studio at WINS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
in NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They soon began appearing at Alan Freed shows and making records for the Coral label.
Alan Freed and Rock, Rock, Rock
In August 1956, they played the Brooklyn Paramount with Fats DominoFats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
and Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
, after which they appeared with Freed in the Vanguard movie Rock, Rock, Rock, in which they played the title song, and another tune called "The Big Beat," (that's Joe Marillo in the movie on second sax). The movie was released December 5, 1956, and the House Rockers played Harlem's Apollo Theater at the same time to promote the movie's release. In the 10-day extended gig, the House Rockers were augmented by a big band of veterans of the Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
orchestras, led by Sam The Man Taylor. Playing the Apollo in December 1956 was special, because it put the House Rockers in the books as being the first white rock 'n' roll act to play the celebrated Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
(Buddy Holly would play there in 1957). In 1957, they did a summer-long residence in Wildwood, New Jersey
Wildwood, New Jersey
Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a popular summer resort destination. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,325...
at a club called Harry Roeshe's Beachcomber, and the headliners of this bill were the Treniers. After that, Freed put them in another movie, Go, Johnny, Go, in 1959. After cutting 12 tracks for Coral, they waxed for the Sunnyside and Hand labels in 1959, the Darcy label in 1963, and the Romar label in 1965.
Continuing to Perform and Record
Jimmy still visits hometown Syracuse for a gig or two every summer. His fans there never seem to tire describing the old days in Sylvan Beach, and even 55+ years later, he can still pack a club in Syracuse with followers who went to his shows in the early 1950s, and who wait patiently every year for Jimmy's annual migration back home. Once a year, these people, now in their 70's and 80's, dance like they were 25 years old again. Jimmy is still playing in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and had a resident engagement at P.G. Doogie's in Deerfield Beach and Saba Asian Restaurant & Lounge in Boca Raton, until recently.
After years of playing R&B in America, Cavallo finally played his first gig in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on November 22, 2002 at Rhythm Riot festival in Rye, England. Joe Marillo lives in San Diego and still plays actively. The dual-sax sound of Cavallo and Utley, heard on the beaches of North Carolina in 1947 and in the 50's with Cavallo and Marillo, has echoed in Cavallo's work ever since.
Jimmy has three CDs on PetCap called Jimmy Cavallo Live at The Persian Terrace, of big band music, Live At Freddy's, recorded in 2003, and Jimmy Cavallo and the Houserockers, Then and Now, released in 2006. They can be bought directly from Petcap Music. There also is a CD of new recordings cut in 2002, called The Houserocker released on Blue Wave Records, which can be purchased directly from them. Also available from Blue Wave is a compilation CD that has every record Jimmy made from 1951 to 1973, even the rare BSD records, a total of 29 sides. Petcap also gave Jimmy a dedicated web site, www.jcavallo.comhttp://www.jcavallo.com.