The Dorsey Brothers
Encyclopedia
The Dorsey Brothers were a studio group fronted by musicians Tommy
and Jimmy Dorsey
. They started recording under their name in 1928 with a series of studio recordings for the OKeh
label (they had come to New York in the mid-1920s and were among the most sought-after musicians). Always just a studio group, members (during the 1928-1934 period) included nearly all of the great white jazz musicians playing around New York City
:
As a studio recording group, they recorded for;
They also did a few sides for the dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, Perfect, etc.) and also a handful of sides during their Brunswick period were issued on Vocalion
.
They signed to Decca Records
in 1934, basically formed a more traditional regular band, and even started performing live until they had their famous falling out in September, 1935. Glenn Miller
composed two songs for the Dorsey Brothers Band when he was a member in 1934 and 1935, "Annie's Cousin Fanny
" and "Dese Dem Dose
".
In 1935, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra had two no.1 recordings on Decca Records, "Lullaby of Broadway
" with Bob Crosby
on vocals, no.1 for two weeks, and "Chasing Shadows", no.1 for three weeks. Tommy Dorsey would have seventeen number one hits while Jimmy Dorsey would have ten after they formed their own orchestras in 1935.
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey broke up the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra in 1935 but reunited on March 15, 1945 to record a V-Disc
at Liederkranz Hall in New York City. Released in June, 1945, V-Disc 451 featured "More Than You Know" backed with "Brotherly Jump". The songs featured the combined orchestras of Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. They reunited again in 1947 to film the biopic The Fabulous Dorseys in which they played themselves. In the 1950s, they had their own network TV series. Elvis Presley
made his national television debut on their show in 1956.
In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey postage stamp.
(See Tommy Dorsey
and Jimmy Dorsey
's individual listings for more details).
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and Jimmy Dorsey
Jimmy Dorsey
James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
. They started recording under their name in 1928 with a series of studio recordings for the OKeh
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
label (they had come to New York in the mid-1920s and were among the most sought-after musicians). Always just a studio group, members (during the 1928-1934 period) included nearly all of the great white jazz musicians playing around New York City
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...
:
- Carl KressCarl KressCarl Kress was an American jazz guitarist.-Musical career:Kress began his career with Paul Whiteman in 1926, and thereafter launched a successful career as a studio guitarist...
(guitar) - Chauney Morehouse (drums)
- Adrian RolliniAdrian RolliniAdrian Francis Rollini was a multi-instrumentalist best known for his jazz music. He played the bass saxophone, piano, xylophone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music...
(bass sax) - Joe TartoJoe TartoJoe Tarto was an American jazz tubist and bassist.Tarto played trombone from age 12 before settling on tuba as a teenager. He played in an Army band in World War I, where he was wounded, and received his release in 1919...
(brass bass) - Manny KleinManny KleinManny Klein was a jazz trumpeter most associated with swing.He began with Paul Whiteman in 1928 and was active throughout the 1930s playing with several major bands of the era including the Dorseys and Benny Goodman. In 1937, he moved to California and worked with Frank Trumbauer's orchestra...
(trumpet) - Arthur SchuttArthur SchuttArthur Schutt was an American jazz pianist and arranger.Schutt learned piano from his father, and accompanied silent films as a teenager in the 1910s...
(piano) - Jack TeagardenJack TeagardenWeldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden , known as "Big T" and "The Swingin' Gate", was an influential jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist, regarded as the "Father of Jazz Trombone".-Early life:...
(trombone) - Frank Shoemacher (clarinet, tenor sax)
- Frank SignorelliFrank SignorelliFrank Signorelli was an US jazz pianist of the 1920s. He was a founder member of the Original Memphis Five in 1917, then joined the Original Dixieland Jazz Band briefly in 1921. In 1927 he played in Adrian Rollini's New York ensemble, and subsequently worked with Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke, Matty...
(piano) - Stan KingStan KingStan King was an Australian rugby league player for the Eastern Suburbs club. King played in the 1919 season and made 3 appearances for that club....
(drums) - Phil NapoleonPhil NapoleonPhil Napoleon , born Filippo Napoli, was an early jazz trumpeter and bandleader born in Boston, Massachusetts...
(trumpet) - Eddie LangEddie LangEddie 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:...
(guitar) - Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry 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....
(vocal) - Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
(trombone) - Leon Mcconville (trumpet)
- Bunny BeriganBunny BeriganRowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the swing era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33. He composed the jazz instrumentals "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues"...
(trumpet) - Artie BernsteinArtie BernsteinArthur "Artie" Bernstein was an American jazz bassist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he started his musical career playing cello on board cruise ships to South America, and also studied law at New York University. However, by 1929 he had started playing bass, and began performing in clubs around New...
(slap bass) - Joe Venuti (violin)
- Fulton McGrathFulton McGrathFulton "Fidgy" McGrath was an American jazz pianist and songwriter.McGrath played with Red Nichols early in the 1930s, then joined the band of The Dorsey Brothers, in addition to working extensively as a studio musician and in radio orchestras...
(piano) - Dick McDonoughDick McDonoughDick McDonough was an influential American jazz guitarist and composer. His major recordings included "Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jibe" with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra with Johnny Mercer, "Stage Fright" with Carl Kress, "Chasin' a Buck", "Feelin' No Pain", recorded in 1927 with Red Nichols, and...
(guitar) - Mildred BaileyMildred BaileyMildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
(vocals) - Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(vocals)
As a studio recording group, they recorded for;
- OKehOkeh RecordsOkeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
1928-1930 - MelotoneMelotone Records (US)Melotone Records was a United States based record label. In late 1930, Warner/Brunswick Records introduced the Melotone label in the U.S. and Canada as a budget subsidiary issuing 78 rpm disc records. It then became part of the American Record Corporation collection of labels in 1932. The label was...
1931 - ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
1931 - BrunswickBrunswick RecordsBrunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
1932-1934
They also did a few sides for the dime store labels (Banner, Cameo, Domino, Jewel, Oriole, Perfect, etc.) and also a handful of sides during their Brunswick period were issued on Vocalion
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
.
They signed to Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in 1934, basically formed a more traditional regular band, and even started performing live until they had their famous falling out in September, 1935. Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
composed two songs for the Dorsey Brothers Band when he was a member in 1934 and 1935, "Annie's Cousin Fanny
Annie's Cousin Fanny
Annie's Cousin Fannie, which is sometimes listed as "Annie's Cousin Fanny", is a 1934 song composed by Glenn Miller and recorded by The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra for Brunswick and Decca Records...
" and "Dese Dem Dose
Dese Dem Dose
Dese Dem Dose is a 1935 instrumental composed by Glenn Miller and recorded by The Dorsey Brothers orchestra.Dese Dem Dose was recorded in New York on February 6, 1935, and was released as a 78 by The Dorsey Brothers on Decca paired with "Weary Blues" as Decca 469B. Ray McKinley, the drummer in the...
".
In 1935, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra had two no.1 recordings on Decca Records, "Lullaby of Broadway
Lullaby of Broadway (song)
"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Wini Shaw in the musical film, Gold Diggers of 1935, and, in an unusual move, it was used as background music in a sequence in the Bette Davis film...
" with Bob Crosby
Bob Crosby
George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
on vocals, no.1 for two weeks, and "Chasing Shadows", no.1 for three weeks. Tommy Dorsey would have seventeen number one hits while Jimmy Dorsey would have ten after they formed their own orchestras in 1935.
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey broke up the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra in 1935 but reunited on March 15, 1945 to record a V-Disc
V-Disc
V-Disc was a morale-boosting initiative involving the production of several series of recordings during the World War II era by special arrangement between the United States government and various private U.S. record companies. The records were produced for the use of United States military...
at Liederkranz Hall in New York City. Released in June, 1945, V-Disc 451 featured "More Than You Know" backed with "Brotherly Jump". The songs featured the combined orchestras of Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey. They reunited again in 1947 to film the biopic The Fabulous Dorseys in which they played themselves. In the 1950s, they had their own network TV series. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
made his national television debut on their show in 1956.
In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative Jimmy Dorsey and Tommy Dorsey postage stamp.
(See Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and Jimmy Dorsey
Jimmy Dorsey
James "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
's individual listings for more details).