Tommy Dorsey

115
Tommy Dorsey bigraphy, stories - American big band leader and musician

Tommy Dorsey : biography

November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956

Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956 at Find a Grave) 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. Although he was not known for being a notable soloist, his technical skill on the trombone gave him renown amongst other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely popular and highly successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s.

Death and aftermath

On November 26, 1956, Tommy Dorsey died at age 51 in his Greenwich, Connecticut, home. He had eaten a heavy meal and began choking in his sleep. Dorsey began taking sleeping pills regularly at this time; therefore, he was so sedated that he was unable to awaken and died from choking.Levinson 299 Jimmy Dorsey led his brother’s band until his own death from lung cancer the following year. At that point, trombonist Warren Covington assumed leadership of the band with Jane Dorsey’s blessing"Tommy died with no will and reportedly left only about $15,000[…]. Since [Dorsey’s widow] Janie New continued to need money to support her family and because she legally owned the rights to Tommy’s library of arrangements, she was naturally very interested when [Willard] Alexander approached her about creating a Tommy Dorsey band." Levinson 308-309 as she owned the rights to her late husband’s band and name. Billed as the "Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Starring Warren Covington", they topped the charts in 1958 with "Tea For Two Cha-Cha".Levinson 309 After Covington led the band for a short period, Sam Donahue led it starting in 1961, continuing until the late 1960s.Levinson 309-310 Buddy Morrow conducted the Tommy Dorsey orchestra until his death on September 27, 2010. Jane Dorsey died of natural causes at the age of 79, in Miami, Florida in 2003. Tommy and Jane Dorsey are interred together in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.Jane Dorsey date of death and interment facts from Levinson 320

Songs written by Tommy Dorsey

  • Written in 1929: "You Can’t Cheat A Cheater" with Phil Napoleon and Frank Signorelli at Red Hot Jazz
  • 1932: "Three Moods"Tommy Dorsey recorded two takes of this song for OKeh records, August 6, 1932 in New York City. See http://www.redhotjazz.com/tommy.html which also lists Tommy Dorsey as composer.
  • 1937: "The Morning After"
  • 1938: "Chris and His Gang" with Fletcher and Horace Henderson; Tommy Dorsey wrote the song "Peckin’ With Penguins" for a 1938 Frank Tashlin-directed Porky Pig cartoon, "Porky’s Spring Planting" for the studio Warner Bros."Tommy Dorsey" IMDB
  • 1939: "To You","To You" appears as part of a medley by Glenn Miller, paired with "Stairway to the Stars" both sung by Ray Eberle for the Glenn Miller orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall on October 6, 1939. See "Solid!-The Glenn Miller Carnegie Hall Concert" at http://www.parabrisas.com/m_millerg5.phpGlenn Miller recorded "To You" for Bluebird records on May 9, 1939 released as Bluebird 10276-B, with the "A" side, "Stairway To The Stars" both sung by Ray Eberle. see Moonlight Serenade: A Bio-discography, John Flower, Arlington House, New Rochelle, 1972, p.63 ISBN 978-0-87000-161-1 "This Is No Dream", "You Taught Me To Love Again",] for Columbia Records on July 7, 1949] "In The Middle Of A Dream", "Night In Sudan"According to the , "This Is No Dream" reached no. 9 on the Billboard singles chart in 1939, while "To You" reached no. 10 on the same chart, both staying on the chart for 7 weeks. "In The Middle Of A Dream" reached no. 7 on the Billboard chart in 1939, staying on the charts for 10 weeks.
  • 1945: "Fluid Jive" and "Fried Chicken"
  • 1946: "Nip and Tuck"
  • 1947: "Trombonology"Levinson 214 Levinson refers to the 1947 recording of Dorsey’s composition as the band’s "one important recording of that year." "Trombonology" was recorded July 1, 1947 and was released on an RCA Victor 78 rpm record, catalogue number Vic 20-2419. Information taken from the liner notes to the 1993 compact disc The Post-War Era, Bluebird/RCA 66156, written by Loren Schoenberg.
  • Co-wrote "Bunch of Beats", "Mid Riff", and "Candied Yams" with Fred Norman.