ARTISTS & PERFORMERS

Artist PhotoArtist Bio
Guy Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist of Italian descent. Forming The Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor, and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "the sweetest music this side of Heaven". The Lombardos are believed to have sold between 300 million phonograph records during their lifetimes, many featuring the band's long time lead singer, Kenny Gardner. Lombardo was born in ... Continue reading
Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama. His major recordings were "Got A Date With An Angel", "Heart Of Stone", "Lamplight", "The Music Goes 'Round And Around", "You're The Top", "Bolero", "Gloomy Sunday", "Lullaby Of Broadway", and many others. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill he formed his own campus jazz group, the Carolina Club Orchestra. This first group toured Europe in the summer of 1924 under the sponso... Continue reading
Harry James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he re-organized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone, and was extremely influential on up and coming trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a n... Continue reading
Helen Forrest (April 12, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was an American singer of traditional pop and swing. She served as the "girl singer" for three of the most popular big bands of the Swing Era (Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Harry James), thereby earning a reputation as "the voice of the name bands." Helen returned to Atlantic City and began singing with her brother Ed's band. In 1934, 17-year-old Helen began singing for WNEW in New York. She also performed for WCBS where she was known as “Bonnie Blue” and “The Blue Lady of Song.” Eventu... Continue reading
Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television through the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Alameda, California, Heidt attended Culver Academies. At the University of California, Berkeley, he was a guard on the football team. A broken back suffered in a practice session caused him to give up football, leading him to turn his attention to music. He and some c... Continue reading
Ina Ray Hutton (March 13, 1916 – February 19, 1984), was an American vocalist, bandleader, and the sister of June Hutton. She began dancing and singing in stage revues at the age of eight and by the time she was 18 years old, Ina Ray was a seasoned performer. She had starred in Gus Edwards' revue "Future Stars Troupe" at the Palace Theater and Lew Leslie's "Clowns in Clover," and on Broadway she performed in George White's revues: "Melody", "Never Had An Education," and "Scandals", and then onto The Ziegfeld Follies all by the time she was 18... Continue reading
Ink Spots were an African-American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style led to the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely accepted in both the white and black communities, largely due to the ballad style introduced to the group by lead singer Bill Kenny. In 1989, the Ink Spots (Bill Kenny, Deek Watson, Charlie Fuqua and Hoppy Jones) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1999 they were inducted into the ... Continue reading
Isham Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter. In 1911 one of Jones's earliest compositions was "On the Alamo.” The Isham Jones band made a series of popular records for Brunswick throughout the 1920s. He led one of the most popular dance bands in the 1920s and 1930s. His first successful recording, "Wabash Blues", was recorded in 1921. This million-seller stayed for twelve weeks in the U.S. charts, six at No. 1. In 1932, he added Joe Martin, another of the band's violinist... Continue reading
Ivie Anderson (July 10, 1905 – December 28, 1949) was an American jazz singer born in Gilroy, California. Anderson’s singing career officially started around 1921 when she performed in Los Angeles, California. From 1922 to 1923, she was brought to New York City by joining a pioneering African-American musical revenue Shuffle Along. By 1924 and 1925, she had already performed in various locations such as Cuba, the Cotton Club in New York City, and Los Angeles with the bands of Paul Howard, Curtis Mosby, and Sonny Clay. In 1928, she sang in A... Continue reading
Jack Hylton (2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English band leader and impresario who rose to prominence during the British dance band era. He was born in Great Lever near Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His early career involved moving to London as a pianist in the 400 Club and playing with the Stroud Haxton Band. After the First World War Hylton played with the Queen's Dance Orchestra, wrote arrangements of popular songs and recorded them under the label 'Directed by Jack Hylton'. He then for... Continue reading