Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was a drummer and bandleader from the mid 1920s through the swing era. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United His eye for talent led him to either discover or employ, at one time or another, musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland and Harry James. Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden ( August 20, 1905 &ndash January 15, 1964) was an influential Jazz Trombonist and Alton Glenn Miller ( March 1 1904 &ndash presumably December 15 1944) was an American Jazz musician and Jimmy McPartland (James Dugald McPartland ( March 15 1907, Chicago, Illinois &ndash March 13, 1991, Port Washington Harry James ( March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American Musician and Band leader, and a well-known This ability earned him the nickname "Father of Swing".
Born in Chicago, Illinois to a well-to-do family, Pollack was largely self taught as a drummer, and was afforded the opportunity to become the drummer for the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, a top jazz outfit, in the early '20s. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (nicknamed NORK) were one of the most influential Jazz bands of the early-to-mid 1920s Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States In 1924 he played for several outfits, including some on the west coast, which ultimately led to his forming a band there in 1925. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. One of the earliest members of his band was Gil Rodin, a saxophonist whose sharp business acumen served him well later as an executive for the Music Corporation of America (MCA). The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind MCA Inc (or Music Corporation of America) was an American Corporation in the music and television businesses Rodin also served as the "straw boss' for Pollack along with the young arranger-trombonist Glenn Miller. Already recognized as immensely talented on the clarinet, sixteen-year-old Benny Goodman began working with Pollack in 1925 as well.
In 1926, Pollack recorded for Victor. Many of his records were good sellers. From about 1928, with involvement with Irving Mills, members of Pollack's band moonlighted at Plaza-ARC and recorded a vast quantity of hot dance and out-and-out jazz for their dime store labels (Banner, Perfect, Domino, Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo, and others using colorful names like Mills' Merry Makers, Goody's Good Timers, Kentucky Grasshoppers, Mills' Musical Clowns, The Lumberjacks, Dixie Daises, The Caroliners, The Whoopee Makers, The Hotsy Totsy Gang, Dixie Jazz Band, and Jimmy Bracken's Toe Ticklers, and many others. Banner Records was a United States based Record label of the 20th century Perfect Records was a United States based Record label of the 1920s and 1930s Domino Records was the name of two United States Record labels which are now defunct Domino Records (1917 Domino Records Cameo was a USA based Record label, first flourishing in the 1920s not connected with a later record label of the same name which was active in the 1950s Lincoln Records was a Record label in the United States of America in the 1920s Romeo Records (c 1938 was a Record label based in the United States of America in the 1920s and 1930s Lumberjacks is the hip hop duo between T-Mo and Khujo of the Atlanta rapping pioneers Goodie Mob. Most of these records are usually listed in discographical books (like Brian Rust's Jazz Records as by Irving Mills. Brian Arthur Lovell Rust (b March 19 1922 London) is an English Jazz discographer. Irving Mills ( January 16[[ 894]]&ndash April 21[[ 985]] was a Jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose The rare Jack Teagarden's Music book lists them properly as being a "Ben Pollack Unit". Combining Pollack's regular recordings with these side groups made Pollack one of the more prolific bands of the 1920's and 1930's.
Pollack left Victor in late 1929 and subsequently recorded for most of the other labels Hit Of The Week (1930), the above listed dime store labels (1930-1931), Victor (1933), Columbia (1933-1934), Brunswick, Vocalion and Variety (1936) and Decca (1937-1938). Victor (also spelled Viktor or Vítor) is a male name that has been used for centuries in numerous cultures and parts of the world Columbia Records is an American Record label founded in 1888 Columbia is the oldest surviving Brand name in pre-recorded sound being the first record company Brunswick Records is a United States based Record label. The label is currently distributed by Koch Entertainment. Vocalion Records was a Record label historically active in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Decca Records is a British Record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis.
The band played in Chicago, mainly, and moved to New York City around the fall of 1928, having obtained McPartland and Teagarden around that time. The City of New York Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This outfit enjoyed immense success, playing for Broadway shows, and having an exclusive engagement at the Park Central Hotel. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located The Park Central Hotel is a 31-story 935-room hotel located at 870 7th Avenue (between West 55th and West 56th Streets Pollack's band also was involved in extensive recording activity at that time, using a variety of pseudonyms in the studios. The orchestra also made a Vitaphone short subject sound film (which has been recently restored). Vitaphone was a Sound film process used on features and nearly 2000 Short subjects produced by Warner Bros A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image as opposed to a Silent film. Pollack, in the meantime, had fancied himself as more of a bandleader-singer type instead of a drummer. To this end, he signed Ray Bauduc to handle the drumming chores. Ray Bauduc (1906-1988 was a hugely popular and influential New Orleans-born jazz drummer best known for his work with the Bob Crosby Orchestra and their band-within-a-band
Soon afterward, things began to become difficult for Ben Pollack. The Stock Market Crash of 1929, and subsequent effects on the music industry as a whole, had a negative effect on all bands at that time, and Pollack's was no exception. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the ’29 Crash, the Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of October 1929 Work was scarce, and the band had several periods of inactivity, in spite of Pollack's best efforts in obtaining work. Changes in personnel were also inevitable. Benny Goodman and Jimmy McPartland left the band in the summer of 1929, either fired or quit, depending on whose story is to be believed. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They were replaced by Matty Matlock on clarinet and Jack Teagarden's brother, Charlie, on trumpet. Matty (Julian Clifton Matlock ( 27 April 1907 &ndash 14 June 1978) was an American Dixieland Jazz Clarinettist Charlie Teagarden (July 19 1913 Vernon Texas - December 10 1984 Las Vegas Nevada) was an American Jazz trumpeter Eddie Miller was also signed as a tenor saxophonist in 1930. Edward Raymond Müller ( June 23, 1911 &ndash April 8 1991) was a Jazz musician who played Tenor saxophone and The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the Saxophone family a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Pollack made several forays into the U.S. Midwest in the early 1930s, and also made some trips to Canada. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page During this time, he became involved with the singing career of his girl vocalist, Doris Robbins. As he was also involved with her romantically, he began to de-emphasize his involvement with band matters, much to the consternation of the musicians. Eventually, Ben Pollack and Doris Robbins married.
More changes came for the band in the spring of 1933 when trombone star Jack Teagarden gave his notice during an engagement in Chicago. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s It was not long after that, possibly a year, when the rest of the musicians decided to leave Pollack, They re-formed soon after as a co-operative band, fronted by Bing Crosby's brother, Bob. Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby ( May 3, 1903 &ndash October 14, 1977) was an Academy Award winning American Popular Bob Crosby ( August 23, 1913 Spokane Washington &ndash March 9, 1993 La Jolla California) was an American
Pollack re-formed his band eventually, and had some top-flight talent, including Harry James and Irving Fazola in it, but never really achieved any of the success of his earlier bands. Irving Fazola ( 10 December, 1912 – 20 March, 1949) was an American Jazz Clarinetist Fazola or Faz These two stars, also, found greater success after they left Pollack. In the early 1940s, Pollack was the organizer for a band led by comedian Chico Marx. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be Leonard Marx, known as Chico, ( March 22, 1887 &ndash October 11, 1961) was one of the Marx Brothers. He tried his hand organizing a record label, Jewel Records, and at other venues, including restaurants on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood and in Palm Springs, California. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Jewel Records was a Record label which discs were pressed by the Scranton Button Company. Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, approximately 111 miles (177 km east of Los Angeles and 136 miles (225 km northeast of He also appeared, as himself, in the motion picture The Benny Goodman Story and made a cameo appearance in The Glenn Miller Story. The Glenn Miller Story is a 1953 American film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non- western
All through this troubled period, Pollack managed to record excellent records and had an occasional hit, like the 1937 "Peckin'", originally issued on Variety VA-556.
In later years, Pollack grew despondent and committed suicide by hanging in Palm Springs in 1971.
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