Sonny formed his band while in Duke University. Here's a photo of the Duke Ambassadors, as they appeared playing in the Duke University Gymnasium. (Photo: Duke University Archives. Courtesy: Mr. Richard Currie. The singer is unidentified.) It is possible that the band was formed, and led, by Patrick Williams, and perhaps also by Sonny Burke at one time while he was still a student. John Hammond, the music critic, encouraged him to bring the band to New York City, where they wound up playing in the 'Roseland Ballroom'. Sonny handled the Vibes and then began arranging for the band.

Sonny inherited the Sam Donahue orchestra when Gene Krupa took Sam Donahue away, but when San Donahue left Krupa, he asked for his old band back. The orchestra took a vote and Sam got the band back.

Sonny left the band and started a very successful career as west coast studio and TV arranger/conductor, as well as being chief arranger for such bands as Jimmy Dorsey and Charles Spivak.

He was musical director for Warner Bros. Records and for Reprise Records, where he was responsible for Frnak Sinatra's records. Later he headed his own Daybreak Records company. Sonny died in 1979.

   [ Joe Bushkin Orch ]
b. Nov 7, 1916 New York, NY, USA. d. Nov. 3, 2004, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. (pneumonia). Age: 87.
"The truth is, all jazz pianists recognize a smooth, clear style of playing, even if the public has overlooked it. Look at Joe Bushkin, not a widely known performer, but ask most pianists to name their top ten favorite players, Bushkin will be there," --Jess Stacy, 1984.

Joe Bushkin was a wonderfully talented pianist and composer, and while his short lived band may be forgotten, his performances for Berigan, Dorsey and Goodman remain popular. People often forget that it was Joe Marsala who discovered such folks as pianist Joe Bushkin; guitarist Carmen Mastren and a vaudeville tap-dancer named Buddy "baby traps" Rich, who turned out to be a pretty fair drummer, albeit with a nasty personality. Joe Marsala may have found Buddy acting as a Tap Dancing MC on a Hudson River Dayliner cruise boat.

Joe studied piano as a teenager. In 1935 he landed a job at the Famous Door Club on New York's 52nd Street. In fact, a good part of Bushkin's career was spent on 52nd Street. Before long, he joined Eddie Condon's group and following Condon he joined the Joe Marsala Sextet for a stay in the Hickory House, also on 52nd Street, but on the Seventh Avenue side. Berigan lured Rich away, and still later, Tommy Dorsey hired both Rich and Carmen Mastren.

It was in 1940, after he had moved over to Tommy Dorsey's band, that he composed, "Oh, Look At Me Now." He was noted for his arrangements with Dorsey, and was equally popular for his piano style. After serving in the U.S.Army during World War II, he joined the Benny Goodman Orchestra, where he composed a number of songs for Benny such as, "Man Here Plays Fine Piano," and Benjie's Bubble."

In 1951 he formed his own band which was featured on a number of "mood" albums, including Midnight Rhapsody and Bushkin Spotlights Berlin. In 1991 he was a guest on Marian McPartland's NPR radio show, "Piano Jazz." Among his compositions are such songs as Portrait of Tallulah and Love is Everything, among others.
Above notes via Mr. Dan Delfiorentino

   [ Earl Burtnett and his Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Orch. ]
b. 1899, Harrisburg, PA, USA. d. Jan. 2, 1936, Chicago, IL, USA. (Peritonitis due to Appendectomy)
One of only a handful of dance bands discovered and promoted by Flo Ziegfeld personally!

Earl was born in Harrisburg, PA, and attended Pennsylvania State University, but stayed in college only two years. In 1918, he had joined the Art Hickman band just months before the legendary showman, Florenz Ziegfeld heard the band in San Francisco and moved the orchestra to New York City. The band had a featured spot in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1920." A year later the Hickman band opened at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. When Hickman retired he asked Burtnett to continue as leader. (In 1930, Art Hickman died, in his home town of San Francisco, CA.) Because of his success in leading the band, Burtnett was able to find the financial backing to start his own band.

In the early 1930s, Earl led the featured band at the Biltmore Hotel in San Francisco, and he backed the Biltmore Trio, for Brunswick Records. Here's another photograph of the Biltmore Trio. In both photographs, Ned Hewitt is at left, Les Houck center, and Don Dorsey at the right. He also backed the singer Ruth Lee, "the platinum blonde songstress", when she introduced the song "Imagine", at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. And, here's a picture of Stanley Hickman, another Burtnett vocalist, from a photograph that he gave to Dottie and Les Houck upon their marriage. (I do not know if he was related to bandleader Art Hickman.) These three photographs are reproduced here by the kind permission of Les Houck's daughter, Ms. Pamela Houck Shriver. When Les Houck was married (in Hollywood, CA), there was the usual reception for the bride and groom, - attended by many film stars. A very interesting photograph from that event is shown on our Ted Fio Rito, entry.

In 1936, The first new hit novelty tune was "The Music Goes Round and Round". It was composed by Red Hodgson, a novelty tune singer in Burtnett's band. But it was another band - Mike Riley and Eddie Farley - that helped him to get it published. Vocalist Ruth Lee had warbled it one night in a New York club, and it became a national hit. It fact, it was the only hit recording that the 'Riley and Farley Band' ever had. They sang it every night in the Onyx Club on New York's famed 52nd Street, -- but it was a huge hit for them. Every radio station in America was playing it a dozen or so times a day.

Burtnett's band appeared in two films, 1929's 'The Flying Fool', and 1930's 'The Party Girl'. In both films, the band was billed as 'Earl Burtnett and his Hotel Biltmore Orchestra and Trio'. (vocal trio -ed.) Earl played himself in both films.

Starting in 1933 the band played 18 months at the Rice Hotel in Houston, TX, before moving up to Chicago. It was a popular band in Chicago. WGN radio often aired the band via live remote broadcasts from night spots including The Blackhawk Ballroom, the Lincoln Tavern, and the Gold Coast Room in the Drake Hotel, where Burtnett's band enjoyed a long stay. His last Chicago engagement was as the Trianon Ballroom.

Earl had also composed some songs that had a modicum of success, including "Down Honolulu Way", "Sleep", and "Leave Me With A Smile".

Ralph "Cricket" Brown, was the Bass player with Burtnett's orchestra (he had previously led his own band during Feb. to August 1928), and his grand daughter, Ms Linda Ewing, has graciously permitted us to reproduce some of the photographs in "Cricket" Brown's scrapbook. Here's a photograph of the Burtnett Orch., on stage at the Chicago Theatre. This is another photo of the band on the same stage, but showing the full Chorus Line, taking their bow. And finally, here's a nice close up of Earl Burtnett, alone.

On Sept. 28, 1935, while traveling with his orchestra, Earl suffered a broken leg due to an auto accident near Valparaiso, IN. He had fully recovered from the injury and was again actively performing with the band. On Christmas Eve, 1935, Earl had underwent an appendectomy at Chicago's Illinois Central Hospital. At first he didn't want to undergo the operation. He told the attending physician that his appendix had been removed sometime around 1918, in a hospital near his hometown of Harrisburg, PA. He even carried the scar to show it. On Dec. 24, 1935, Burtnett's condition became grave, and he was taken to the hospital. The operation revealed that his appendix had not been removed, and that Peritonitis had set in. The Peritonitis proved fatal. Burtnett died that evening. He was just 37 years old.

   [ Henry Busse Orch ]
b: May 19, 1894 Magdeburg, Gemany ; d: April 23, 1955 Memphis, TN (Coronary)
In Theme: "Hot Lips" (Columbia 2937-D, Decca 198)
Out Theme: "When Day Is Done" (Decca 774)
Overview
Here's a photo of Bandleader, Composer and Trumpeter, Henry Busse, who had a "wah wah doo" style of blowing. Here's a photo of an early Busse 1920 Orchestra, which was largely unsuccessful, and here's a photo of Busse's 1940s Orch.
Very early in the 1920s, Busse had played trumpet in Paul Whiteman's orchestra, and Whiteman even released a record under the title of Busse's Buzzards, all of the "Buzzards" being part of the Whiteman orchestra. Henry, a German-American, first started his own "successful" orchestra in the 1930's. (Parenthetically, when Whiteman, formed his own very first band, the pianist and arranger was his friend Ferde Grofe. And it was both Grofe, and the pianist/arrangers who followed him, -men such as Lennie Hayton and Ray Turner- together with Whiteman's genius for matching good men and good music that made the band such a success.) It was the Whiteman band that helped so many musicicans, - such as Busse, the Dorsey Brothers, Bix, Bing, and others - to find fame.

Busse's band had a long stay in Chicago's Chez Paree. In 1938, the band moved into the Hotel New Yorker sporting it's 'six-eight-time' shuffle rhythm beat. Henry remained active in the band business right up to the time of his death in 1955

While still a teenager, Busse's family immigrated to the U.S. settling in Ohio. In 1918, he moved to San Francisco and formed a band with Paul Whiteman, with Whiteman very soon becoming the leader because Busse was not fluent in English. While with Whiteman, he composed "Hot Lips" which became one of his theme songs when he formed his own band.

In 1928, Busse left Whiteman to form his own band (Joe Venuti recorded with the band). In the early 1930's he was based in Chicago's 'The Chez Paree' where he developed what was called a "shuffle rhythm" style of music. Busse eventually moved on to New York City where broadcasts from The New Yorker Hotel spread the band's fame.

The band appeared in a number of film shorts including Paramount's 'Busse Rhythm' (1938); Universal Pictures 'Shuffle Rhythm' with the Six Hits and A Miss vocal group (1942), and 'Hit Tune Serenade' (1943). During World War II Busse enlarged the band to 19 musicians and appeared regulary on 'The Fitch Bandwagon' and 'Coca Cola Spotlight On Bands' radio shows. He moved to California after the war; although during the late 1940's and 1950's, most of his work came from the few remaining ballrooms in the South and Midwest. In 1954 his band, with the King Sisters, had a very successful engagement at Catalina Island.

Among other vocalists that appeared with the band over the years are Bob Hannon, Carl Grayson, Elaine Bauer, Roberta Lee, Billy Sheman, Skip Moor, and Phil Gray. Busse recorded for the Victor, Columbia, Decca, Cosmo, and Coral labels.

Henry died of a heart attack in 1955 while his band was working at, of all things, an undertaker's convention in Memphis, TN.
Thanks to Mr. Robin Lenhart for his contribution on Heny Busse.

   [ Billy Butterfield Orch. ]
Theme Song: "What's New"
Charles William "Billy" Butterfield. Trumpet
B: Jan. 14, 1917, Middleton, OH, USA. . D: North Palm Beach, FL, USA. Mar.18, 1988
Jazz critic
Leonard Feather say's Butterfield, "was one of the most respected and beloved of jazz trumpeters since the 1930's. he had a pure tone and lyrical style often compared to the late Bobby Hackett. He was a very melodic player, not a composer, but a trumpet player with a long track record."

Butterfield was with the Bob Crosby & The Bob Cats from 1937 to 1940. His lyrical horn was featured on the original version of "What's New?" with Bob Crosby's band in 1938. He played with Artie Shaw for a few months and then Benny Goodman for two years. While in the service (served in the US Army during World War II) Butterfield's friends talked him into forming his own group. In 1945 the band debuted at Eddie Condon's and later Nick's during the 1950's. Perhaps his biggest selling song was "Moonlight In Vermont" with Margaret Whiting in 1944. Although the band found great success Butterfield always thought his greatest honor came in 1968 when he was asked to tour as a member of "The World's Greatest Jazz Band." (Lawson-Haggart Orch.)

He was a triedless musician with a heart of gold and a deep desire to teach the youth the art of jazz. "I have loved this life. I have struggled but always have had the music. It's a gift I want to share with others." Butterfield toured often in the 1980'sand in 1986 despite being diagnosed for throat cancer he continued his schedule. "I play for a lot of reasons" he said in 1986, "...to support my wife Dorothy (the couple were married for 36 years) and my children. But I play for me too! It is great therapy and no medicine in the World can beat it. I am going to keep touring 'til the man upstairs hires me to play in his band."

Billy died on March 18, 1988 in North Palm Beach Florida. He was a generous man and musician who taught the World the true meaning of the word gentleman!
Above Notes by Mr. Dan DelFiorentino

   [ Erskine Butterfield Orch ]
b: Feb 19, 1913 Syracuse NY, USA. d: July 11, 1961 New York NY, USA.
Erskine Butterfield formed his piano-show case band in 1938 and slowly built a reputation on the East Coast. During their tour of the mid West, the band signed on for radio staff work before gaining the attention of Decca Records.

Erskine was a good jazz pianist, in later years Decca discovered his unique singing abilities, and recorded additional songs highlighting those talents. The Decca songs that featured his singing include, "Salt Butter," "Missouri Waltz," and "Blackberry Jam." His bands light swing and traditional piano phrases lead to a few standard band hits that occasional appear on movie soundtracks, such as, "Lovin' Man," and "Because Of You."

During the 1950's he remained active in the studio with a number of album releases as well as TV appearances on The Nat King Cole Show, The Tony Martin Program and The Jo Stafford Show.
Above notes by Mr Dan DelFiorentino

   [ Bobby Byrne Orch ]
b: Oct. 10, 1918, Pleasant Corners, OH, (nr. Columbus) USA. d: Nov. 25, 2006, Irvine, CA, USA. Age: 87.
Trombone; Cello; Harp; Piccolo; Piano; Flute and Percussion
Theme Song: "Danny Boy", Decca 3442
Growing up in Detroit, Bobby's father (an accomplished music professor) taught him music in addition to his training at a technical high school. He was described as a child prodigy as he gained advanced trombone techniques at an early age.

In 1934, after being hired by the Dorsey Bros. Orch., at age 16, Bobby developed a strong yet romantic sound. Roger Kinkle once described him as an, "excellent trombonist whose cool Jazz solos in the 1930's were ahead of their time."

The Dorsey Brothers band became the Jimmy Dorsey Band in 1935 after Tommy and Jimmy had their famous 'split', and Tommy formed his own orchestra. Tommy was then replaced by Bobby Byrne as principal trombonist, and he remained with Jimmy for three years. The Jimmy Dorsey Band landed a great job on the Bing Crosby radio program, but due to a freeze in personal appearances, and touring, the band at first lacked the big success under Jimmy that would later come to Tommy's band. (But Jimmy's band was indeed a success.)

In August of 1939 Bobby, with Jimmy Dorsey's backing, left and formed his own big band in New York, with Don Redman as arranger, which lasted for 3 years. Here's a publicity photo for the Bobby Byrne Orch., courtesy of bandleader Bob January. Byrne also wrote a hit song for the band, "My Colleen" and was noted for the arrangement of the bands signature tune, "Danny Boy."

One of the greatest human interest stories of the Big Band Era revolves around Bobby Byrne and his acute appendicitis. After a struggle to land a gig at the Strand Theater, Bobby became ill. He postponed a trip to the doctors in hopes of saving the money to pay his musicians in advance. He put off the pain until he could not stand it. In June 1940, he was hospitalized with an acute appendicitis. The press closely covered the story as a host of other leaders used their days off to front the band in Bobby's absence so he would not lose his position at the Strand.

The band signed with the Glen Island Casino in 1941, and here's a photo of the 1941 orchestra bandstand of the Glen Island Casino, (with Gabriel Julian at the piano), and here's another of the same 1941 orchestra posed at the Glen Island Casino. Standing next to Bobby Byrne is the band's 'girl' singer, Dorothy Claire, and immediately above Bobby is the band's fine pianist Gabriel Julian. The regular radio broadcasts from the Casino lead to engagements at Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook Ballroom and a record deal with Decca. His success was building when he was drafted into the military (Dec.'42-Sept'45). He served both as a Pilot and Bandleader while in the Armed Forces.

After World War II ended, Bobby began freelancing in New York City, often working with Bobby Hackett. He led Dixieland combo on Steve Allen's nightly TV show (1952-'54). Bobby also performed weekly on The Lucky Strike Hit Parade show (3 years), on the Perry Como Show (11 years), Milton Berle Show (3 years), and Patti Page Show (2 years). He was a studio musician on many 'Grand Award' and 'Command Records' recordings. He served as Director of Artists and Repertoire for Command Records (replacing Enoch Light). In the early 1970s, Bobby left the music business, only occasionally guesting with jazz groups such as 'Bones West' in California.

After Tommy Dorsey's death in 1955, Byrne recorded an album which featured a two part medley called "A Tribute to Tommy Dorsey."

The Big Bands Database thanks Mr. Richard Julian, son of Byrne's pianist, Gabriel Julian, for his contributions to this Bobby Byrne entry above. The Photos of the Byrne band and the Alabama Cavaliers are also reproduced through the kind courtesy of Mr. Richard Julian, son of Gabriel Julian.

   Ezra Buzzington's Rube Band ]
aka: "Rustic Revelers, and later as "The Hoosier Hotshots
Please click here to see the Hoosier Hotshots, listing. Please click here to see a photograph of Ezra Buzzington's Rube Band

   [ Ceele Burke and His Orchestra ]
Guitar/Banjo
In the late 1920s, or early 1930s, he seems to have been active in the Central Avenue neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. (He may - or may not - have been a Canadian as some have mentioned.) What is clear is that, during 1930-'31, this Banjoist and Guitarist was a member of Louis Armstrong's New Sebastian Club Orchestra, and recorded with that band. He also spent some time with the Duke Ellington Orch. In fact, he was probably playing guitar with Ellington when the band was at New York's famed Cotton Club in 1935 (although it may have been Brick Fleagle). In 1936, his name appears on four songs as instrumentalist (and arranger on one title) on recordings by 'Rex Stewart & His 52nd Street Stompers', a studio group made up mainly of members of Duke Ellington's band. It is quite probable that the Ceele Burke Orchestra was also a studio group with mostly Ellington bandsmen. The Ceele Burke orchestra is also heard on some Tempo recordings (U. S. Record pressing new label for Musicraft) with re-issues of sides obtained from the Ammor label. The Ceele Burke Orchestra also made at least one record for the Excelsior label. "Play Me The Blues" (rec'd ca. 1943-'44) which featured Ellington's vocalist, Ivie Anderson on one side.