Bob's father gave piano lessons in his spare time, and he taught his own son how to read notes. --although Bob could also could play by ear, so he could combine these two talents. He never had any "formal" education for playing the piano. It just came naturally to him. Bob started forming his own orchestra sometime in the 1920's. His bands were never "full-time", All the musicians (and Bob) had "Day Jobs" and got together for specific 'gigs'. Apparently the band didn't use vocalists.

WW2 slowed down the orchestra jobs, (and also drafted all the musicians for Army service), and it was in the late 40's that he disbanded. For some years following the disbanding, he played the piano" solo" at various places around the metro D.C. area until his move to Florida. He was playing piano at several restaurants in Florida before he got ill in 1987.

He bought one of the first "Solovox" electric keyboards in January, 1941. (It was a very early type of synthesizer that produced various sounds such as trumpet, sax, violin, etc......the beginning of "keyboards" as we know the term today) He only used it as a "fun" thing for home, but later this became well used with his "solo" jobs.

In private correspondence, his daughter, Joanne, has said:
"I think of all the playing jobs that dad ever performed, and loved the most, and the
highlight of his career, had to be playing on the SS Normandie. Mother said he followed
the ship's progress from the very beginning when she was being built. He told my Mother
long before the launching, it was his dream to play on that magnificent ship. His dream
became a reality when he did play on her (Tourist Class - only a French orchestra leader
played First Class) in 1937. He truly fell in love with the NORMANDIE. She was even more
spectacular than he had ever hoped for."

"At this point of time, he was working for the US government and saved his "vacation" or
"annual leave" for these cruises. He played on the NORMANDIE again in 1939..1938 he played
on the French Line SS CHAMPLAIN because he was so heavily booked with jobs he could not
play on the NORMANDIE when they asked him to play at a certain time for that year. (And
one of the dates Normandie wanted him to play was the famous Raymond-Whitcomb Carnival
Cruise to Rio in February - a 24 day cruise!)"

"He was very popular with his orchestra. His music and style were more "up-to-date" and
livelier han First Class. Many First Class passengers came "down" to listen and dance to
his music. (One First Class passenger told Dad "the orchestra upstairs played too many
waltzes.") One of his "fans" was Jack Benny, and one of Bob's treasured mementos was a
Jack Benny and wife Mary Livingston autograph. He played to all ages, remembered their
names and their requests, and was a hit! This just came natural to him...a warm smile
for all and always playing his best with a good orchestra."

"Back then, the publisher's sent free orchestrations to the musician's (Daily!) so they
could promote the new songs. It didn't take long to accumulate piles of music. When Garber
moved from Virginia to Florida, he donated 3,356 orchestrations to his local library!
(That is more band music orchestration than the Library of Congress!)"
The BigBands Database Plus thanks Bob Garber's daughter Joanne Loughran for this information on her father, - Bob Garber.Joanne's home page may be found at: http://members.tripod.com/~joanne-l/ForDad.html

  [ Jan Garber Orch. ]
b: Nov. 5, 1894, Indianapolis, IN, USA. d: Oct. 5, 1977, Shreveport, LA, USA.
Played: Violin
Tag: "The Idol Of The Airlanes"
Theme: "My Dear" (Victor 24636); Mexicali Rose (Decca 792 -used during the recording ban)
Here's a photo of Jan Garber (and some other Leaders, too). And, here's a closeup of Jan, who studied music at the Coombs Conservatory in Philadelphia. After graduating he was hired by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. His career as a classical musician was cut short when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1918. While stationed at a training camp in Alabama, Garber was asked to form a marching band. This experience got him interested in popular music, and after his discharge from the Army, he took a job with bandleader Meyer Davis. Davis had a number of bands operating under his name and Garber was soon made leader of one of them. His popularity caused a rift with Davis and, in 1920, Garber left to lead his own band.

In 1921, he combined his band with that of Milton Davis. Now known as the Garber-Davis Orchestra, the band was very popular and made extensive tours of the southern states. In 1924, on one of these tours Davis got into trouble when he had an affair with a married woman. Her husband found out and threatened to kill Davis if he didn't leave town immediately. Davis asked Garber to buy out his interest in the band for $1,000, and from that time on the band was known as the Jan Garber Orchestra.

Garber's 1920's band had played in the 'hot' or 'Jazz' music style. But in the early 1930's, he decided to switch to dance music. In 1932, while in Atlanta, GA, he heard the Freddie Large Orchestra, a Canadian band, and decided to hire the entire band. The Large band featured Freddie and his brothers, Gerry and Ken, as a saxophone trio. It was having difficulty getting established and Large agreed to sell out to Garber. Garber dismissed his entire band with the exception of pianist Rudy Rudisill. Freddie Large became lead sax player for Garber and stayed with him until his death in 1968. Doug Roe became the principal arranger, while trumpeter-vocalist Fritz Heilbron also made conributions to the Garber band for many years. Ken Large did not join Garber until 1935. Here is a very rare photo Large Brothers Orch, inside a recording studio on March 10, 1936. Jan Garber is standing in the first row. (Photo property of, and reproduced here by permission of, trumpeter Irvan Stumph, who had played with the band. )

Lee Bennett, the bands most famous male vocalist, was hired in 1933. He sang the romantic songs while Heilbron did the swinging numbers. Bennett left the band in 1936 only to return in 1938. Russ Brown handled the vocals in his absence. Bennett left the band for good in 1942. Virginia Hamilton, Phyllis Kenny and Dorothy Corday were among a few of the girl vocalists. Tommy Traynor and Ray Cordell among the other male vocalists.

In 1942, Garber again switched musical styles. Having lost most of his sidemen to the war effort, he put together a new group of musicians and formed a swing band. It never became as popular as his previous one, and in 1945, he switched back to dance music. Freddie Large rejoined Garber and Tony Briglia, long associated with the Casa Loma band, was hired as drummer.

The 1950's found the band based in Las Vegas for most of each year and playing the horse show circuit in the Southern states for the remainder of the time. The band continued to record actively, releasing many LP's on the Decca label through the 1960's. When Garber retired to Shreveport, Louisiana in 1971, his daughter, Janis, took over the band. She led it until 1973 when it was disbanded.

Recorded for: Columbia, Victor, Vocalion, Okeh, Brunswick, Varsity, Elite, Dot, Decca
This entry on Jan Garber contributed by Mr. Robin Lenhart. In private email, Mr Michael J. Waterman has said that his research seems to indicate that Garber and Freddie Large met while the Garber band was in Atlanta, rather than the commonly assumed Cleveland, OH, and this is now indicated above.

  [ Cecil Golly Orch. ]
b. May 9, 1911, Spencer, IA, USA, d. August 17, 1987, Minneapolis, MN, USA. (Cancer)
Tag: "Dance and be Jolly with Music by Golly"
Here's a very rare photo of Cecil Golly Leading his first band, The Iowa Blues, and a good close-up of Cecil, in a publicity photo. (Our thanks to Ms. Leslie Osgood for these photos).

Obit notice in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch, August 19, 1987.
Cecil E. Golly, a big-name band leader, died Monday of cancer at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. (Minneapolis, MN) He was 76 and lived in Minneapolis. During the 1930's and 1940's, Golly's signature "Music by Golly" could be heard often on various national networks and from some of the finest hotels and fashionable supper clubs.

A native of Iowa, Golly started "music by Golly" in the 1930's, shortly after he graduated from the University of Iowa. He took up residence in the Twin Cities when his 14-member band landed its first long-term gig at the Radisson Inn at Christmas Lake, near Lake Minnetonka. The group then moved on to the Raison Hotel in Minneapolis and played there for several years until it became a tour band.

While on tour in Memphis, Golly met Mildred Stanley, who became a featured vocalist for the band. They later married. (Mildred was b. April 9, 1913, d. Sept. 1992 -She also was one of Lawrence Welks "Champagne Ladies" -- BigBands Database note.)

The band gained national fame when it played for several years at a popular supper club called 'Donahue's' in New Jersey, just outside New York. A reader, Mr. Doug Booth has an "Aircheck" of Golly's band when they were playing at Donahue's in Mountainview, NJ (on Route 23 - about 5-6 miles up the road from the famous "Frank Daily's Meadowbrook"). He reports "My aircheck is undated, but is probably about 1939 to 1942. There is a short narration on the aircheck by guitarist Hal Pfeiffer and he gives the personnel as follows:
Tenor Saxes: Gene Eyeman, Harry Green, Bob Boydston, Joe Baldwin
Trumpets: Ray Shaffer, Hal Collyer, Jimmy Stewart
Violins: Ray Carroll, Jimmy Engler, Johnny Woods
Bass: Don Kelsey
Drums: Clyde Koch
Piano: Jack King
Guitar: Hal Pfeiffer
Vocals: Mildred Stanleyt
The November 1988 issue of 'Joslins Jazz Journal' has a picture of the Golly Orch, in 1935 (approx Download time 1-1/2 minutes). The accompanying article says that Snooky Lanson (né: Landman), later on the Hit Parade, at one time sang with Golly." Donahue's club had coast-to-coast NBC radio network time for bands that were just starting, including Harry James, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.

Donohue's was one of "Music by Golly's" best engagements before the group disbanded in 1942 when Golly was drafted by the Navy in World War II. He reorganized the band upon his discharge in 1946.

Golly continued to play society engagements in the area until two months ago, when he had to quit because of illness. He was a long-time member of the Twin Cities Musicians Union.

He is survived by his wife; a brother, Willard of Marshalltown, Iowa; and two sisters, Bernice Hewlett of Humboldt, Iowa, and Evelyn Osgood of Estherville, Iowa. (Since then, the only one alive in his family is his sister Bernice, and she is quite ill. --May 1999 Information from Leslie Osgood)

Memorial services will be Thursday in Spencer, Iowa. Ashes will be placed in a mausoleum there.
The BigBands Database thanks Mr. Leslie Osgood for contributing this Obit notice and photographs of his uncle, Cecil Golly. And, thanks to Mr. Doug Booth for the picture of the band, as originally published in Joslin's Jazz Journal.

  [ Nathan Glantz Orch. ]
b: ca. 1860 d: August 6, 1937, New York (Brooklyn), NY, USA.
Here's an early photograph showing L-R Fred Van Eps, Nathan Glantz, and Frank Edger Banta , ca. 1900. Nathan Glantz on Saxophone

While little recalled now, Nathan Glantz was one the better known U.S. orchestras. He also recorded under a great many pseudonyms among which were 'Hollywood Dance Orch.', Roy Collins' Dance Orchestra (1927), and the 'Continental Dance Orchestra' (1926 Name was also used by Joseph Samuels Orch.). Between 1923 and 1930, Glantz also recorded under the name of 'The Dixie Jazz Band' for the Challenge, Jewel, and Oriole labels, all subsidiaries of the Scranton (PA) Button Company.

Among other leaders with whom he was contemporary are Sam and Lester Lanin, Adrian Schubert, Lou Gold, and Ben Selvin. It is interesting to note that the common practice back then was for a recording company to pay the leader for a session. The leader, in turn, would round up a group of musicians for the date (with the leader paying them). Often, the very same group of musicians, that just recorded for one leader, would stay on after the first session and would again record during a second session for some other leader, --under a different band name. So one can see the difficulties in tracking the older bands of the 'Teens and 1920s. Many sidemen hired first by Nathan Glantz were subsequently used by Lou Gold, or Ben Selvin or perhaps Sam Lanin (and vice-versa). Glantz also used the "Lucky Strike Orchestra', but that name is better associated with another leader, - B. A. Rolfe.

Some idea of Glantz's work can be gleaned from this (small) list of his recordings.
Nathan Glantz and his Orchestra
"Ask Her When Shadows Fall". (Ajax Records 17102, Mx# 5662-1 NY ca. Oct. 8. 1924)
"Dearie" (1924, Okeh Records 72875 40209)

The Seven Syncopators
"Does My Sweetie Do"/"Yes Sir That's My Baby", (Champ 15004 1079)

Nathan Hollywood Dance Orchestra
"I Want To Be Happy", and flip side: "Honest And Truly". (Ajax Records 17122, no mx# info)

Continental Dance Orchestra'
"Let Us Waltz As We Say Good-Bye", and flip side "What Do We Care If It's One O'Clock". (1926 Regal Label 9987)

The Merry Sparklers Dance Orch.
  "Have A Little Fun", (645 kb): The Merry Sparklers Dance Orch., with vocal by Arthur Hall. Edison 51434-L Rec'd: Nov. 1924

  "Out Of A Million", (626 kb): The Merry Sparklers Dance Orch., with vocal by Charles Hart. Edison 51434-R Rec'd: Nov. 1924

Recording as 'Nathan Glantz and his Orchestra' for Edison Diamond Discs
  "Sitting In A Corner", (647 kb): Nathan Glantz and his Orchestra. -- Reproduced by courtesy of the Edison Museum (NJ). http://www.menloparkmuseum.com

Roy Collins' Dance Orchestra (1927)
  "I Know Why", (526 kb):

Recording as "The Tennessee Happy Boys": for Edison Diamond Discs
  "I Miss My Swiss (My Swiss Miss Misses Me)", (539 kb): 'Tennessee Happy Boys' (Nathan Glantz Orchestra), with vocal. Rec'd: Edison 51587-R. Composers: L. Wolfe Gilbert, Abel Baer

  "Just a Little Drink", (801 kb): 'Tennessee Happy Boys' (Nathan Glantz Orchestra), with vocal. Rec'd: Edison 51587-L

  "Sweet Georgia Brown", (651 kb): 'Tennessee Happy Boys' (the Nathan Glantz Orchestra), vocal: Bud Kennedy, playing a song, new then, and since has become a Jazz standard. (Composers: Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, Kenneth Casey). Rec'd: Edison Diamond Disc 10490-C-1-4, 1925

Other Glantz recordings include:
      "Meet Me Next Sunday (I'll Wait For You)/The Sneak", Nathan Glantz & his Orch.:
      "I'm Worried Over You", Nathan Glantz & his Orch.
      "Love Is Just A Gamble, Nathan Glantz & his Orch.
      "A Waltz In The Moonlight And You"/"Somebody loves me", Nathan Glantz and his
           Orch. with Clark and Hart, voc. duo.

Besides the Nathan Glantz Orch., other bands of the times (1923-1930 the 'golden era of Jazz') included names as:
    Green Brothers Novelty Band
    Ernie Golden and his Hotel McAlpin Orchestra
    Charleston Seven
    Harry Raderman's Jazz Orchestra
    Atlantic Dance Orchestra
    Al Friedman and his orchestra
    B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra
    Arthur Hale and Jack Stillman's Orchestra
    (Polla's) Clover Garden Orchestra
    Frank Banta with the Edisonians.
    the Indiana Syncopators
    Vic Meyers Orch
    Art Payne Orch
    The Hotsy Totsy Boys (later associated with Irving Mills)
    Six Jelly Beans
    Sam Lanin Orch.

  [ Bill Gale and His Music Makers ]
Currently no information is available.
Basically, Gale recorded (late 1930s - early 1940s) Polkas which were fairly popular in the US Midwest area. He recorded for RCA and Columbia Records using the names of Bill Gale and His Music Makers, and Bill Gale and His Globetrotters.

For Columbia Records label, he recorded (as Bill Gale and His Music Makers):
        Clarinet Polka Col.30021 36142 - - 03/25/41
        Bartered Bride Polka Col.30022 36142 - - 03/25/41
        Laugh Polka Col.30024 36143 - - 03/25/41 - also rec'd by Jimmy Dorsey band
        Bell Polka Col.30020 36143 - - 03/25/41
        Goofy Gob Col.30026 36144 - - 03/25/41
        Helena Polka Col.30019 36144 - - 03/25/41 -also by Jimmy Dorsey and Frankie Yankovic bands.
        Gypsy Polka Col.30025 36145 - - 03/25/41
        Beer Barrel Polka

For RCA, he recorded:
        All Time Great Polkas - lp RCA Camden 957
        Polka Pops - lp RCA Camden cas 504

  [ Lou Gold Orchestra ]
b: 1894, d. August 19, 1950, Miami, FL. USA
né: Lewis Milton Goldwasser
Lou was most active in the New York City area as a composer, pianist and leader during the mid-1920s and early 1930s. Here's a photograph of the 1924 Lou Gold Orch., (Photo was graciously supplied by Mr. Peter Doyle.) It was basically an all-White band active mostly in studio recordings, and using several pseudonyms for the different labels. At the time, there were (in New York city) a group of men working as musical directors for the various record labels. Among them were Sam and Lester Lanin, Nathan Glantz, and Adrian Schubert. These men were well known to each other and were often hired by one another to lead studio recordings (see the Glantz entry above) often using the very same musicians. Lou was one of that group of leaders. Many of the very same sidemen who had formerly played with Glantz, the Lanins, and Schubert in the studios made up the Gold Orchestra. Here's the Lou Gold orchestra recording for the Harmony Label in 1928 playing

  "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby", (581 kb): Lou Gold Orchestra. -from the Lew Leslie 'Blackbirds of 1928' revue. (Other song hits from that show included "Doin' The New Low Down", "Digga Digga Do", and "I Must Have That Man".)

  "Changes", (513 kb): played by 'The Rambling Ragadoors', a pseudonym for Lou Gold Orchestra on Pathe and on Perfect 14916 +1 4917. (track courtesy of Mr. Lou Einfalt, and digitally re-mastered).

As mentioned in the Adrian Schubert entry, "hotlinked" above, band names were often simply invented on the spot for the recording company's convenience. Listen now to the 1930 recording of "Don Carlos And His Rumba Band" playing
  "Peanut Vendor", (425 kb): but really the Lou Gold Orchestra in 1930 Perfect matrix 110316, 15401-A. composed in 1928 by Havana pianist Moisés Simóns, with English lyrics by his sister-in-law, Marion Sunshine, and Tin Pan Alley lyricist L. Wolfe Gilbert). Marion was b. May 15, 1894, Kentucky, USA, and d. Jan. 25, 1963, New York, NY, USA, She was part of a vaudeville act called 'Tempest and Sunshine", and had appeared on Broadway in showman Florenz Ziegfeld's very first 'Follies' in 1907. Oh yes. The great "Don Carlos and His Rumba Band".... well, in real life, that was Lou Gold. The Perfect Record label folks just thought that 'Don Carlos' sounded more Cuban than 'Lou Gold'. This recording is rather interesting too because one can listen to the seldom heard lyric. Most recordings of the Peanut Vendor are instrumentals.

Over the years, his birthname of Lewis Milton Goldwasser metamorphosed first into Lew Gold, then Lou Gold, and finally into Louis M. Gould. (The name that appears on his tombstone.) In 1932, he and his wife Doris A. Mabel (Reynolds) Gould, relocated to Miami, Florida, where he played at the Triton Hotel on Miami Beach for seven years. Lou died in 1950, and his wife followed him in 1951. During his life, he had worked with such men as Benny Goodman, Vincent Lopez, Tommy Dorsey, Abe Lyman, and many others.

Among his Harmony Label recordings are:
(Harmony was the very last label to go "Electric" - in 1930.)
       "Here Comes The Show Boat"
       "Luscious"
       "Bye Bye Blackbird"
       "Red Lips, Kiss My Blues Away"
       "Moonbeams, Kiss Her For Me"
       "Sweet Lorraine"
Among other Gold Orch., recordings are:
       "If You See Sally" (Lou Gold and His Society Orch. - for Okeh Records)
       "The Dixie Vagabond" (Lou Gold Society Orch. - for Okeh Records)
       "Sad and Blue" (Lou Gold Society Orch. - for Okeh Records)
       "What a Wonderful Wedding That Will Be", on Velvet Tone 78rpm label
       "Dance Tunes", on the British made Imperial Label
       "My Baby Just Cares For Me", With Irving Kaufman vocal. (Perfect 78rpm)
       "Big City Blues" (rec'd 1930)
       "If I Had A Girl Like You" (rec'd 1930)
       "My Little Bunch Of Happiness"
       "I Gotta Get Myself Someone To Love"
       "Hummin' To Myself" (Tomcat label)
       "My Sweeter Than Sweet"
       "If I Had A Talking Picture of You"
Among his compositons are:
       "That's My Girl"
       "Maizie"
       "Why Don't You Believe Me"
       "When Summer Is Gone"
       "Driftwood"