Ben Pollack & His Orch. - Waitin' For Katie, 1927
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- Waiting For Katie, Fox Trot (Gus Kahn /Ted Shapiro) -- Ben Pollack & His Orchestra with Vocal Refrain, Victor 1927 (USA)
NOTE: Ben Pollack (b.1903 in Chicago -- d.1971) American drummer and bandleader from the mid 1920s through the swing era; discoverer of great musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland and Harry James. This ability earned him the nicknames "Father of Swing" or "Hotbed of Talent".
Born to a well-to-do family, Pollack was self taught as a drummer. In early 1920s he became the drummer for the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, a top jazz outfit, in the early 1920s. In 1924 he played for several bands, including West Coast, which led to his forming a band there in 1925. It was the time, when having recognized as immensely talented one of the clarinet players, who aspired to join in the band, Pollack engaged the 16-year old Benny Goodman. In 1926, Pollack's band started recording for Victor. Many of his records were good sellers. From about 1928, besides regular recordings, Pollack's band with involvement with Irving Mills, also recorded a vast quantity of hot dance for dime store labels Banner, Perfect, Domino, Cameo, Lincoln, Romeo, appearing on their labels under the most phantasmatic nicknames, such as Mills' Musical Clowns, The Lumberjacks, Dixie Daises, The Whoopee Makers, The Hotsy Totsy Gang, Dixie Jazz Band, Jimmy Bracken's Toe Ticklers and many others. All that made Pollack's band one of the most prolific in the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. They played in Chicago, mainly, and moved to New York City playing for Broadway shows, and having an exclusive engagement at the Park Central Hotel. Very often, Ben Pollack fancied himself as more of a bandleader-singer instead of a drummer.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ended the good times for most of American dance bands, with no exception to Ben Pollack's. Work was scarce, and the band had several periods of inactivity. 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. Pollack left Victor and from 1930 recorded for Hit of the Week, to return to Victor in 1933 (in later years he also recorded for Columbia, Brunswick, Vocalion and Decca). In the early 1930s Pollack made several trips around US Midwest and Canada, also becoming more and more involved with the singing career of his girl vocalist, Doris Robbins. His romance (and finally -- his marriage) led to his neglectance of the band matters. In 1933, trombone star Jack Teagarden gave his notice, a year later the rest of the musicians decided to leave. They re-formed soon after, as a co-operative band, fronted by Bing Crosby's brother, Bob. Ben Pollack also managed to re-form his orchestra, engaging some highly talented musicians (Harry James, Irving Fazola). However, still very high artistic level of the recordings never led the band back to its former popularity. Two stars -- James and Fazola -- left Ben Pollack, to look for greater success away from him. In 1942, Pollack became the leader of the touring band working behind comedy star Chico Marx, but the field of big-band music was already dominated by his former alumni, Miller, Goodman, and James. By the late '50s he had left music in favor of opening a club of his own in LA, and then a restaurant in Palm Springs, CA. On June 7th, 1971 Ben Pollack committed suicide by hanging himself in his Palm Springs home.
Well, folks . . . some may not be aware that the original title of this tune was not spelled "Katie"---it was actually "K.T."---standing for The Kansas & Topeka Railroad. Jazz players of the era spent many hours in cold stations waiting to catch trains.
Same story with the tune "Y.D. Blues"--- "Yazoo & Delta R.R.", in Louisiana---The "Yellow Dog."
Gary in Arizona
thus positing an original lyric, now lost, involving trains...and a folk etymology for the tune. its a fun story but much more likely that Kahn & Shapiro wrote it for the pop market from the git go...altho who knows what one or the other ex-vaudevillian might have heard sung on some lonesome platform in their days on the road.
I find no evidence of these rail lines ever existing.
Interesting theory except that the "Kansas & Topeka Railroad" doesn't exist and never has.
I own a copy of the original sheet music, and while original title spelled it "Katy," there's no other evidence for the railroad thing you said
Dziekuje Autorowi za wesole chwile spedzane zJego ciekawym programem.Czesc!
Swinging - Thank You
wonderfully happy and delightful music ~
Super excellent with very good interesting photos
Yes, delightful. With a great selection of very apropos period still photos and illustrations to boot.
Many thanks.
Bravo maestro. Snappy tune, supper graphics.
Excellent with very good interesting photos
I am absolutely amazed at the seemingly endless amount of wonderful music and art you share with us as well as your expertise in editing and presentation. Thank you so much!
Charles
Cool I love the hey duggie music this song is cool keep up the good work
Delightful
Benny';s presence in this recording is a great bouns, indeed. Thank you!
Like the BIX inflexed trumpet break!
lindas cançoes parabens
Thank you, I am glad that this site drives in so many sophisticated internauts! I'm doing my best to keep the standards high and to satisfy your demanding expactations. Thanks God, there's still some records left in my collection for another year of uploading - as well as internet auctions help add to it, from time to time, a new little gem or two :-))
Great tune. Love it!
Truly wonderful band!!!!
This tune was a part of the legendary "X" 10" lp Victor Collectors series, processed with the highest hi fi sound available in the fifties. The music was high quality too including three different takes of this one. From solos to arrangement, performance, a wonderful, happy recording!
Great
One the many brilliant Pollack sides, thank you for sharing!
Heeeeeyyy Duggee!
Hey dugeeee that shows funny keep it up
Thanks for this treat again.
Witaj Marto, i cieszę się, że jesteś z nami. Dwudziestolecie międzywojnenne to czas nieprzebranych bogactw sztuki, jak gdyby cały ten potworny dwudziesty wiek, wkręcony między dwa najstraszliwsze szataństwa w historii ludzkości - marksizm i hitleryzm - postanowił skurczyć się do tych dwóch dziesięcioleci i dać nam siebie w postaci skompresowanej. Trzeba teraz te warstewki jedna po drugiej, odkrywać i oczyszczać. Pozdrawiam serdecznie! Grzegorz
Hereeeee I am ...waiting is over now.🤣
Great pics with an even greater number!!! Thanks so much!
Super excellent with very good interesting photos n
Już nie nadążam z pochwałami i "dziękami" albowiem jeden świetny utwór goni następny, nie mówiąc już o arcyciekawych info ! Zastanawiam się gdzie można pomieścić takie bogactwo!!!Widzę, że Wszyscy są tutaj na "ty" czy ja też mogę?? Grzegorzu?, pozdrawiam Marta
Thanks for putting one of my old favorites up! (the low quality cassette tape I had has long ago gone to music heaven).
Ladies in 1927 would not be caught dead in one of those dresses you picture, though!
Yes those dresses were pre World War I
No matter what Goodman said. Solos like this one prove the Teschmaker/Russell influence on his style. The Jimmie Noone influence was to be seen only later.
Don't forget Beiderbecke
He is not influenced by Noon. I hear tech maker .
Ben Pollack was more popular with the public than with Victor. The band's reputation was actually based on just a handful of sides, and its modern way with hot music was probably part of the reason they DIDN'T get to make more records.
In 1926-'27 just 6 cuts were released, and only 2 more in the first half of '28, which suggests Victor didn't trust Pollack with commercial material. (When he did do it, it was even less interesting than usual.)
Late in '28 he finally got to record regularly, and integrate creative arranging and soloists into straight dance music.
Terrific!
It's great to hear that, than you!
Very nice and precious!!!!! Hugs Perla.
Great music.
7 people don’t know they’re born! This is simply amazing and when you then listen to Guy Lombardo’s version from ‘29, it tells even more of a story. Think back to how musicians did ‘covers’ ...not by downloading or listening on RUclips, but by reading the manuscript and interpretation, accompanied by a gramophone disc if they were lucky enough to know someone that had a copy. I love the past. I know we look back at the good times with rose tinted glasses & don’t really care about the hardships, but those good bits were really really good!
Because phonographs were hand cranked and not electric yet, you could slow down the record and pick up bits right off the disc.
@@thendrjazz I agree with everything said, but one thing possible with digital signal processing is that audio can be slowed down without changing the pitch.
when i hear tunes like this, i want to shout to the younger crowd, "listen, you don't know what your missin!'. the music is so full of carefree fun. it's sad to hear about what happened to mr. pollack. i read that he was despondent over marital and financial problems. i'm thinking that maybe somewhere along the line, he should have transitioned from band leader to talent scout... he was quite a guy...
There wasn't such a job in music. There still isn't. Joe Haymes was another 30s leader who was a great judge of young talent but couldn't do much but let name leaders raid his band. It's one reason he never hit the big time despite creating some great music.
ps. there's a nice concise article with some good facts about Ben Pollack, and many other "Biographical Sketches" about other band leaders at BigBandLibrary. i believe the music of this error, should not only be collected, but should also, somehow, be strenuously promoted to the generations of today, so that it doesn't just pass on, like the generations of that time, that truly lived and appreciated it.
Thanks Again.
Goodman played on this recording, when he was 18. he was on trumpet, Sax, and Clarinet.
I totally second your opinion. Not only in music, but also in other branches - e.g. poetry or painting, art of the 20th century and later, has hardly ever went hand in hand with achievements of that short two-decade (called in Europe, the "interwar") period, not to mention, it practically never managed to go beyond these heights of the artistic demands of that era.
Thanks: MY Brain needed this today.
Ben Pollack U swinged!
Swung.
Thanks. Brain requested again.
Yesterday's Sunday was sunny and hot. today it is raining and it's so cold like in autumn. What's going on with that damn weather? Who and what kind of game is playing with us?
Very nice I post in facebook!
Marvelous side, from the unmistakable sound of Goodman's clarlnet to the close. It's a shame about Pollack: His band was quite like Whiteman's or Henderson's, in having such an impressive number of jazz heavyweights pass through it on the way to greater stardom. He had a dazzling array of talent, and yet got to the point where he was most intent on making Doris Robbins a star singer, thus relegating his jazz giants to accompanists for her. I'm glad the waitin' paid off for the guy at 3:05!
240252 Please tell us something about how you collected all those photos/drawings for the wonderful montage of period gents waitin' (for somebody).
:-D
Charleston
Dance
:-D
;-*
If anybody would like to see something extremely good: watch the performances of Max Raabe and the Palast Orchestra!
Raabe has a great band and puts on a killer show...but the difference today is that he has to frame it in the appeal of the theatrical to win people's interest. No one dances except enthusiasts now, and they want their music in the background. In the spotlight, it must be an "act."
It's basically the Comedien Harmonists songs, which Max Raabe has put to another era. The Comedien Harmonists started in 1927, and were cancelled by the Nazis, because the grounder and two of the company were Jews, and the other three were not.
I always thought his life would be a perfect story for a movie - a story about an artist, who has all the gifts given to him to become great - yet, he's not able to get rid of what's invalid in his human status.He simply, can't be angelic and those, who thought he was and who believed, he'd have taken them with him up to the heights of art, decide to look for their own way to perfection and leave him with his love to a 3rd-rate refrain singer.Something very much like Lola-Lola & Profesor Unrath
I'm waitin" for...I don't know what, except to turn the clock back. Was Pollack Polish? Probably.
Enough accidental alliteration. Cheers on this warm Sunday.
Pollack is an Irish name.
Well, VENTSOLO . . . you state that B.G. played TRUMPET?
I---and I'm sure others---would like to see some proof for this assertion.
Gary in Arizona
It only has been rumored that he was on trumpet. I know he did play Sax, as well as clarinet in Pollack's orchestra. If B.G. only played 16 measures on a song, We've got bigger fish to fry
Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, all were good cornetists as well. That BG played cornet and clarinet here is stated by several sources.
Benny played cornet, he solos on "Jungle Blues" by Benny Goodman's Boys from June 1928. Jimmy Dorsey occasionally recorded on cornet, brother Tommy played and recorded frequently on trumpet in the 20's and early 30's.
garysaddleback marvelous comment on the K@T and the RR derivation
😌
Glenn Miller on Trombone and probably arranger.
Wasn't Ray Bauduc the drummer by this time?
What does Buster Keaton have to do with this record?
He's just there, waitin'.
forgot how is band played it was good