Richard "Groove" Holmes organ 1931 Camden NJ
Richard Holmes was self- taught on the organ. For number of years he played local clubs. In 1960 Les McCann heard Richard and was so impressed he persuaded Pacific Jazz to issue him a contract. This is when he first recorded as the leader of a group which included McCann and Ben Webster. His greatest commercial hit was his up-tempo version of "Misty", in 1965. He also recorded with big bands and with other prominent musicians, notably McCann, Joe Pass, and Jimmy McGriff. Richard's style is characterized by his use of strong bass lines and hamonically oriented melodies in the bop idiom. He playing always maintains a strong sense of swing. He has occasionally tried adding a piano to his trio format.
Bing Crosby singer 1904 Tacoma WA
Bing Crosby is considered the first of a long string of "crooners", followed by people like Sinatra, Nat Cole, Billy Eckstein, and dozens of others. As a young boy, Bing sang with small jazz groups. Bing, with Al Rinker, (Mildred Bailey's brother) and Barry Harris, formed The Rhythm Boys, a group that stayed together from 1926 to 1930 working with Paul Whiteman's orchestra. Crosby began working as a single about 1930, beginning a spectacularly successful career in radio and musical films. His rendition of "White Christmas" is one of the all-time best selling records ever made. While he was never primarily a jazz vocalist, Bing always retained love for jazz and is best remembered in this context for his collaboration with people like Louis Armstrong, particularly in the movie "High Society". Later, during his world tours he was always accompanied by a group that included Joe Bushkin (piano) and Milt Hinton (bass). Crosby was one of the first singers to really know how to use the microphone . He was important in introducing into the mainstream of popular singing, an Afro-American concept of speech as a lyrical extension of song. He was a strong influence on almost every "crooner" that followed him. Bing also achieved great success in a series of "Road" films with Bob Hope. They were a natural comedy team.
Lorenz Hart lyricist 1895 New York City
Lorenz Hart was a product of Harlem, New York City. He grew up in a warm but unusual family atmosphere. He had a good relationship with his mother, but his relationship with his father wasn't the best. He enjoyed telling people his father was a crook. His father claimed he was a business man, but what kind of business was never really known. Lorenz was a very loud and outgoing person; loved parties and had an insatiable taste for the "high life". He was introduced to Richard Rodgers in 1919 while a student at Columbia University, and they immediately began their long association by working on a few amateur and student productions. Their first song that made it to Broadway was "Any Old Place With You" for the comedy "Lonely Romeo". Their next collaboration was for the 1925 Theatre Guild production, "The Garrick Gaieties" which was a big hit and brought them a great deal of acclaim. They worked together until Hart's death in 1943, producing scores for a long series of hit shows resulting in numerous songs that became known as "standards". Hart struggled with alcoholism and also with homosexuality in an era when such a lifestyle was socially unacceptable. He suffered with his relationship with Rodgers, and at one point they actually split up, with Rodgers teaming up with Hart's school friend, Oscar Hammerstein 11. The last Rodgers and Hart show was "Connecticut Yankee" in 1943. Lorenz Hart died five days after the show opened. Sadly, he died alone of pneumonia from exposure.
