It would probably be stretching the definition considerably to put Fred Waring in the jazz category, though he was very popular utilizing some concepts from the improvisational school. Waring led a dance-based banjo band at 18; he attended Penn State, then formed Fred Waring's Collegians, who ultimately became the Pennsylvanians, although they... [+] Read More

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Horace Heidt would have been the last man to make grand claims about his musical abilities. What he did have as a band leader was an ear for talent and the knack for recruiting it, which led to his becoming one of the most successful band leaders of the late '30s and early '40s. From 1937 until 1945, Heidt and his orchestra enjoyed more than 50... [+] Read More

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It may or may not be true that Lawrence Welk is the most popular easy listening artist of all time, but it's difficult to think of anyone who is more prominently associated with the genre. Welk's long-running TV variety show was a huge success in its time, and remains an enduring favorite in reruns. And while Welk recorded prolifically, his true... [+] Read More

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Lester Lanin was the best known of a family of musical siblings who, between them, managed to keep a major presence in music for close to 80 years. He was, like his brothers Sam and Howard, a bandleader; and while technically his category of music was "jazz," his actual connection to jazz was peripheral at best, and more ephemeral than, say,... [+] Read More

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Nelson Riddle was quite possibly the greatest arranger in the history of American popular music. Over the course of his long and distinguished career, he was also a popular soundtrack composer, a conductor, a trombonist, and an occasional hitmaker in his own right. He worked with many of the major pop vocalists of his day, but it was his... [+] Read More

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The man who popularized wordless vocal choruses and light orchestral accompaniment on a mix of popular standards and contemporary hits of the 1960s, Ray Conniff was a trombone player for Bunny Berigan's Orchestra and Bob Crosby's Bobcats before being hired as an arranger by Mitch Miller for Columbia Records in 1954. After he wrote the charts for... [+] Read More

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Sir Jimmy Shand was Scotland's answer to America's "king of the polka," Lawrence Welk. One of the most successful entertainers in the United Kingdom during the post-World War II era, Shand was awarded a MBE (Medal of the British Empire) in 1962 and knighted in 1999. Although his peak came in 1955 when his recording "The Bluebell Polka" sold more... [+] Read More

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