Destined to become the leader of what was perhaps the most highly acclaimed of all English dance bands during the 1930s, Bert Ambrose was born in London but crossed the Atlantic as a lad with his auntie to settle for a few years on U.S. soil. His very first professional engagement was as violinist for Emil Coleman at Reisenweber's restaurant in... [+] Read More

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By many accounts the most recorded bandleader of all time with as many as 13,000 recordings to his credit, Ben Selvin led a variety of studio groups and society orchestras from 1910 into the '30s, recording endless novelties for prime commercial crossover, many of which featured future big bandleaders Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Jack... [+] Read More

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Pianist and bandleader Carroll Gibbons was born in Clinton, MA, sometime during 1903, and it wasn't until he relocated to England in 1924 that he found acclaim for his musical talents. While playing piano at the Savoy Hotel, Gibbons helped form the Savoy Orpheans, a jazz outfit that included such other American players as Howard Jacobs on alto... [+] Read More

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Harry Roy is best remembered for having led a popular swing band in England and throughout portions of the British Empire during the 1930s. Roy was born Harry Lipman in London, England, on January 12, 1900, and as a teenager he worked in his father's carton manufactory, studying various musical instruments during his free time. In 1919, when the... [+] Read More

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Ray Noble had an odd career. Most notable as the composer of "The Very Thought of You," "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "The Touch of Your Lips," "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "Cherokee" (as well as leader of the orchestra which backed the popular radio show of Edgar Bergen), Noble was an important bandleader in the 1930s but he never seemed to reach... [+] Read More

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Best known for his work with Spike Jones and his own Natural Seven sides for Capitol, Red Ingle was a true multi-talent. A fine musician, a great comedic singer and gag writer, a human sound-effects machine, an excellent cartoonist and caricaturist, and consummate arranger, Ingle truly lived up to the oft-bandied-about description,'he can do it... [+] Read More

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It's difficult to believe, based on a paltry pair of compact discs of Ted Lewis' music that exist, that from the beginning of the '20s until the mid-'30s, he was one of the most popular music acts in the world, cutting million-selling records when those scarcely happened more than once a year. It's even harder to comprehend that Lewis maintained... [+] Read More

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