Bernie Cummins
Bernie Cummins (born March 14, 1900 in Akron , Ohio as Bernard Joseph Cummins , † September 22, 1986 in Palm Beach , Florida ) was an American drummer and big band leader in the field of popular music .
Bernie Cummins was a boxer in his youth; he also played drums in local bands in Ohio. Finally, in 1919, he formed a small ensemble that debuted in Indiana and which he gradually expanded into a larger dance band; his band singers included Dorothy Crane, Bernie's brother Walter Cummins and Scottee Marsh, who later sang with Tommy Dorsey . The orchestra's signature melody was "Dark Eyes".
In 1923, Cummins came to Cincinnati and opened the Toadstool Inn with his band . During this engagement, the first recordings were made for the Gennett label (1924/25). In addition to his activities as a band leader, Cummins briefly acted as the manager of the Wolverines .
The Bernie Cummins Orchestra later also recorded a number of records for the Brunswick , Columbia , Victor , Decca , Vocalion and Bluebird Records labels . The band initially made many appearances in the Midwest ; his smooth style was very popular in major hotels and ballrooms across the United States. Eventually Cummins got an engagement at the Biltmore Hotel in New York; then his orchestra played for a long time in the Hotel New Yorker and this was followed by guest appearances at the Aragon, Trianon, Blackstone and the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, as well as other guest appearances in Dallas , Kansas City , New Orleans , Denver and St. Paul . Repeatedly Cummins appeared with his band on the Coca-Cola sponsored radio show Spotlight Bands Program , another radio show was Fitch Bandwagon .
In the late 1950s it became increasingly difficult for Cummins to keep the band; he performed with her in clubs in Las Vegas before he broke it up in 1959 and retired in Florida (Boca Raton).
Discographic notes
- Bernie Cummins & his Orchestra (1924-1930) ( Timeless Records )
Web links
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- Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena CA 1978, ISBN 0-378-01991-0 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cummins, Bernie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cummins, Bernard Joseph (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American drummer and big band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 14, 1900 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Akron , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 22, 1986 |
| Place of death | Palm Beach , Florida |