Eddy Duchin

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Eddy (Edwin Frank) Duchin (born April 10, 1910 in Cambridge (Massachusetts) , † February 9, 1951 in New York City ) was an American band leader and pianist of light entertainment music ( Sweet Music ).

Eddie Duchin - Billboard (1942)

Live and act

Duchin was originally a pharmacist and was initially a pianist in Leo Reisman's orchestra in the Central Park Casino in New York City, the most glamorous and popular dance venue in town at the time. For the position he had to assert himself against tough competition from other pianists. He was so successful that he became the orchestra leader in 1931, and radio broadcasts soon made him popular across the region. As a pianist who successfully led a dance band at the same time, he was a pioneer at the time, which others followed. One of the reasons for his success with the audience was his show talent and brilliant appearance. George Simon compared his style to that of a Liberace predecessor (a, as he puts it, virile Liberace). While playing the piano, he loved crossing his hands and playing the bass notes with one of the fingers on his right hand. His musical abilities were limited (he had no formal training) - he said he played less what he saw than what he felt , and more often than not playing independently of the orchestra. According to a former band member, he was the only musician he knew who could make 32 mistakes in a 32 bar solo and still get an ovation afterwards . He left the musical direction of the band largely to his close friend Lew Sherwood, who was a trumpeter and singer in the band. With the band he also appeared in other hotels and high-class dance halls and went on a successful tour of South America in the early 1940s. During the Second World War he served in the US Navy, but not in a band, but as an officer on a destroyer (he made it up to Lieutenant Commander ). After the end of the war he could no longer build on his old successes; In 1949 he had a radio show, but died of leukemia in 1951 .

A 1938 recording of Ol Man Mose (by Louis Armstrong , sung by Patricia Norman) caused a scandal, which also increased sales of the record (with 170,000 records sold, while 20,000 was considered a huge hit at the time). Some listeners said that instead of the actual text bucket, they heard the words fuck it . The record was banned in England.

In 1956 his life was filmed by George Sidney with Tyrone Power in the lead role ( Loved For All Eternity ). His son from his first marriage, Peter Duchin (* 1937) is also a band leader and pianist. In his first marriage, Eddy Duchin married the socialite Marjorie Oelrichs (1908–1937) in 1935, who died a few days after the birth of their son Peter.

literature

  • George T. Simon: The Big Bands , 4th edition, Schirmer Books 1981, chapter Eddy Duchin

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eddy Duchin in the Internet Movie Database (English), sometimes also 1909 is given
  2. ↑ George Simon The Big Bands , p. 179
  3. ↑ George Simon The Big Bands , p. 178.
  4. ↑ George Simon quotes him in The Big Bands , p. 178.
  5. ↑ George Simon The Big Bands , p. 178.
personal data
SURNAME Duchin, Eddy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duchin, Edwin Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American band leader and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Cambridge, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1951
Place of death New York City