Fulton McGrath

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Fulton "Fidgy" McGrath (born December 6, 1907 in Superior (Wisconsin) , † January 1, 1958 ) was an American jazz pianist and composer .

Live and act

McGrath worked in the early 1930s first with Red Nichols and Smith Ballew , then around 1932 in the band of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and as a studio musician, u. a. with Adrian Rollini , Red McKenzie , Steve Washington , Harry Rosenthal , Joe Venuti and Mildred Bailey as well as in radio orchestras. He was a member of Lennie Hayton's radio ensemble from 1935 to 1937 , playing with Bunny Berigan , Joe Venuti and Chauncey Morehouse at the end of the decade . After working in the NBC Orchestra, he moved to the West Coast around 1943, where he worked as a musician for the Hollywood film studios .

He composed the songs Shim Sham Shimmy (with Jimmy Dorsey) and 1942 Mandy is Two (with a text by Johnny Mercer ); the title of the latter song refers to the second birthday of Mercer's daughter Mandy. The song was then u. a. Covered by Lorez Alexandria , Bing Crosby , Stan Getz , Billie Holiday , Miriam Klein , Bob Scobey and Claude Thornhill . McGrath was the father-in-law of Victor Feldman .

Hugues Panassié counted McGrath in his book The Real Jazz (1942) a. a. with Frank Froeba , Joe Bushkin and Claude Thornhill to the promising white jazz pianists of his time.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Grudens: Chattanooga Choo Choo: The Life and Times of the World Famous Glenn Miller , 101
  2. ↑ Ross Laird: Tantalizing Tingle: A Discography of Early ragtime, jazz, and Novelty , p 193
  3. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical Compositions, Part 3, p. 7293
  4. ^ Billboard , Feb.7, 1942, p. 63
  5. ↑ Mandy Is Two at Allmusic
  6. ^ Hugues Panassié: The Real Jazz , p. 137
personal data
SURNAME McGrath, Fulton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES McGrath, Fidgy; McGrath, Fidgey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH December 6, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Superior (Wisconsin)
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1958