Kay Kyser

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Kyser in " Stage Door Canteen " 1943

James Kern "Kay" Kyser (born June 18, 1905 in Rocky Mount , North Carolina , † July 24, 1985 in Chapel Hill , North Carolina) was an American big band leader, singer and entertainer of swing .

Live and act

Kyser was the son of a pharmacist and studied economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he worked as a cheerleader before Hal Kemp convinced him in 1926 to succeed him in the student band. Although he took clarinet lessons, he mainly worked as a conferencier and entertainer for the band. After graduating in 1928, he toured with the band. At first they had a difficult time, but in 1934 they got an engagement at the Blackhawk Club in Chicago through Kemp's mediation and they recorded for Brunswick Records . The repertoire included "Singing Song Titles" and the "College" concept, which originally served on amateur evenings to loosen up the performers with quizzes. With his number he also came on the radio and was very successful with "Kay Kyser's colleague of musical knowledge" on Mutual Radio in 1938 and then from 1939 to 1949 on NBC Radio. Nationwide, they had around 20 million listeners a week who received a diploma for submitted quiz questions. Kyser appeared there as "The Ol Professor" in gown. He had a total of eleven number one hits (including "Three Little Fishes" in 1939). In the 1940s he had three number one hits with the titles "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" (1942), " Ole Buttermilk Sky " (1946) and " The Woody Woodpecker Song " (1948).

The singers included Harry Babbitt, Ginny Simms and the blonde "Gorgeous" Georgia Carroll, a well-known ex-model who was there from 1943. Kyser married her in 1944 and had three children with her. The entertainer-cornetist Ish Kabibble (Merwyn Bogue) was also known. The band has also starred in various films such as “That's Right, You're wrong” (a standard phrase from Kyser in his numbers) in 1939 with Lucille Ball and Adolphe Menjou , “ You'll Find Out ” in 1940 and 1943 in “ Thousands ” Cheer "( Dig a ditch ) and" Stage Door Canteen ". Kyser himself also starred in comedies such as partnering with John Barrymore in "Playmates" in 1941. During World War II, Kyser was one of the busiest entertainers for US troops before Bob Hope , with 1,100 appearances in 580 different locations. After the war u. a. Jane Russell , Dinah Shore and Frank Sinatra guest vocalists in the band that had their radio show until 1949. Immediately after the war, he became involved in the health service in North Carolina and was involved in establishing television there. In 1949/1950 he got a TV show with his band. The show was reportedly overturned for being too silly on the sponsor's wife ( Ford Motor Company ). Kyser retired in 1950, which he had long planned to do because of his arthritis . At the reunion of former band members in the 1960s, he was not there. Instead, he joined the Christian Scientists , whose television and film division he headed in Boston in the 1970s and of which he was Honorary President (1983). He was honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame for his "musical achievement".

His estate is at the University of North Carolina.

Filmography

literature

  • Simon, George T .: The Big Bands . With a foreword by Frank Sinatra. 3rd revised edition. New York City, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co and London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1974, pp. 312-317
  • Raymond D. Hair, Jürgen Wölfer : The Story of Kay Kyser. Albany, GA 2012, ISBN 978-1-59393-636-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Records 1940-1955 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 1973, p. 33
  2. ^ Obituary in the LA Times 2011
personal data
SURNAME Kyser, Kay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kyser, James Kern
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American big band leader, singer and entertainer of swing
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Rocky Mount , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1985
Place of death Chapel Hill , North Carolina