O'Neill Spencer
William O'Neill Spencer (born November 25, 1909 in Cedarville (Ohio) , † July 24, 1944 in New York City ) was an American jazz singer and drummer .
O'Neill Spencer began his career in local bands in Ohio , then in 1930 with Al Sears ; from 1931 to 1936 he was a member of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band . In the 1930s Spencer also participated in numerous recording sessions, including a. in Billy Banks (1932), Red Allen , Mildred Bailey , Sidney Bechet , Frankie Newton , Lil Armstrong , Jimmy Noone (1937), Johnny Dodds , Willie The Lion Smith (1938), Milt Herth , Andy Kirk and others. From 1937 he worked in the John Kirby Sextet as a drummer and occasional singer; but he had to leave the formation in 1941 because of a tuberculosis disease. After a brief stint with Louis Armstrong in 1942, he returned to the Kirby Band for a short time, until he had to leave it for good due to illness in 1943, until he died in New York at the age of only 33. O'Neil Spencer only led one recording session under his own name, during which four pages were created in 1938 in trio with clarinetist Buster Bailey and pianist Billy Kyle .
Web links
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- Bielefeld catalog 1988 & 2002
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Spencer, O'Neill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Spencer, William O'Neill (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz singer and drummer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 25, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cedarville, Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 24, 1944 |
| Place of death | New York City |