The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers is an American vocal ensemble that existed in various line-ups from 1937 and was very successful in the 1940s.
The group initially consisted of seven men (John Huddleston, Hal Hopper, Chuck Lowry, Bud Hervey, George Tait, Woody Newbury, Dick Whittinghill), to whom the singer Jo Stafford joined. They were successful when they joined Tommy Dorsey in 1939 , who, however, only took over one quartet for financial reasons: Jo Stafford, her then husband John Huddleston, Chuck Lowry, Billy Wilson. I'll Never Smile Again (which Frank Sinatra also sang) with the Dorsey Orchestra was number 1 in the US charts for twelve weeks in 1940. The song had been offered by the author Ruth Lowe Dorsey, but initially could not warm up to it and left it to Glenn Miller , who recorded it at a faster pace. The Pipers and Sinatra wanted a more intimate shot, however, having recently met writer Ruth Lowe (who had just lost her husband). Dorsey suggested that it be performed as if they were privately meeting at the piano. It became one of Tommy Dorsey's greatest hits. Jo Stafford also sang solo with the band. Sinatra, whose career began with Dorsey, tried very hard to harmonize with the Pipers. Another successful title for the team was Let's Get Away from It All .
In mid-1942, the Pipers left the Dorsey Band, as did Sinatra and many of the band members who were drafted. Jo Stafford took a temporary break from the Pipers to spend more time with her husband Paul Weston, who was serving in the military. John Huddleston was also drafted and replaced by Hal Hopper. In 1944 June Hutton replaced Jo Stafford, who was pursuing a solo career. The Pied Pipers were subsequently successful even without a big band : They recorded for Capitol Records , worked a lot with the songwriter and Capitol founder Johnny Mercer (e.g. they were regularly on his radio show in 1944), worked in 1944 starred in the musical film Sweet and Low-Down , and had a big hit in March 1945 with Johnny Mercer's Dream (18 weeks No. 1 on the Billboard charts ) and in 1948 with My Happiness . You also sang a lot with Frank Sinatra on his radio show from 1944 to 1947. In 1950, Sue Allen replaced June Hutton and was later replaced by Virginia Marcy. There were also several changes in the line-up for the men. They continued to sing together after the big band era ended, appearing on television in the 1950s. In the 1960s, they performed with the Tommy Dorsey Ghost Band . The group still consists today of Nancy Knorr, Don Lucas, Kevin Kennard, Chris Sanders and David Zack who perform with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
1945 to 1949 they were winners in the vocal ensemble category of the Down Beat Reader Polls. In 1998, her hit with Johnny Mercer, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive (Accentuate the Positive, 1945) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame .
literature
- Frank Laufenberg: Rock and Pop Lexicon . Volume 2. Econ Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-612-26207-6 .
Web links
- Homepage
- The Pied Pipers at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ George Simon The Bigbands , Schirmer 1981, p. 167. According to Ken Bloom The American Song Book , p. 86, however, four members had already left the Pipers at that time, because they had no engagement for a long time and they had to support families.
- ↑ Ken Bloom The American Songbook , p. 141
- ↑ George Simon The Big Bands , p. 168
- ^ Simon The Big Bands , p. 173
- ↑ Hits 1945