Smith Ballew

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Smith Ballew (real. Sykes Ballew ; born January 21, 1902 in Palestine , Texas , † May 2, 1984 in Longview , Texas) was an American jazz singer , orchestra conductor and actor .

Ballew formed his first jazz band at the University of Texas . In the next ten years or so he became one of the most important figures of the big band era and led several orchestras, was the singer in other orchestras such as Jimmy Joy , Leo Reisman or Lou Gold & His Orchestra (1931), and recorded numerous songs on. Most of the recordings were made as Smith Ballew and His Orchestra ; but he also recorded under the pseudonym Buddy Blue and His Texans . Around 1934 he broke up his previous band - his teammates Glenn Miller , Ray McKinley and Skeets Herfurt went to the Dorsey Brothers . For a short time Ballew was a singer in the bands of Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman ; he also sang for the orchestras of Ben Pollack , Ted Fiorito , Meyer Davis, George Olsen , Hal Kemp and Sam Lanin .

He was also one of the hosts of the radio show The Shell Chateau on NBC , in which Victor Young led the orchestra; the show ran from 1935 to 1937 and was initially looked after by Al Jolson . After his departure, Ballew was one of the moderators alongside Wallace Beery ; this job led to Ballew's move to California and contacts with the film industry. Producer Sol Lesser signed him for a number of singing cowboy films with 20th Century Fox . Ballew rode across the prairie for five films; thereafter his film career ended as quickly as it began; He took up occasional offers for supporting roles.

From the 1940s Ballew worked in the aircraft industry; he worked as a businessman until 1967 and now lived in Fort Worth .

Recordings have appeared on the labels Okeh , Banner, Domino, Jewel, Regal, Perfect, Oriole (as Buddy Blue & His Texans and Jack Blue's Texans ), Columbia and Crown. The signature tune of his orchestra was "Tonight There Is Music in the Air". In addition to the musicians already mentioned, Carl Kress , Joe Venuti , Bunny Berigan , Jimmy McPartland , Fulton McGrath and Artie Bernstein also played with Smith Ballew at times .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1937: Western gold
  • 1937: Roll along, cowboy
  • 1937: Hawaiian buckaroo
  • 1938: Rawhide
  • 1938: Panamint's bad man
  • 1945: The Man Who Walked Alone
  • 1948: Tex Granger, Midnight Rider of the Plains

literature

  • Geoffery J. Orr: Texas Troubador: A Bio-Discography of the Life and Times of Smith Ballew, 1902-1984 , Exact Science Press, Melbourne, 1985
  • Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena. 1978

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ballew, Smith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ballew, Sykes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz singer, orchestra director and actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 21, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Palestine , Texas
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1984
Place of death Longview , Texas