Ted Lewis (jazz musician)
Ted Lewis (born June 6, 1890 in Circleville , Ohio as Theodore Leopold Friedman , † August 25, 1971 in New York ) was an American singer, clarinetist, entertainer and big band leader in the field of swing and popular music .
Live and act
Theodore Leopold Friedman, later known by the stage name Ted Lewis , was an entertainer, band leader, singer and musician who was successful with a mixture of jazz , vaudeville comedy and sentimental melodies; he was also nicknamed "Mr. Entertainment".
Lewis, who came from Ohio, was one of the first musicians from the north of the United States to re - enact New Orleans jazz that came to New York through musicians from the south in the 1920s. In 1917 the first recordings were made with the Earl Fuller 's Jass Band , which emulated the sound of the original Dixieland Jass Band . His clarinet playing (which was labeled by the Victor label, "it sounds like a dying dog") was influenced by the New York guest musicians from New Orleans such as Larry Shields , Alcide Nunez and Achille Baquet .
In 1919 Ted Lewis formed his own band and got a recording deal with Columbia Records , which marketed him as their answer to the original Dixieland Jass Band , which were under contract with Victor Records . For a while he (like Paul Whiteman ) received his own (sub) label from Columbia with his picture. At the beginning of the 1920s he was viewed by many people (without in-depth knowledge of the music scene) as one of the leading figures in hot jazz . Lewis' clarinet playing hardly developed beyond the musical technical level of that which he had developed around the year 1919; later his playing was increasingly based on commercial expectations, and he then hired musicians like Benny Goodman , Jimmy Dorsey and Don Murray , who then played the clarinet in his band instead of him. In addition, the band later belonged to famous musicians such as Muggsy Spanier and George Brunis . Ted Lewis' band enjoyed almost the same popularity as Paul Whiteman's, but sometimes played less vaudeville music and more real jazz tracks, and with a little less ostensible image cultivation than Whiteman, for example compared to his recordings in the late 1920s ( Tiger Rag , 1928 ). When his contract with Columbia expired in 1933, Lewis recorded for Decca from 1934 through the 1940s . The theme song was When My Baby Smiles at Me, composed by Lewis .
Lewis' band played in a popular style during the Great Depression that hit the audience's taste buds. The band also appeared in early talkies, such as the 1929 Warner Brothers revue The Show of Shows . One of several films from this phase was titled Lewis' opening phrase Is Everybody Happy? . In 1935 the band appeared with some numbers in the music film Here Comes the Band , in 1937 in Manhattan Merry-Go-Round . In 1941 they worked with the Andrews Sisters on some music numbers in the Abbott and Costello comedy Hold That Ghost . In 1943 Columbia Pictures made a short biography of Lewis, again called Is Everybody Happy? , where actor Michael Duane played the band leader. The artist also had an appearance in the musical film Follow the Boys (1944).
Lewis was able to keep his band until the 1950s and then appeared on numerous television shows and in Las Vegas until the 60s . As with his Vaudeville beginnings, he combined his performances with humorous and comedic interludes and dance. One of the most important songs of this phase was Me and My Shadow , with which he ended his performances over a longer period of time. On this song he danced on stage with his own shadow created by the spotlight. At the age of 79 he gave his farewell performance at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. After his death in New York in 1971, Lewis' widow and friends created a memorial Ted Lewis museum and park in his hometown of Circleville, Ohio .
meaning
Bruce Eder wrote for the music database Allmusic that from today's point of view and based on the available recordings it is incomprehensible that Ted Lewis with his music was one of the most popular musicians in the world from the beginning of the 1920s to the mid-1930s and millions in a year of records sold. It is even more difficult to understand that Lewis was active in the music business for fifty years - from 1917 to 1967 - and enjoyed the respect of many jazz musicians, which was unique for the head of a dance band. In any case, he will be remembered above all for the important early support of world-famous jazz musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Muggsy Spanier, Jimmy Dorsey, Frank Teschemacher and George Brunies.
The authors of the RedHotJazz website consider Lewis a true jazz pioneer; one of his best titles would have been Dip Your Brush In Sunshine , "and from its title Dip Your Brush In Sunshine (roughly translated:" Tunk your brush in sunshine ") it is easy to understand why it was so popular" (quote: RedHotJazz ). This song, which, based on its life-affirming self-expression, conveyed the irresistible positivism needed to overcome the crisis, especially during the time of the Great Depression, explains at least in part why Lewis actually became so extremely popular - across the genre of jazz.
Web links
- Ted Lewis in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- "Ted Lewis" Artists Direct
- Biography and discography at Redhotjazz
- Biography in the Bigband Library
- Photograph of headstone, Forest Cemetery (905 N Court Street, Circleville, Pickaway County, Ohio, USA)
- Site of The Ted Lewis Museum (133 West Main Street, Circleville, Ohio 43113, USA)
swell
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
- Leo Walker: The Big Band Almanac . Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena. 1978
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lewis, Ted |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Friedman, Theodore Leopold |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz and pop singer, actor and big band leader |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Circleville , Ohio , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 25, 1971 |
| Place of death | New York , United States |