Jazz
Ben Bernie and His Orchestra - Violin, Vocals, Director
Al Armer Bowed Bass
Al Goering Piano, Arranger
Arthur Lange Arranger
Ate Van Delden Photography
Bill Moore Lucky Seven Band Trumpet
Billy Hillpot Vocals
Clay Bryson Banjo
Dick Robertson Vocals
Dick Stabile Sax (Alto), Clarinet
Frank Bessinger Vocals
Frank Luther Vocals
Frank Wright Vocals
Harry Coster Original Material, Audio Restoration
Hymie Farberman Trumpet
Irving Kaufman Vocals
Jack Kaufman Vocals
Jack Pettis Clarinet, Sax (Tenor), Sax (C-Melody)
Lester O'Keefe Vocals
Manny Prager Sax (Tenor), Sax (Alto)
Marcel van den Broek Cover Design
Mark Berresford Photography, Liner Notes
Michael Brooks Original Material
Moe Jaffe Vocals
Oscar Levant Piano
Paul Weigand Trombone
Philip Hart Trumpet
Scrappy Lambert Vocals
Vaughn DeLeath Vocals
Wim Bor Original Material
Zelma O'Neal Vocals
Ben Bernie and His Orchestra
Active Decades: '20s and '30s
Born: May 30, 1891 in New York, NY
Died: Oct 20, 1943 in Beverly Hills, CA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Big Band, Traditional Pop, Vaudeville
Songwriter Ben Bernie was a popular bandleader of the late '20s and '30s who is best known as the composer of "Sweet Georgia Brown." Born Benjamin Anzelwitz in N.Y.C., 1891, he studied at the NY College of Music, CCNY, and Columbia School of Mines. Before the 1920s, Bernie performed monologues and played the violin in vaudeville, teaming up with Phil Baker for awhile. Bernie formed a dance band in 1922 and within a few years earned increasing popularity with recordings and radio play. Pianist/arranger Al Goering was a force through most of his band's career, and the early lineup also included trumpeter Bill "Jazz" Moore and saxophonist Jack Pettis. Later lineups included the alto saxophonist Dick Stabile in the early '30s, and the more swinging arrangements of Gray Rains in the late '30s. Bernie got his own radio series, and became known for his sense of humor and trademark expression, "Yowsah, Yowsah!" He named himself "the Old Maestro" and called his band Ben Bernie & All the Lads. During the 1930s, Bernie also had a long-running "feud" with columnist Walter Winchell, leading to the duo co-starring in the films Wake Up and Live (1937) and Love and Hisses (1938). Bernie had acted in a Broadway production before this, 1928's Here's Howe. His band played at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933; appeared in the movies Shoot the Works (1934) and Stolen Harmony (1935); and recorded for the Brunswick, Columbia, and Vocalion labels, among others. Ben Bernie co-wrote "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Strange Interlude," "I Can't Believe It's True," "Who's Your Little Who Zis," and others, including "Pretty Little Baby" and "I Can't Forget That You Forgot About Me."
---Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide |
