A Lot to Do and Not Much Time to Do It
Chick Webb - 1933
Chick Webb started early and finished early. His career as a professional drummer started at age 11, and we lost him to complications of spinal tuberculosis at age 34 in 1939. Everything he did, including his drumming, was done with urgency and purpose; it was almost as if he knew his time would not be long.
In the early '30s, Chick was King of the Savoy Ballroom, and, as Stanley Dance wrote in 1962, he could have been king of Harlem if he'd wanted to be. His immense talent was incongruous with his stature. Standing only about four feet tall, it was hard to imagine all that amazing energy coming from this little man - until you saw him play. And his personality, energetic and positive, won him friendships wherever he went. His band ruled their turf at the Savoy, making mincemeat of nearly all other bands in the "cutting contests" of the day. Chick's trombone soloist and close friend, Sandy Williams, recalled that the only two bands the actually bested the Webb outfit were Duke Ellington and, surprisingly (at least for me), Casa Loma. According to Williams, those were the only two times they were out-played and out-performed.
But Webb's drumming was never in question; he was universally admired by his contemporaries. Duke Ellington's longtime drummer, Sam Woodyard, recalled hanging outside the Savoy one night when he was still too young to go inside. The windows were open, and Chick's playing stuck with the impressionable kid. "He was the first drummer to make sense in a big band," said Woodyard. "His time was right there. He knew how to shade and color, and he knew how to bring a band up and keep it there." Another star drummer influenced by Chick Webb was Buddy Rich. "He was startling," said Buddy. "He was a tiny man with a hunchback and this big face and big stiff shoulders. He sat way up on a kind of throne and used a 28-inch bass drum, which had special pedals for his feet, and he had those old gooseneck cymbal holders. Every beat was like a bell."
Even though Chick had to literally be tied into a chair and made to listen to her audition, he recognized Ella Fitzgerald's talent almost immediately. And he featured her generously, acknowledging that her singing was good for the music and good for business. Record sales went through the roof on A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Ella's first Number One record with the band, and after that, it was a whole new ball game. Webb recognized what was happening as clearly as anyone: Ella's star was rising so far and so fast, the band became secondary to her singing. But the rewards were significant: better booking and more of them, bigger royalty checks from Decca (much bigger), and seemingly universal fame for himself, the band, and everyone in it. It is significant to note that the Chick Webb band sold more records during the last two years of Chick's life than it had in all the previous years combined.
But, all too soon, Chick's old nemesis, the spinal tuberculosis which had stunted his growth in his youth, began to present new problems. His energy flagged, and although he was able to maintain his level of playing, he would often collapse after a gig and have to spend days recuperating. Family and friends (including Ella), urged him to take some time off to regain his health, but he refused. It all came to an end on June 16, 1939, when he could fight no more. At the urging of the guys in the band, Ella stepped in as leader, keeping things running as best she could for another two years before throwing in the towel.
We go to the 78 section of the World's Greatest Record Library for many of the Chick Webb selections in this week's feature. We'll hear a couple of Ella's most popular records with the band, but we will also focus on some other sides that demonstrate Chick's extraordinary abilities, including Liza and Strictly Jive, a Chick Webb original, as well as a couple of others that highlight the substantial contributions of some of Chick's prominent sidemen, including Taft Jordan, Chauncey Houghton and Wayman Carver. The records themselves are in amazing shape considering their age, and we will let Big Bertha do her magic on them.
Hour Two this week kicks off with about 20 minutes of The Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven with Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians. We start with a Carmen Lombardo composition, the little-heard Get Out Those Old Records. It's a nostalgic look back into the 'teen years of the early Twentieth Century's popular songs, sung by Carmen and Kenny Gardner. ("Boola-Boola, Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula"). I wouldn't recognize many of the song titles mentioned if I didn't also collect cylinder records. We'll hear big hits from the 1940s like Seems Like Old Times and Poor Little Rhode Island, both excellent examples of the "Businessman's Bounce" style of this band. We'll also spin the band's amazingly non-swinging 1936 recording of Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, sung by Carmen, and the mega-hit The Third Man Theme from 1950. Solid dance music from a band whose personnel and sound changed very little between 1935 and 1975.
Besides these riveting Spotlight features on Chick Webb and Guy Lombardo, In the Mood brings you the best of the Big Bands of the 1930s, 40s and 50s this week, with entries from the bands of Artie Shaw, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Glenn Miller, and many more. We'll hear Louis Armstrong in his first recordings with Duke Ellington, Ella Mae Morse striking out as a solo artist, and we'll pay tribute to the memory of Dame Vera Lynn, who just left us a few weeks ago at the age of 103. I'd tell you more, but if I haven't already got you, I'm not gonna get you by promising you Eddy Howard or a vintage side from Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians.
So there you have it. This was a fun show to put together, and I hope you enjoy hearing it. Remember to call a young musician and make their day by inviting them to listen to the show with you this week. They need to hear this music. And they need to know that you support their musical dreams.
As always, we'd love to hear from you with a comment or a request, either here or on our Facebook page at
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Be kind to one another this week, and above all,
Keep Swinging!
Scott
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