Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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POLLACK, Ben

(b 22 June 1903, Chicago; d 7 June 1971, Palm Springs CA) Drummer, vocalist, bandleader. Played drums in high school, later with the Friars' Society Orchestra (New Orleans Rhythm Kings; see JAZZ). He was going to work in the family fur business, but changed his mind and led his own jazz-oriented dance band '24-34. His first records '26 on Victor had eleven pieces including Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Gil Rodin; Jimmy McPartland, Charlie and Jack Teagarden, Charlie Spivak, many others passed through; while playing in the pit in Broadway show Hello Daddy '28 he began fronting and conducting, Ray Bauduc was hired on drums; the band was admired by musicians and critics and records with Goodman solos were especially prized. Yet the band's reputation among musicians was higher than its recordings would seem to warrant; it never had a regular arranger to give it a distinct personality, and one suspects that either record companies or Pollack himself may have preferred to chase ideas that seemed to be more commercial.

Pollack was no dictator, but the younger musicians made fun of his singing and Goodman was never a man to let anyone tell him what to do; the stars-to-be left him, but he built up the band again until on records in late '33 it was essentially the Bob Crosby band to come. In 1934 the band wasn't working much because Pollack was promoting the career of his singer/girlfriend Doris Robbins. One source says he disbanded; in any case the nucleus was led by reedman Rodin to job around, then hired Bing Crosby's brother to front them, and the rest is history: the Bob Crosby band was more successful than Pollack ever had been, Goodman became the King of Swing in '35 and Miller's the number one band in the world '39-40: the Swing Era passed Pollock by. 

Pollack made more records, in '36 with Miller, Spivak, Irving Fazola, Harry James, Freddie Slack, with his Pick-A-Rib boys '37 including Muggsy Spanier, in '38 a musicianly band with no stars at all: his glory days were over. He started hopeless lawsuits against other bandleaders, led a band on radio for comic Joe Penner '38-9, organized a theatre band for Chico Marx '42, opened a talent agency in Hollywood '43, and ran Jewel Records '45-6, offering the superb Boyd Raeburn band a good contract, but pricing the records too high. Jewel was taken over by Black & White and Pollack was listed on the A&R staff until the label group folded '49. He led dixieland combos on the West Coast early '50s, later ran a restaurant where some former sidemen sometimes gigged. He played himself in The Glenn Miller Story '54 and The Benny Goodman Story '56; his band was a hit at a Disneyland dixieland festival '64.

Depressed about heart trouble, he took his own life.