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WEBB, Chick

(b William Henry Webb, 10 February 1909, Baltimore MD; d 16 June 1939) Drummer, bandleader; this birth date is commonly given, but he was probably born earlier. He was one of the greatest of all jazz drummers, despite suffering tuberculosis of the spine from birth. A doctor had prescribed music lessons; he sold newspapers to earn money to buy a drum kit; later Buddy Rich said of him, 'Every beat was like a bell.'

He went to New York in 1924, formed a band '26; his first record '27 was not issued; the '31 band included Hilton Jefferson in the reed section, Jimmy Harrison on trombone, John Trueheart on guitar, Benny Carter; musicians went back and forth between Webb and Fletcher Henderson. In late '33 the band included. Trueheart, trumpeters Mario Bauza, Taft Jordan (later with Duke Ellington), Sandy Williams on trombone, John Kirby on bass and Edgar Sampson, who wrote the band's theme, 'Let's Get Together'; Sampson had written 'Stompin' At The Savoy' earlier, with the Rex Stewart band; it was a hit for Webb '34. Harlem's Savoy Ballroom had been built on the site of old car barns; 20,000 people attended the grand opening of 'The World's Most Beautiful Ballroom' '26 (it was torn down '58 for a housing project); Webb moved in in '31, and from then on every visiting band had to do battle. In '34 trumpeter Bobby Stark, Wayman Carver on reeds/flute, Claude Jones on trombone were added; the band switched to the new Decca label from ARC labels '34; Louis Jordan joined '36; Carter played with the band on record '38 and Jefferson came back; a quintet Chick Webb and his Little Chicks made three sides '37.

He'd discovered Ella Fitzgerald by '35. Her first record with the band was 'I'll Chase The Blues Away'; several of the band's hits '34-9 were Ella's, including 'A-Tisket, A- Tasket' '38, 'MacPherson Is Rehearsin' To Swing', 'Undecided'. Benny Goodman had a hit with 'Stompin' At The Savoy' '36, but was blown away in honest combat at the Savoy a few months before Webb's death: 20,000 people were allegedly turned away that night; Gene Krupa said 'I have never been beaten by anybody who was so strong.' The records are wonderful, but do not do Webb justice; by the time studio engineers were able to cope with a drummer who could drive a big band, he was terminally ill. Ella sang 'My Buddy' at his funeral. She was an orphan, but the story that Webb and his wife had adopted her was probably not true; she led the band for two more years. Compilations with good transfers: Spinnin' The Webb on Decca Jazz, Rhythm Man on Hep, Ella Fitzgerald With The Chick Webb Band on Pearl (Flapper).