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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZBARRON, Blue(b Harry Freidman, 19 November 1913, Cleveland OH; d 16 July 2005, Baltimore MD) Dance band leader. He was said to have started as a booking agent; he briefly managed young Sammy Kaye, then formed his own sweet band in 1936 and kept it going for 20 years. In 1938 hotel owner Maria Kramer brought the band to New York; her strategy was hiring unknown bands, paying radio networks low rates to get nationwide broadcasts to then obtain big-name guests. The band played at the Edison Hotel through the 1940s, also toured and made musical short films. Its gimmick was to have the vocalist sing the first phrase of each song, introducing it. The first hit was 'At A Perfume Counter' '38; George T. Simon wrote that the band had a tuba playing an oom-pah beat in 1939, but also an electric guitar, unusual then. Reminiscing about radio transcriptions, John S Wilson wrote in the New York Times in 1982 that the band 'was not quite as wooden as one might expect…but there is still so much moaning among the saxophones and trombones that one keeps hoping somebody will milk them.' More hits included vocals by Russ Carlyle and Clyde Burke, and a no. 1 '49 with 'Cruising Down The River', the year's smash piece of nostalgia (Russ Morgan also had a no. 1 on it). 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' '50 had a narration by Chicago late-night disc jockey John McCormick. |