Ted Lewis and his Band..Egyptian Ella..1931

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band inadvertently spawned two superficial,but immensely popular bands.One in America Ted Lewis and one in Britain Harry Roy.Lewis was playing at a venue when he heard the ODJB who were also playing in the next street,whilst Harry Roy heard the same band in Britain.Both loved the clarinet playing style of Larry Shields and both copied him,but in a much cornier way.Ted Lewis seemed to have been a mildly irritating self egoist,who loved the corny showmanship side of his act.However so popular was he that he could virtually bribe the top musicians into his band and over time it is these musicians that have given credibility to the band (inspite of Ted Lewis,not because of him) His gaspipe style of clarinet playing was so awful and tacky,that Jimmy Dorsey could stand it no longer one night and smashed his Saxophone over Lewis's head whilst he was playing and walked off stage.His singing was nearly as bad as his clarinet playing.So why the upload?Well amongst his glittering personnel one stood out..Muggsy Spanier,a truly wonderful
master of the cornet.On Egyptian Ella the band play with a controlled moodiness and Spanier plays some nice muted cornet.The whole record is a delight,and the lyrics are fun too.The 1930s generally saw Lewis as outmoded and in decline,but he was still popular touring.A small fact shows just how huge his band was,in the 1920s when his cumulative record sales easily outsold the Paul Whiteman Band.No mean achievement.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ted
• Lewis/Muggsy
• Spanier/Jimmy
• Dorsey/American
• Dance
• Bands/1920s
• Music

[davidglow3]

l agree,he was very very clever in doing what he did.He was aware of everything he did...However my moans about him are purely viewed over the passage of time..Lewis knew what the public wanted and pitched his style around that and not above that

[davidglow3]

Lewis knew his public very well and exploited that very well.When his band came to London they were an instant success.However his musicians did not particularly enjoy being in his band,as they were so overshadowed by his showmanship..Whenever they wanted to leave he just kept upping their salaries.His vocals and his playing were an utter disaster.l don't blame Jimmy Dorsey smashing his clarinet over Lewis's head..(However,this is all a matter of opinion) He did out sell Whiteman in the 1920s

[Squarerig]

Now,a man who put such a band together cannot have been ALL bad!Surely?Delightful music by a wonderful bank.Thank you for the contribution.

[Micelli1947]

This was heavy music in its time. The man was a true musician. History has already judged that.

[althejazz]

Ted Lewis may not have been much of a clarinet player but he knew good jazz when he heard it and was able to tempt the top musicians to work for him. This side is typical of the band's output of the time, with Benny Goodman, Muggsy Spanier and George Bruni(e)s doing the honours and creating that terrific swing. Lewis always manages to make you smile with his wry sense of humour as in the lyrics here. Been listening to this stuff for fifty years or more and it never gets stale.