Horace Heidt led one of the most successful commercial orchestras of the dance band era. It was also one of the most musically inept??, relying upon the flashy showmanship of such artists as pianist Frankie Carle and guitarist Alvino Rey to dazzle the crowd and entertain the dancers. Heidt never took himself too seriously, though. He was a businessman, and he gave his listeners what they wanted. If that was a crime then Horace Heidt was guilty of being a master criminal.
Though Heidt studied piano as a youth his main interest was athletics. He played football for the University of California at Berkeley and planned on turning professional. A back injury, however, ended his ambitions, and he decided instead to enter the music business, forming a small orchestra in 1923. Originally called Horace Heidt and His Californians, the band's popularity, and size, grew as the decade progressed. In 1929 the group joined the Fanchon-Marco vaudeville circuit and later toured Europe. Upon their return to the states they disbanded.
Heidt formed a new orchestra in 1932. By 1936 Horace Heidt and His Brigadiers had their own national radio program out of the Drake Theater in Chicago. Heidt gained tremendous popularity when he began to feature cash giveaways to listeners. Called the Pot o' Gold program, it became a sensation and even spawned a feature film.
Heidt's orchestra later came to be known by its best remembered moniker, Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights. While his early grouping had relied on gimmicks to sustain its dearth of musical talent, in the late 1930s Heidt made a concerted effort to improve the quality of his sound. Impressed by the popularity of swing music he began to hire some of the era's outstanding musicians, such as Bobby Hackett, Frank DeVol, Irving Fazola, Shorty Sherock, Frankie Carleson, Joe Rushton, and Jess Stacy. When Glenn Miller's orchestra broke up in 1942 he employed Miller arranger Bill Finegan and, briefly, Tex Beneke. Unfortunately the recording ban of the early 1940s prevented this later grouping from being recorded.
Heidt was progressive in his hiring of women as musicians, featuring three female violinists. He was also well-covered in the vocalist department. Most famous were the King Sisters, though Larry Cotton sang on most of the band's biggest hits. Other vocalists included Ronnie Kemper, trumpeter Jerry Browne, Ruth Davies, Jean Farney, Charles Goodman, harpist Lysbeth Hughes, the LeAhn Sisters, blind-whistler Fred Lowery, Bob McCoy, Henry Russell, bassist Art Thorsen, Gene Walsh, Gloria Wood, and a vocal group known as the Heidt Lights. Another vocal group that performed with Heidt was Donna and Her Don Juans. Led by Donna Wood it featured, at times, Gordon MacRae and future Honeymooner Art Carney.
Heidt remained popular throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s, recording on the Brunswick label. A dispute with his management company, M.C.A., however, forced him to leave the business in 1945. He temporarily retired and concentrated on his many real estate holdings, including ownership of the Los Angeles Trianon Ballroom. In 1947, when his contract with M.C.A. expired, he came out of retirement and organized a new orchestra which appeared on the Philip Morris sponsored Talent Show and Youth Opportunity radio programs. The band also hosted The Swift Show Wagon on television in 1955. He retired permanently soon after.
Heidt was often considered a tyrant by his musicians. He would dismiss almost any one of them in an instant if he felt like it. Alyce King discovered this one night when she knocked over a microphone during a radio program. Heidt's orchestra had been chosen for the show on the strength of King's vocals, and Heidt felt upstaged. He used the opportunity of her clumsiness to fire her. Heidt, however, also encouraged his staff to fraternize. Though designed to promote togetherness the strategy backfired on this occasion. When King left so did all her sisters and their musician boyfriends, including Rey.
In his early years Heidt had suffered from stammering. He later opened the Horace Heidt School for Stammering to help others affected by the disability. Heidt was a shrewd businessman. Through sound investments he emerged as probably the wealthiest orchestra leader of his day. Horace Heidt passed away in 1986. His son, Horace Jr., continues to lead a band in his father's image.
Loading...
8 videos
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)