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George Wettling

George Godfrey Wettling (November 28, 1907 – June 6, 1968) was an American jazz drummer.

He was born in Topeka, Kansas, United States, and from his early teens was living in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the young Chicagoans who fell in love with jazz as a result of hearing King Oliver's band (with Louis Armstrong on second cornet) at Lincoln Gardens in the early 1920s. Oliver's drummer, Baby Dodds, made a particular and lasting impression on Wettling.

Wettling went on to work with the big bands of Artie Shaw, Bunny Berigan, Red Norvo, Paul Whiteman, and Chico Marx, but he was at his best with bands led by Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and himself. In these small bands, Wettling demonstrated the arts of dynamics and responding to a particular soloist that he had learned from Baby Dodds.

Wettling was a member of some of Condon's bands, which included Wild Bill Davison, Billy Butterfield, Edmond Hall, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell, Cutty Cutshall, Gene Schroeder, Ralph Sutton, and Walter Page. In 1957, he toured England with a Condon band that included Davison, Cutshall, and Schroeder.

Toward the end of his life, Wettling, like his friend clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, took up painting and was influenced by the American cubist Stuart Davis. He has been said to have believed that "jazz drumming and abstract painting seemed different for him only from the point of view of craftsmanship: in both fields he felt rhythm to be decisive".

Birth and Death Data: Born November 28, 1907 (Topeka), Died June 6, 1968 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, traps

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 76-100 of 148 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 72498 11/8/1944 Don't explain Billie Holiday instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72499 11/8/1944 Big stuff Billie Holiday instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72619 10-in. 12/13/1944 When your lover has gone-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72620 10-in. 12/13/1944 Whenever there's love-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72621 10-in. 12/13/1944 Impromptu ensemble No. 1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72622 10-in. 12/13/1944 The man I love Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72623 10-in. 12/13/1944 'S wonderful-2 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72798 10-in. 3/27/1945 It's only a paper moon Delta Rhythm Boys ; Ella Fitzgerald instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72799 10-in. 3/27/1945 Cry you out of my heart Delta Rhythm Boys ; Ella Fitzgerald instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72800 10-in. 3/27/1945 Cry you out of my heart Delta Rhythm Boys ; Ella Fitzgerald instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72865 10-in. 5/17/1945 (I'll build a) Stairway to paradise-1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72866 10-in. 5/17/1945 Lady be good, part 1 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72867 10-in. 5/17/1945 Lady be good, part 2 Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72868 10-in. 5/17/1945 My one and only Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 73278 1/16/1946 Blue (and broken hearted) Bing Crosby instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 73909 5/8/1947 A-feudin' and a-fightin' Bing Crosby instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 73910 5/8/1947 Goodbye my love, goodbye Bing Crosby instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 74023 8/5/1947 My melancholy baby Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 74024 8/5/1947 Tulip time in Holland Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 74025 8/5/1947 Nobody knows Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 74026 8/5/1947 We called it music Eddie Condon Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 76117 4/10/1950 Washington Post march Bob Crosby Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 76118 4/10/1950 My Scandinavian baby Bob Crosby Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 76119 4/10/1950 Stars and stripes forever Bob Crosby Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 76120 4/10/1950 Your heart of stone Bob Crosby Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
(Results 76-100 of 148 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wettling, George," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

Wettling, George. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

"Wettling, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504

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