Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell (March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was born in Oakland, California, United States, as Teodoro Paolella, and became a respected American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written under the pseudonym Freddy James. Powell began playing violin when he was eight and picked up the banjo when he was fourteen. During the late 1920s to the early 1930s, he was a member of the Abe Lyman orchestra, taking on the additional tasks of gathering radio bands. He formed the Teddy Powell Orchestra in 1939 and it performed through the 1940s. Powell's sidemen included Tony Aless, Gus Bivona, Pete Candoli, Irving Fazola, and Charlie Ventura, but his best sideman left for better paying work. "Snake Charmer", a song Powell published in 1937 (lyrics by Leonard Whitcup), is still a popular song among partner dancers in Finland, where it is usually performed as a translation: Kuningaskobra fi). It placed 69th on the 1952-1959 charts, and is still being recorded by modern performers, as listed in the recordings database of the Finnish national broadcasting company Yle. After the band folded, Powell wrote music and arrangements. He had hits with "Bewildered" and "If My Heart Could Only Talk". During the latter part of his career, he worked in music publishing. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 1, 1905 (Oakland), Died November 17, 1993 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1934 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: director, songwriter, leader, composer, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 126-137 of 137 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 66868 | 10-in. | 11/13/1939 | Flea on a Spree | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 66869 | 10-in. | 11/13/1939 | Some day | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 66870 | 10-in. | 11/13/1939 | The Sphinx | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 67135 | 10-in. | 2/1/1940 | The one I love (belongs to somebody else) | Pete Skinner ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader, arranger | ||
Decca | 67136 | 10-in. | 2/1/1940 | I get the blues when it rains | Pete Skinner ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader, arranger | ||
Decca | 67137 | 10-in. | 2/1/1940 | Am I blue ? | Pete Skinner ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader, arranger | ||
Decca | 67138 | 10-in. | 2/1/1940 | Ridin' the subways | Pete Skinner ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader, arranger | ||
Decca | 67777 | 10-in. | 5/20/1940 | Please take a letter, Miss Brown | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 67778 | 10-in. | 5/20/1940 | Feather merchant''s ball-1 | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 67779 | 10-in. | 5/20/1940 | Outside of that, I love you | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader | ||
Decca | 67780 | 10-in. | 5/20/1940 | Teddy Bear boogie-2 | Teddy Powell Orchestra | leader, arranger | ||
Columbia (U.K.) | CL6001 | 10-in. | 12/15/1936 | Rendez-moi mes montagnes | Marcel Carivan ; Tino Rossi | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Powell, Teddy," accessed November 9, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106247.
Powell, Teddy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 9, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/106247.
"Powell, Teddy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 9 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Teddy Powell
Discogs: Teddy Powell
Allmusic: Teddy Powell
IMDb: Teddy Powell
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Powell, Teddy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90669557
Wikidata: Teddy Powell - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2399911
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/71579079
MusicBrainz: Teddy Powell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fd1975dc-a340-4a1c-8b49-32252c2ff96c
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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