Erskine Hawkins Orchestra
The Bama State Collegians is a student jazz orchestra made up of students at Alabama State University. This group was organized in the late 1920s by Len Bowden, Fess Whatley, and Paul Bascomb. Bowden went on to direct the Navy's music program at Camp Robert Smalls during World War II. John Tuggle "Fess" Whatley (1895-1972) was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and has a K-8 school in Birmingham named after him. The Bama State Collegians have been directed by a number of notable musicians, including Tommy Stewart and Erskine Hawkins. The group also holds an important place in jazz history. In 1934, the entire group travelled to New York and became the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, recording hit records such as Tuxedo Junction, which rose to No. 7 nationally by Erskine Hawkins and No. 1 by Glenn Miller. Members of this band worked with the NBC Orchestra, the Lucky Millinder Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and others. Among those who have played with the orchestra are Dud Bascomb, Paul Bascomb, Avery Parrish, and Haywood Henry. In 2011, the story of Erskine Hawkins and his start in the Bama State Collegians was the subject of a Florida State University Film School MFA Thesis Film "The Collegians", written and directed by Alabama State University alumn Bryan Lewis. |
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1956
Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 135 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-041378 | 10-in. | 10/2/1939 | You can't escape from me | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-041379 | 10-in. | 10/2/1939 | Rehearsal in love | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-041380 | 10-in. | 10/2/1939 | Satan does the rhumba | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-041381 | 10-in. | 10/2/1939 | More than you know | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-041382 | 10-in. | 10/2/1939 | Uptown shuffle | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-045784 | 10-in. | 12/20/1939 | I hadn't anyone till you | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-045785 | 10-in. | 12/20/1939 | Baltimore bounce | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-045786 | 10-in. | 12/20/1939 | Fine and mellow | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-045787 | 10-in. | 12/20/1939 | Saboo (Doing the saboo) | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-047277 | 10-in. | 2/27/1940 | Dolomite | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-047278 | 10-in. | 2/27/1940 | Midnight stroll | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-047279 | 10-in. | 2/27/1940 | Whispering grass | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-047280 | 10-in. | 2/27/1940 | Gabriel meets the duke | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-050157 | 10-in. | 4/26/1940 | Song of the wanderer (Where shall I go?) | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-050158 | 10-in. | 4/26/1940 | Too many dreams | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-050159 | 10-in. | 4/26/1940 | You bring me down | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-051260 | 10-in. | 6/10/1940 | Junction blues | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-051261 | 10-in. | 6/10/1940 | Sweet Georgia Brown | Paul Bascomb ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with tenor saxophone solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-051262 | 10-in. | 6/10/1940 | Ashes in the tray | Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-051263 | 10-in. | 6/10/1940 | Five o'clock whistle | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-051264 | 10-in. | 6/10/1940 | After hours | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Avery Parrish | Jazz/dance band, with piano solo | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-057362 | 10-in. | 11/6/1940 | Put yourself in my place | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-057363 | 10-in. | 11/6/1940 | Norfolk Ferry | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-057364 | 10-in. | 11/6/1940 | Soft winds | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group | |
Victor | BS-057365 | 10-in. | 11/6/1940 | Nona | Erskine Hawkins Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | Musical group |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Erskine Hawkins Orchestra," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.
Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.
"Erskine Hawkins Orchestra." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bama State Collegians
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Erskine Hawkins Orchestra - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2002111259
Wikidata: Bama State Collegians - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4853273
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/121148436
MusicBrainz: Bama State Collegians - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/87213fe0-2f56-4fa1-8950-ad10a9874d4a
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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