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 126-135 of 135 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 80264 12/6/1950 Tuxedo junction-2 Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 80265 12/6/1950 Bear mash blues-3 Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 80409 1/18/1951 Love never comes around Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 80410 1/18/1951 Nona-1 Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 80411 1/18/1951 Please don't put me down Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 80412 1/18/1951 Station break Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 89338 2/9/1956 The yurt Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 89339 2/9/1956 Put your feet down on the ground Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 89340 2/9/1956 Nobody plays piano like Sacramento Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
Decca 89341 2/9/1956 Waltz in blue Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Musical group  
(Results 126-135 of 135 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Erskine Hawkins Orchestra," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.

Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.

"Erskine Hawkins Orchestra." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954

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