Blue Devils

The Oklahoma City Blue Devils was the premier American Southwest territory jazz band in the 1920s. Originally called Billy King's Road Show, it disbanded in Oklahoma City in 1925 where Walter Page renamed it. The name Blue Devils came from the name of a gang of fence cutters operating during the early days of the American West.

Several prominent jazz musicians were members, including Lester Young, William "Count" Basie and Buster Smith. The Blue Devils disbanded in 1933, after which Basie recruited most of the group's members to join his group, which had begun in 1931, but then changed the name to the Count Basie Orchestra.

The 1979 film The Last of the Blue Devils documents a musical reunion with Basie, Big Joe Turner and other figures from the history of southwestern and Kansas City jazz.

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929

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

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick KC612 10-in. 11/10/1929 Blue Devil blues Original Blue Devils ; Walter Page Jazz/dance band, with vocal Musical group  
Brunswick KC613 10-in. 11/10/1929 Squabblin’ Original Blue Devils ; Walter Page Jazz/dance band, with vocal Musical group  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Blue Devils," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/355099.

Blue Devils. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/355099.

"Blue Devils." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/355099

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