Bob Chester
Bob Chester (March 20, 1908 – October 29, 1966) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Chester's stepfather ran General Motors's Fisher Body Works. He began his career as a sideman under Irving Aaronson, Ben Bernie, and Ben Pollack. He formed his own group in Detroit in the mid-1930s, with a Glenn Miller-influenced sound. This band was unsuccessful in local engagements and quickly dissolved. He then put together a new band on the East Coast under the direction of Tommy Dorsey and with arrangements by David Rose. This ensemble fared much better, recording for Bluebird Records. Chester's group, billed "The New Sensation of the Nation," had its own radio show on CBS briefly in the fall of 1939. The twenty-five-minute program aired from the Hotel Van Cleve in Dayton, Ohio late on Thursday nights (actually 12:30 am Friday morning, Eastern Time); the September 21, 1939 edition can be heard on the One Day In Radio tapes, archived by Washington D.C. station WJSV. Chester's Bluebird records have proved excellent sellers, both for retail dealers and coin phonograph operators such as "From Maine to California"; "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie"; "Madeliaine"; and two songs from "Banjo Eyes" - "Not a Care in the World" and "A Nickel to My Name". His only national hit was "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair" (b/w "I Walk With Music"; Bluebird 10614), which featured Dolores O'Neill on vocals and went to No. 18 on the chart in April 1940. Chester's orchestra included trumpeters Alec Fila, Nick Travis, Lou Mucci, and Conrad Gozzo, saxophonists Herbie Steward and Peanuts Hucko, drummer Irv Kluger, and trombonist Bill Harris. His female singers included Dolores O'Neill, Kathleen Lane, and Betty Bradley; among his male singers were Gene Howard, Peter Marshall, Bob Haymes, and Al Stuart. The orchestra disbanded in the mid-1940s, due in part to the shrinking market for big band sound. After a stint as a disc jockey at WKMH radio, Chester assembled another band for a short time in the early 1950s, but after it failed he retired from music and returned to Detroit, to work for the rest of his life in auto manufacturing. Bob Chester died in October 1966, at the age of 58. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 132 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-040956 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Love never went to college | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040957 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Aunt Hagar's blues | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040958 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | My silent mood | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040959 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | 57th Street drag | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040962 | 10-in. | 10/13/1939 | I thought about you | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040963 | 10-in. | 10/13/1939 | After all | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040964 | 10-in. | 10/13/1939 | Don't make me laugh | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-040965 | 10-in. | 10/13/1939 | Stars over the campus | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041148 | 10-in. | 7/31/1939 | Just for a thrill | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041149 | 10-in. | 7/31/1939 | Hoy! Hoy! | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Al Stuart | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and male vocal ensemble | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041604 | 10-in. | 8/8/1939 | Judy | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Al Stuart | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041605 | 10-in. | 8/8/1939 | Shoot the sherbet to me Herbert | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041606 | 10-in. | 8/8/1939 | Allá en el rancho grande | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Al Stuart | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041607 | 10-in. | 8/8/1939 | You tell me your dream (I'll tell you mine) | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041924 | 10-in. | 8/28/1939 | Billy (I always dream of Bill) | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041925 | 10-in. | 8/28/1939 | Oo oo oo (I'm thrilled) | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041926 | 10-in. | 8/28/1939 | Goody goodbye | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-041927 | 10-in. | 8/28/1939 | I can't tell why I love you but I do | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Kathleen Lane | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044232 | 10-in. | 11/21/1939 | Baby, what else can I do? | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044233 | 10-in. | 11/21/1939 | Russian lullaby | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044234 | 10-in. | 11/21/1939 | Why go on pretending? | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044235 | 10-in. | 11/21/1939 | In the heart of the dark | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044545 | 10-in. | 1/2/1940 | I've got no strings | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044546 | 10-in. | 1/2/1940 | Easy does it | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-044547 | 10-in. | 1/2/1940 | Make love with a guitar | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Dolores O'Neill | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Chester, Bob," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116042.
Chester, Bob. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116042.
"Chester, Bob." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Chester, Bob, 1908-1977 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2013031414
Wikidata: Bob Chester - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q887844
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/5117144
MusicBrainz: Bob Chester - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3012bb2f-4a2a-4601-82b0-74b341470399
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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