William Blue
William Thornton Blue (1902 – 1968), sometimes credited as Bill Blue, was an American jazz reed player. Blue grew up playing in local bands in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was a part-time music instructor. He played with Wilson Robinson's Bostonians, a territory band, and worked with Charlie Creath and Dewey Jackson in the middle of the 1920s. Later that decade he worked with Andrew Preer's Cotton Club Orchestra in New York City and on tour in Europe as a member of Noble Sissle's ensemble. He remained in Paris briefly, playing with John Ricks. When he returned to New York, he joined The Missourians, led by Cab Calloway, then worked with Luis Russell. Due to failing health, Blue played little in the late 1930s and afterwards; he spent the last several years of his life in a sanatorium. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 31, 1902 (Cape Girardeau), Died 1968
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1930
Roles Represented in DAHR: alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone
Notes: Full name: William Thornton Blue.
= 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BVE-53971 | 10-in. | 8/1/1929 | I've got someone | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-53972 | 10-in. | 8/1/1929 | '400' hop | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-53973 | 10-in. | 8/1/1929 | Vine Street drag | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-53974 | 10-in. | 8/1/1929 | Scotty blues | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-55852 | 10-in. | 9/24/1929 | Make a country bird fly wild | Henry Allen ; Four Wanderers ; New York Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-58581 | 10-in. | 2/18/1930 | Sugar Hill function | Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-58582 | 10-in. | 2/18/1930 | You might get better but you'll never get well | Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-58583 | 10-in. | 2/18/1930 | Everybody shout | Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-58584 | 10-in. | 2/18/1930 | Dancing Dave | Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-59173 | 10-in. | 2/17/1930 | Two hundred squabble | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, clarinet | |
Victor | BVE-59174 | 10-in. | 2/17/1930 | Swingin' dem cats | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, soprano saxophone, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-59175 | 10-in. | 2/17/1930 | Stoppin' the traffic | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, soprano saxophone, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
Victor | BVE-59176 | 10-in. | 2/17/1930 | Prohibition blues | Missourians | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, clarinet, alto saxophone | |
OKeh | W403714 | 10-in. | 2/1/1930 | Bessie couldn't help it | Louis Armstrong Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, alto saxophone | |
OKeh | W403715 | 10-in. | 2/1/1930 | Blue, turning grey over you | Louis Armstrong Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, clarinet |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Blue, William," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/115680.
Blue, William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/115680.
"Blue, William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Blue, William, 1902-1968 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2011112667
Wikidata: William Thornton Blue - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1669488
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/315533987
MusicBrainz: William Thornton Blue - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/cc6660c0-a405-4eda-9474-2af637e42eb1
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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