Gray Gordon
Gray Gordon, born Jerome Rohkar (May 4, 1904, Freeport, Illinois – July 18, 1976, New York City) was an American saxophonist and big band leader active in the 1930s and 1940s. Gordon first led a band called the Pretzel Five when he was still in high school. He moved to Chicago in the mid-1920s, where he played with the Seattle Harmony Kings and Elmo Mack's Purple Derby Orchestra. He led a band which played the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. In 1936 he relocated to New York City, where he founded his first professional band, taking the stage name Gray Gordon during a touring engagement at the Hotel Chase in St. Louis. Gordon called his band the Tic Toc Rhythm, based on the distinct clock-like rhythmic figure played on temple blocks by his percussionist Frank Adams. This was often accompanied by a trombone figuration prior to the beginning of songs, which helped identify the band to listeners during radio performances. For several years from 1939, he held a six-month engagement at the Hotel Edison in New York, whose performances were broadcast nightly on radio, and toured the other half of the year. His group started as a smaller ensemble – three brass instruments, three saxophones, and three rhythm instruments – but in 1940 he expanded it to twelve musicians or more, plus vocalists. He recorded several times for Bluebird and Victor during the period 1940–41; he also recorded four sound films in 1941 playing swing jazz. One of his signature songs, "I Am an American", was a popular tune at war bond rallies during World War II. He married dancer Noel Carter in 1941; they divorced in 1949. Gordon dissolved his band in 1945 and later worked in artist and repertory in the music business, including for Les Paul, Mary Ford, and King Guion. He also worked in public relations for hotels in Miami. He was living in New York City in 1976 when he died of cancer at St. Luke's Hospital. He is buried at Oakland Cemetery in his home town of Freeport. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 4, 1904 (Freeport), Died July 18, 1976 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1941
Roles Represented in DAHR: director, songwriter, vocalist, composer, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 105 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-026610 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | Tenpins in the sky | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026611 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | For the first time | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026612 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | When the circus came to town | Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026613 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | When a prince of a fella meets a Cinderella | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026614 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | You're the very last word in love | Gray Gordon ; Betty Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026615 | 10-in. | 8/17/1938 | Heigh-ho, the merry-o | Gray Gordon ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
Victor | BS-026861 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | You can't be mine (And someone else's too) | Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026862 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | Dream girl of Pi K.A. | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026863 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | Blue in the black of the night | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026864 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | Sixty seconds got together | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026865 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | All ashore | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-026866 | 10-in. | 9/12/1938 | There's something about an old love | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-028103 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | Let me sleep tonight | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-028104 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | Emaline | Gray Gordon ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
Victor | BS-028105 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | I kissed you in a dream last night (Do you mind?) | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-028106 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | After looking at you | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-028107 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | That's what I want for Christmas | Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-028108 | 10-in. | 10/17/1938 | The story book ball | Carl Carelli ; Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Bill North ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal trio | director | |
Victor | BS-030395 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | Over the rainbow | Gray Gordon ; Cliff Grass ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-030396 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | The jitterbug | Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-030397 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | Off to see the Wizard of Oz | Gray Gordon ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | director | |
Victor | BS-030398 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | If only I had a brain (If I only had a heart, if I only had the nerve) | Gray Gordon ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal trio | director | |
Victor | BS-030399 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | Ding-dong! The witch is dead | Gray Gordon ; Betty Lane ; Shirley Lane ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal duet and vocal ensemble | director | |
Victor | BS-030700 | 10-in. | 12/14/1938 | If I were king of the forest | Gray Gordon ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and vocal ensemble | vocalist, director | |
Victor | BS-031565 | 10-in. | 1/27/1939 | Sell your cares for a song | Gordon Goons ; Gray Gordon ; Tic-Toc Rhythm Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet | director |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gordon, Gray," accessed November 24, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104827.
Gordon, Gray. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104827.
"Gordon, Gray." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Gray Gordon
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gordon, Gray - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85038176
Wikidata: Gray Gordon - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1544035
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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