Gray Gordon, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Gray Gordon

American musician

Date of Birth: 04-May-1904

Place of Birth: Freeport, Illinois, United States

Date of Death: 18-Jul-1976

Profession: musician, bandleader, saxophonist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Taurus


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About 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.

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