Lucky Millinder › Similar Artists

Erskine Hawkins - 100% match to Lucky Millinder

Chick Webb - 95% match to Lucky Millinder

William Henry Webb, 10 February 1909, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, d. 19 June 1939, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Although crippled soon after his birth, Webb’s determination to be a drummer overcame his physical infirmities. After playing in local bands, he travelled to New York while still a teenager and soon formed his own band there. By 1927 he had played at the Savoy Ball Read more

Bunny Berigan - 79% match to Lucky Millinder

Rowland Bernart Berigan, 2 November 1908, Hilbert, Calumet, Wisconsin, USA, d. 2 June 1942, New York City, New York, USA. One of the outstanding trumpeters of the swing era, Berigan was heavily influenced by Louis Armstrong and at his best played with much of his idol’s attack and zest. In the early 30s he worked with numerous bands, including those of Paul Whiteman, Fr Read more

Larry Clinton - 72% match to Lucky Millinder

Jimmy Dorsey - 67% match to Lucky Millinder

29 February 1904, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 12 June 1957, New York City, New York, USA. Musically active as a small child under the tutelage of his father, who was a coal miner turned music teacher, Dorsey switched from brass to reed instruments while still in his early teens. Concentrating on clarinet and alto saxophone, he played in various bands, mostly with his b Read more

Les Brown - 57% match to Lucky Millinder

Lester Raymond Brown, 14 March 1912, Reinerton, Pennsylvania, USA, d. 4 January 2001, Los Angeles, California, USA. By 1932, when he entered Duke University at Durham, North Carolina, Brown had already attended Ithaca College and the New York Military Academy and had studied harmony, arranging and composing, as well as becoming proficient on soprano saxophone, clarinet and b Read more

Slim Gaillard - 56% match to Lucky Millinder

Bulee Gaillard, 4 January 1916, Detroit, Michigan, USA, d. 26 February 1991, London, England. Other sources including Gaillard himself have claimed he was born on 1 January 1916 in Santa Clara, Cuba. Gaillard led an adventurous childhood. On one occasion, while travelling on board a ship on which his father was steward, he was left behind in Crete when the ship sailed. His a Read more

Fletcher Henderson - 54% match to Lucky Millinder

Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, 18 December 1897, Cuthbert, Georgia, USA, d. 28 December 1952, New York City, New York, USA. One of the most important figures in the development of big band music, in the early 30s Henderson set the standards by which early big band jazz was measured. He did this through a combination of selecting leading jazz players for his band and, together Read more

Gene Krupa - 47% match to Lucky Millinder

15 January 1909, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 16 October 1973, New York City, New York, USA. Krupa began playing drums as a child and after his mother failed to persuade him to become a priest, most of his large family actively encouraged his career in music. He studied formally, his most important teacher being Roy C. Knapp. However, growing up in Chicago in the 20s meant tha Read more

Red Norvo - 45% match to Lucky Millinder

Kenneth Norville, 31 March 1908, Beardstown, Illinois, USA, d. 5 April 1999, Santa Monica, California, USA. After playing in a marimba band, Norvo was hired by Paul Whiteman in the late 20s. With this band he played xylophone and was called upon largely to deliver novelty effects. While with Whiteman he met and married one of the band’s singers, Mildred Bailey; in 1933 Read more

Harry James - 44% match to Lucky Millinder

15 March 1916, Albany, Georgia, USA, d. 5 July 1983, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Harry James’ father played trumpet in the band of a touring circus, and at first Harry played the drums, but then he, too, took up the trumpet and at the age of nine was also playing in the circus band. He showed such enormous promise that his father had soon taught him everything he knew. Harr Read more

Lionel Hampton - 42% match to Lucky Millinder

20 April 1908 (some claim 1909 and 1914), Louisville, Kentucky, USA, d. 31 August 2002, New York, USA. After living briefly in Louisville and Birmingham, Alabama, Hampton was taken to Chicago where he lived with his grandparents. They sent him to Holy Rosary Academy at Collins, Wisconsin, where he was taught the rudiments of military band drumming by a Dominican nun. Followi Read more

Jack Teagarden - 41% match to Lucky Millinder

Weldon Leo Teagarden, 29 August 1905, Vernon, Texas, USA, d. 15 January 1964, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. One of the giants of jazz, Teagarden began playing trombone and singing in and around his home-town, encouraged by his mother, Helen Teagarden, a pianist. From his early teens he was playing professionally, touring with various bands, notably that led by Peck Kelley. He Read more

Claude Thornhill - 39% match to Lucky Millinder

10 August 1909, Terra Haute, Indiana, USA, d. 1 July 1965, New York City, New York, USA. Thornhill studied piano formally, playing jazz with a friend, Danny Polo. In the early 30s he was resident in New York City, playing with Hal Kemp, Don Voorhees, Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman and many other leaders. In the mid-30s he worked with Ray Noble and André Kostelanetz. Lat Read more

The Cats & The Fiddle - 39% match to Lucky Millinder

This African-American vocal/instrumental group from Chicago, Illinois, USA, featured original members Austin Powell (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Henderson (first tenor, tipple), Ernie Price (second tenor, tipple) and Chuck Barksdale (bass vocals, bass). The Cats And The Fiddle were one of the finest representatives of the string band/vocal harmony ensembles that were common in Read more