The Vegas Voice 3-20

Harry James
By: Yvonne Cloutier / Musical Moments
His father was a director and featured
trumpeter in the Mighty Haag Circus. His
mother, a trapeze artist. His full name was Harry
Haag James, getting his middle name from this circus.
Harry was born in 1916, in a show-business hotel.
At 5, he learned the trumpet from a book preceded by playing drums
at 4. At 15, after winning a State high school trumpet competition, he
auditioned for Lawrence Welk. Welk liked his playing but wanted a
musician who could play more instruments than drums and trumpet.
Harry James was “discovered” by Benny Goodman’s brother, Irving.
James was playing with the same band, Ben Pollack’s, Benny Goodman
started with.
James as a Goodman band member, “played a hot, exciting trumpet
on such tunes as Sing, Sing, Sing, and One O’clock Jump.” His success
came when he included romantic songs depicting World War II times
and the separations it caused.
You Made Me Love You was his first hit - a trumpet version of Judy
Garland’s. In 1939, after two years with Goodman, Mr. James left and
started his own band.
An interesting anecdote: While his new band was playing in New
York, he heard a radio vocalist with a band in New Jersey. The singer,
actually the master of ceremonies, was Frank Sinatra. James hired him.
After 8 months, Sinatra, needing money because his wife was
pregnant, and with the band not doing well, left. James replaced him
with Dick Haymes
Ciribiribin, an Italian folk song, became Harry James theme song,
after he did a memorable jazz arrangement of it.
Other hits were I Cried for You, I Don’t Want to Walk Without You.
His famous jazz pieces for trumpet were: Concerto for Trumpet and
Flight of the Bumblebee. He appeared on radio and TV. At one time,
he was so popular that Columbia Records couldn’t keep up with his
record demand.
In 1943, Harry married his second wife, Betty Grable, the movie star
whose pin-up pictures adorned every G.I. barracks. He also had several
movie contracts. They divorced in 1965.
He was married three times and had 5 children. Harry James
remained popular for 40 plus years, dying in 1983 at age 67.
Yvonne Cloutier, a former teacher/principal, with a music
background, specializes in ragtime piano. She researches and
reports about music on SCA-TV.com/Anthem Alive! You can
contact her at www.mytimeisragtime.com.
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