Big Mike McKendrick

b. Reuben Michael McKendrick, 1901, Paris, Tennessee, USA, d. 22 March 1965, Chicago, Illinois, USA. In the 20s he performed banjo and electric guitar with various rings including one particular led by Edgar Hayes and in addition with Dave Peyton. In the first 30s he was on the highway with Louis Armstrong, within a playing and managerial capability, led his very own band and in addition used Erskine Tate yet others. He frequently followed singer-pianist Cleo Dark brown. Through the 40s and 50s he continuing playing in rings including Franz Jackson’s Initial Jass All Celebrities. A good, if sometimes erratic, participant with an agreeable performing voice, McKendrick’s profession went parallel to and occasionally intersected with this of his more youthful brother, Small Mike McKendrick, with whom he’s sometimes confused.