Biography
Chick Webb represented the triumph from the human being spirit in jazz and existence. Hunchbacked, little in stature, nearly a dwarf with a big face and wide shoulder blades, Webb fought off congenital tuberculosis from the spine to be remembered as probably one of the most competitive drummers and bandleaders from the big music group period. Perched high upon a system, he utilized custom-made pedals, goose-neck cymbal holders, a 28-in . bass drum and a multitude of other percussion devices to generate thundering solos of the difficulty and energy that paved just how for Buddy High (who also studied Webb intensely) and Louie Bellson. Alas, Webb didn’t get a reasonable shake on information; Decca’s primitive documenting techniques cannot adequately catch his magnificent technique and wide powerful range. He cannot examine music, but that didn’t prevent him either, for he memorized each agreement perfectly. Although his music group didn’t become as important and revered over time as a few of its contemporaries, it even so was feared in its period for its fights of the rings in Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom; a well-known encounter using the high-flying Benny Goodman clothing at its top (with Gene Krupa within the drummer’s seat) still left the latter music group drained and defeated. William Henry Webb bought his first group of drums along with his profits being a newsboy, and he started playing in rings on pleasure ships. After shifting to NY in 1925, he led rings in various night clubs before settling set for longer regular runs on the Savoy from 1931. Although Benny Carter and Johnny Hodges used the music group in early stages, the Webb music group was oddly brief on main soloists during its heyday from your middle-’30s onward; the youthful alto sax participant Louis Jordan produced the largest impression after departing the music group. But the music group made up for this with a sharp ensemble sound, Webb’s disciplined, ferociously traveling drum pyrotechnics, trumpeter Taft Jordan’s impressions of Louis Armstrong, & most of all, some solid compositions and graphs by Edgar Sampson (“Blue Lou” and “Stomping in the Savoy” included in this). In 1935, Webb employed the teenaged Ella Fitzgerald after she received a talent competition in the Apollo Theatre, became her legal guardian, and rebuilt his display around the vocalist, who offered him along with his biggest strike record, “A Tisket-A-Tasket,” in 1938. The band’s popularity continued to develop, fueled by its status like a giant-killer within the Savoy fights and a continuing string of Decca 78s that presented such irresistible figures as “T’aint EVERYTHING YOU Do (It is the Method That You Perform It)” as well as the B-side of “Tasket,” “Liza.” But Webb’s precarious wellness began to cave in, and following a main procedure in Johns Hopkins Medical center in Baltimore, he passed away (his last terms reportedly had been, “I am sorry, I’ve surely got to proceed.”). After Webb’s loss of life, Fitzgerald fronted the music group until it finally split up in 1942.
Quick Facts
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# | Fact |
---|---|
1 | Reputedly Chick's last words were "I'm sorry, I gotta go!". |
2 | Chick started his first band in New York in 1926, which included among its sidemen Johnny Hodges, Mario Bauza and Benny Carter. Duke Ellington helped secure their first engagement at the Black Bottom Club in Manhattan. By the early 30's, Chick's band regularly played the Savoy and Roseland ballrooms. In 1935, he hired the then unknown singer Ella Fitzgerald, which further cemented his nationwide popularity (she was discovered by Webb sideman Bardu Ali at an amateur contest at the Harlem Opera House). In 1937, he challenged Benny Goodman to a 'dance battle' at the Savoy, drawing a crowd of more than 5000, most of whom declared Webb the winner. |
3 | Gene Krupa regarded Chick as his greatest inspiration and changed his style of drumming to emulate Webb's. |
4 | After Webb's untimely death (in 1939 at the age of thirty-seven) from tuberculosis of the spine, Ella Fitzgerald took over leadership of the band for another three years, with Ted McCrea and Eddie Barefield acting as musical directors. |
5 | Recorded for Decca, Okeh and Columbia. |
6 | His band's theme song was "I May Be Wrong". |
7 | Drummer and bandleader. |
8 | Inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1985. |
9 | He is buried at Arbutus Memorial Park in Arbutus, Baltimore Co., Maryland. It lists his erroneous birth date. |
10 | No one knew Webb's true birth date from before the time of his death in 1939 until September 2005 when filmmaker Eric Bruno Borgman discovered the correct year. This means that February 10, 2005 was the 100th anniversary of his birth and it went by without any recognition. |
11 | Had tuberculosis of the spine when young which caused him to have a twisted spine leaving him hunchbacked. |
Soundtrack
Soundtrack
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
Joy | 2015/I | performer: "I Want To Be Happy" | |
The Age of Adaline | 2015 | performer: "I'm Just a Jitterbug" | |
The Restorers {They Were All Volunteers} | 2011 | Documentary writer: "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
Bridesmaids | 2011/I | performer: "At the Darktown Strutters' Ball" | |
Mildred Pierce | 2011 | TV Mini-Series writer - 1 episode | |
Frankie Manning: Ambassador of the Lindy Hop | 2010 | Video documentary short writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" | |
I Capture the Castle | 2003 | writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" - as Webb | |
Livshunger | 2002 | TV Series 1 episode | |
Small Time Crooks | 2000 | writer: "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
The Grass Harp | 1995 | writer: "STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY", "I'M UP A TREE" | |
Malcolm X | 1992 | writer: "Chew Chew Chew" | |
Lucky Luke | 1991 | writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" - as Webb | |
The Marrying Man | 1991 | writer: "STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY", "YOU CAN'T BE MINE AND SOMEONE ELSE'S TOO" | |
When Harry Met Sally... | 1989 | writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" | |
In the Mood | 1987 | writer: "STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY" | |
Stardust Memories | 1980 | performer: "If Dreams Come True" 1936 | |
Saturday Night Live | 1979 | TV Series writer - 1 episode | |
F.I.S.T. | 1978 | writer: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
Slither | 1973 | "Stompin' At The Savoy" | |
Save the Tiger | 1973 | writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" | |
Army of Shadows | 1969 | writer: "Stompin' At The Savoy" - uncredited | |
Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim | 1967 | TV Special music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
The Danny Kaye Show | 1966 | TV Series writer - 1 episode | |
Jazz Party | 1958 | TV Series writer - 2 episodes | |
Kiss Them for Me | 1957 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
The Benny Goodman Story | 1956 | writer: "Stompin' At the Savoy" | |
I Love Lucy | 1953 | TV Series writer - 1 episode | |
Frank DeVol and His Orchestra | 1953 | Short writer: "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
The Pride of St. Louis | 1952 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue | 1952 | TV Series music - 1 episode | |
I'll Get By | 1950 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
The Stratton Story | 1949 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
The Drummer Man | 1947 | Short "Stompin' at the Savoy" | |
Sweet and Low-Down | 1944 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" 1934 - uncredited | |
Foreign Correspondent | 1940 | "Harlem Congo" 1937 | |
Love on Tap | 1939 | Short music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" 1934 | |
It's in the Stars | 1938 | Short music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
Man-Proof | 1938 | music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" 1935 - uncredited | |
George Hall and His Orchestra | 1937 | Short music: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited | |
Sinner Take All | 1936 | writer: "Stompin' at the Savoy" - uncredited |
Self
Self
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
After Seben | 1929 | Short | Himself - Band Leader |
Archive Footage
Archive Footage
Title | Year | Status | Character |
---|---|---|---|
The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America | 2012 | Documentary | Himself |
Frankie Manning: Ambassador of the Lindy Hop | 2010 | Video documentary short | Himself - Drummer |
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