BIG BAND NEWS

JANUARY 2020

by Music Librarian CHRISTOPHER POPA

It’s the perfect time

to ask who was the

BIGGEST bandleader

of them all?

The answer is: Tiny Hill.

So how, in the era of incredibly-famous bandleaders like

Goodman, Basie, Lombardo, Shaw, Ellington, Kaye, Miller,

Lunceford, Dorsey, and all of the others, does Tiny Hill qualify

as the “biggest” of them all?

Simple—he weighed 350 pounds!

Now, this is not me making some politically-incorrect claim.

Tiny’s own publicity photographs included the caption “Just a

Likeable Guy with 350 lbs. of ‘Good Humor.’”

In fact, in 1944 Billboard magazine declared him “America’s

Biggest Bandleader” as his weight rose to 365 pounds!

Clearly, the name “Tiny” was said with tongue-in-cheek. His

real name was Harry L. Hill, and he had a big sense of humor.

What of Tiny Hill’s music?

To my ears, it was a blend of dance band, dixieland, novelty,

country, and hillbilly.

Starting in 1939, he made records for Vocalion, Okeh, and

Mercury (his last session was for Mercury in 1962).

His most famous vocals included “Angry,” “Skirts,” “Sioux

City Sue,” “Hot Rod Race,” and “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue.”

Tiny remained popular until his death in 1971—he had

performed to a capacity audience less than six months before

his passing.

The inscription on his tombstone says “Forgotten quickly by

many, remembered forever by a few.”

But some things which took place in 2018 and 2019 set the

wheels in motion to bring Tiny Hill’s name fully back to the

listening and dancing public and into 2020.

The Tiny Hill Orchestra was re-formed by a man named Dan

Stevens! Their first performance was on December 30, 2018.

I contacted Dan to find out more about this surprising news.

“In the recent past I worked the band under the name ’Texas

Ramblers’ for two years. A nod to the California Ramblers,” he

explained to me. “Then two things happened. Another band in

our region began usurping the name and with no trademark

protection there was nothing I could do about it. And around

that time the opportunity came to purchase the Tiny Hill library

of music.”

Who had all of those arrangements?

According to Dan, “The Tiny Hill library of charts came from

a pianist in Wisconsin. Another musician connected me with

him. I tried to trace the music’s ownership trail previous to the

pianist but was unable. The pianist got it from another sideman

sometime in the past and he could not remember details. I

never met the pianist in person, only through correspondence.

I presume he would have been in his 80s.”

“Inspection of the music left no doubt it was Tiny Hill’s,” he

continued. The orchestra parts hand written in ink, not

photocopies, with some of them signed by the well documented

Tiny Hill arrangers, the rest obviously done by the same

hands . . . There is no doubt they are the note for note originals

(not later arrangers transcribing them off recordings or stock

charts).”

“I have known about Tiny Hill for decades,” Dan

commented. “I have many of his 78rpm records. I have always

liked 1920s dance music and Tiny Hill’s swinging

reinterpretations of it with a little dixieland and country mixed in

fit my musical sensibilities perfectly. The transition is natural.”

“My first big band was in St. Louis, MO under my own name

beginning in 1989,” he continued to tell me. “Later I played for

Johnnie Kaye as his bass player and arranger. When Johnnie

passed away in 2010 the family sold me the library and rights to

the name ‘Johnnie Kaye Orchestra.’ We played gigs in

Chicago, northern Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Johnnie was big in those areas.”

“Owning many of the original Tiny Hill manuscript

arrangements enabled me to obtain the federal trademark on

the name,” he noted. “The trademark office wanted to be

certain that I could represent Tiny Hill to the public like when he

was living. The original handwritten arrangements, an

extensive collection of Tiny Hill’s 78rpm records and my 30

years experience leading big bands convinced them I could do

it as well or better than anyone else.”

The Tiny Hill Orchestra under his direction has been signed

to a regular series of appearances at various venues in the

southern part of Texas.

Their itinerary this month is as follows:

3 pm, Sunday, January 5, 2020—La Hacienda Estates, Alamo,

Texas

7 pm, Friday, January 10, 2020—Pharr South, Pharr, Texas

3 pm, Sunday, January 12, 2020—Tip o’ Texas, Pharr, Texas

3 pm, Sunday, January 19, 2020—Mission Bell & Trade Winds

RV Resort, Mission, Texas

3 pm, Sunday, January 26, 2020—Texas Trails, Pharr, Texas

“The reception to the music here in far south Texas has

been excellent,” Dan pointed out. “Many ‘winter Texans’ of

retirement age come here and the style resonates well with

them.”

This is all quite something!

First, a “new” ghost band, The Tiny Hill Orchestra, has been

added to the ranks.

Second, to keep them going they have found a welcoming

audience of people and a schedule of performances.

And third, for those of us who aren’t in their vicinity, they are

offering a new compact disc!

DAN STEVENS

“You asked what instrument I play,” he noted. “I play

several, my ambition is to be a good big band arranger and to

this end I have learned the rudiments of guitar, bass, drums, all

the saxes, clarinet, and tenor banjo. I can play piano well

enough to use it writing arrangements but not well enough to

perform, although several times I have.”

CD REVIEW

For starters, in my opinion, the tagline “America’s Biggest

Bandleader,” shown on both the CD cover and label, is no

longer appropriate because it referred directly to Tiny himself

and not the band. (In fact, Tiny had lost so much weight by the

late 1960s that, ironically, he had to reassure his audiences that

he was, indeed, the real Tiny Hill.)

Anyway, the CD contains 20 tracks for a total of 52:41,

beginning and closing with Tiny Hill’s original theme song,

Dream Girl, which he co-wrote and recorded for Vocalion in

1939. Also included are Tales From the Vienna Woods, which

Tiny did on the Okeh label in 1941, and Up a Lazy River

(mistitled on the CD Up the Lazy River), a song that Tiny played

in the last few years of his life.

The rest are a mixture of pop hits such as Begin the

Beguine, That’s My Desire, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, By

the Time I Get to Phoenix, The Theme From “New York, New

York,” and Could I Have This Dance?, from various decades.

Because the latter music has no connection to Tiny, none of it

helps to establish the unique identity of “The Tiny Hill

Orchestra,” other than being songs to dance to.

I questioned Dan why Tiny’s biggest hits Angry or Skirts

weren’t included. “Angry and Skirts will be on our next CD,

“Live in Texas 2020,’” he promised. “There are problems

recording live at dances and I never got the takes I wanted on

those two tunes. As you said, those are signature numbers and

I only want the best possible.”

The singer with this new band is an older woman, Deanna

Nelson, who is featured on no less than eight selections.

Honestly, what’s critically missing is Tiny himself, including

his country-twinged male vocals, his playful personality, and his

sense of humor. Those qualities and, equally missing, that

“scratcher” percussion instrument Tiny liked to play (a

descendant of the guiro) are what gave his band its success

and its meaningful and lasting identity.

While I wish Dan, Deanna, and the rest of the band good

luck, without Tiny it just isn’t the same.

MORE BIG BANDS

COUNT BASIE

ORCHESTRA DIRECTED

BY SCOTTY BARNHART

WITH VOCALIST

CARMEN BRADFORD

January 13-18, 2020—

Birdland, New York City,

New York

HARRY JAMES ORCHESTRA DIRECTED BY FRED RADKE

WITH VOCALIST GINA FUNES

January 19, 2020—Sellersville, Pennsylvania

January 20, 2020—Hackettstown, New Jersey

January 31, 2020—Toms River, New Jersey

.

CHRIS DEAN’S

SYD LAWRENCE

ORCHESTRA

January 9-January 22, 2020—Saga cruise from United

Kingdom

January 24, 2020—The Stables, Wavendon, United Kingdom

January 29, 2020—The Core Theatre, Solihull, United Kingdom

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA-USA DIRECTED BY NICK

HILSCHER WITH VOCALISTS HANNAH TRUCKENBROD

AND THE MOONLIGHT SERENADERS

January 12, 2020—Dr. Phillips Center, Walt Disney Theatre,

Orlando, Florida

January 14, 2020—Knight Concert Hall, Miami, Florida

January 16, 2020—Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center,

Ormond Beach, Florida

January 19, 2020—Parker Playhouse, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

January 20, 2020—Marathon High School, Marathon, Florida

January 21, 2020—Coral Shores High School Performing Arts

Center, Tavernier, Florida

January 23, 2020—Kings Point Theater, Sun City Center,

Florida

January 25, 2020—Lewis Auditorium, St. Augustine, Florida

January 26, 2020—Marco Presbyterian Church, Marco Island,

Florida

January 27, 2020—Branscomb Memorial Auditorium, Southern

Florida College, Lakeland, Florida

January 28, 2020– Maxwell C. King Center, Melbourne,

Florida

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA-SWEDEN DIRECTED BY JAN

SLOTTENAS WITH VOCALISTS JENS BERGGREN,

SAMUELA BURENSTRAND, MIKAEL WIKSTROM, AND THE

MOONLIGHT SERENADERS

January 26-27, 2020—cruise aboard M/S Viking Cinderella,

Stockholm, Sweden to Mariehamm, Aland Islands

GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA-UK DIRECTED BY RAY

McVAY WITH VOCALISTS MARK PORTER, CATHERINE

SYKES, AND THE MOONLIGHT SERENADERS

January 4, 2020—City Hall, Hull, England

January 5, 2020—The Sage, Gateshead, England

January 11, 2020—Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England

January 12, 2020—Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, England

January 18, 2020– Queens Theatre, Hornchurch, England

January 19, 2020—Richmond Theatre, Richmond, England

January 26, 2020—Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, England

AND ANOTHER IMPORTANT DATE:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAY ANTHONY

He is the very last of the surviving name bandleaders of the

1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s.

It’s Ray Anthony’s birthday—he turns 98 on the 20th of this

month!

Happy birthday, Mr. Anthony!

Allow me to give the last words of this month’s “Big Band

News” to Dan Stevens, leader of The Tiny Hill Orchestra.

“The major future challenge is dealing with the weak

representation of big band music in the mainstream media and

modern culture,” he observed. “When Doc Severinsen’s band

was let go from ‘The Tonight Show,’ our last major mainstream

platform for the music was lost. Younger generations are not

being connected with well. This needs to change or in another

5 years or so the existing big bands will really have trouble

staying viable.”