March | 2019 | 78 RECORDS, CYLINDER RECORDS & VINTAGE PHONOS

Red Nichols’ Early Years: A Clipping Archive
(1911 – 1926)

Ogden, Utah, March 1911

Ogden, Utah, December 1920

Ogden, Utah, September 1921

Brigham City, Utah, February 1922

Brigham City, Utah, September 1922. Nichols’ 1922 stay with Paul Whiteman is virtually undocumented, and there is no evidence that he made any recordings with the band at that time. He rejoined Whiteman in 1927 but left after approximately five weeks.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 1923. The Syncopating Five made several Gennett specials in Richmond, Indiana, in November 1922 (private recordings paid for by the performers and not listed in the Gennett catalog). “Dore” is Clyde Doerr, whose orchestra made some unremarkable Victor records in 1922.

Indianapolis, May 1924. The personnel listed here differ somewhat from the listing in Brian Rust’s Jazz Records and derivative works, which don’t cite their sources.

Scranton, Pennsylvania, January 1925 (with Lanin’s name misspelled). Among the members of the Scranton Sirens was clarinetist Jimmy Dorsey, whom Nichols tapped for his Five Pennies in 1926.

Nichols with the Earl Carroll’s Vanities orchestra (Pittsburgh, September 1925). This was the band’s initial line-up; personnel changed considerably over the course of the show’s run.

Hartford, Connecticut, July 1926. There had been frequent personnel changes in the Vanities band by this time, including the substitution of Don Voorhees for Ross Gorman as director. Nichols’ first Five Pennies line-up was drawn largely from this group (note the misspelling of Miff Mole as “Miff Molso”).

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Some Early Red Nichols Favorites

CALIFORNIA RAMBLERS (as VARSITY EIGHT): Charleston

New York: May 13, 1925
Cameo 741 (mx. 1448 – C)

RED & MIFF’S STOMPERS: Stampede

New York: October 13, 1926
Edison 51854 (mx. 11246 – C)

RED NICHOLS & HIS FIVE PENNIES: That’s No Bargain

New York: December 8, 1926
Brunswick 3407 (mx. E 20995)

Bix’s End: Clippings from Bix Beiderbecke’s Final Years (December 1929 – August 1931)

A sobering look at Bix Beiderbecke’s final years, after his drinking became unmanageable and he was put on what would turn out to be permanent leave by Paul Whiteman. Back in Davenport, Beiderbecke was reduced to living with his parents and playing college and social-club dances with obscure local bands. There were sporadic, unsuccessful attempts at a comeback — in September 1930 he cut three sides in New York credited to Bix Beiderbecke & his Orchestra (actually a Victor studio creation under the direction of others) that received polite reviews but failed to sell, and in the spring of 1931 he returned briefly to Jean Goldkette’s orchestra in Detroit. But ultimately, he was unable to overcome his addiction, and he died in New York in August 1931.