Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders was a US jazz and dance band, active from the late 1910s through the 1920s. [1] The group was known simply as The Serenaders until Johnny Hamp became the band leader. [2] Johnny Hamp was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania [3] and should not be confused with British television producer Johnnie Hamp. According to some sources, [3] [4] he became the leader by chance when the band was performing at the Hershey Ballroom in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The band leader at the time had an argument with the players and walked out. Hamp, who never played a musical instrument in spite of being a jazz fan and had no experience as a conductor (in addition, he only sang whenever the chorus was performed by a vocal ensemble or the whole band), volunteered to lead them for the rest of the evening and they accepted. After the performance, the band asked him to stay on as leader. [3] [4] The "Kentucky" in the name appears to be related to the band's use of "My Old Kentucky Home" as a theme song, rather than any connection to the U.S. state of Kentucky. [3]
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music". Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".
Lancaster is a city located in South Central Pennsylvania which serves as the seat of Pennsylvania's Lancaster County and one of the oldest inland towns in the United States. With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities. The Lancaster metropolitan area population is 507,766, making it the 101st largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and second largest in the South Central Pennsylvania area.
The British people, or the Britons, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Celtic Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain and Brittany, whose surviving members are the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, and Bretons. It may also refer to citizens of the former British Empire.
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The group toured in the eastern United States and toured England in 1930. [3] In 1931, the group was renamed Johnny Hamp and His Orchestra. [1] [2] [3]
The group made most of its recordings in New York City [1] on the Victor label. [4] Their biggest hit was "Black Bottom" recorded in 1926, which led to a dance fad; see Black Bottom (dance). [1] [4]
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American record company and phonograph manufacturer headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.
The black bottom is a dance which became popular in the 1920s—the Roaring Twenties, also known as the Jazz Age, and the era of the flapper. It was danced solo or by couples.
Hamp continued to record for Victor until April, 1932. The next session was in August, 1935 for ARC (Melotone, Perfect, Romeo, Oriole). In December, 1936, Hamp was back with Victor recording for their Bluebird label for only two sessions (the second in February, 1937), which turned out to be their last session.
Band members at different times included: [1]
- Howard Bartlett on clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, vocals
- William Benedict on trombone
- Lester Brewer on trumpet
- Charles Buckwalter on piano, vocals and as arranger
- Franklyn Baur on vocals
- Joe Cassidy on clarinet, alto saxophone, vocals
- Roy Cropper on vocals
- Charles Dale on clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
- Cliff Gamet on alto saxophone, vocals
- Carl Grayson (r.n.: Graub) on violin, vocals
- Elwood Groff on bass brass, vocals
- Irwin Hood on piano
- Lewis James on vocals
- Johnny Marvin on vocals
- Johnny McAfee on saxophone, vocals
- Frank Masterson on banjo, vocals
- Frank Munn on vocals
- Billy Murray on vocals
- Walter Pontius on vocals
- Elliot Shaw on vocals
- Charles Socci on guitar, vocals
- Ray Stillson on clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
- John Strouse on drums
- Clayton Tewkesbury on trumpet
- Hal White on violin, vocals
- Jayne Whitney on vocals
- Melvin Watkins playing clarinet and saxophone
The clarinet is a family of woodwind instruments. It has a single-reed mouthpiece, a straight, cylindrical tube with an almost cylindrical bore, and a flared bell. A person who plays a clarinet is called a clarinetist.
The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass saxophone and tubax. Soprano saxophones are the smallest saxophone in common use.
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B♭ (while the Alto is pitched in the key of E♭), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F♯ key have a range from A♭2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists".
Johnny Hamp led other bands in the 1930s and early 1940s ending up as a hotel house band leader in Chicago. [3]
