Everything about Charlie Spivak totally explained
Charlie Spivak (
17 February 1905 or
1907–
1 March 1982) was an
American trumpeter and
bandleader, best known for his
big band in the 1940s.
The details of Spivak's birth are unclear. Some sources place it in the
Ukraine in 1907, and say that his family emigrated to settle in
New Haven, Connecticut while he was a child. Others place his birth in New Haven two years earlier, in 1905. What is certain is that he learnt to play trumpet when he was ten years old, and played in his
high school band, going on to work with local groups before joining
Don Cavallaro's orchestra.
He played with
Phil Sprecht's band for most of 1924 to 1930, then spent time with
Ben Pollack (1931–1934), the Dorsey brothers (1934–1935), and
Ray Noble (1935– 1936). He spent 1936 and 1937 mostly working as a studio musician with
Gus Arnheim,
Glenn Miller,
Raymond Scott's radio orchestra, and others, followed by periods with
Bob Crosby (1938),
Tommy Dorsey (1938–1939), and
Jack Teagarden (1939).
Finally, with the encouragement and financial backing of Glenn Miller, he formed his own band in November 1939. Though it failed within a year, he tried again shortly afterwards, this time taking over an existing band (
Bill Downer's) and making a success of it. Spivak's band was one of the most successful in the 1940s, and survived until 1959.
Spivak's experience playing with jazz musicians had little effect on his own band's style, which was straight dance music, made up mainly of ballads and popular tunes. Spivak himself (known as "Cheery, Chubby Charlie") had always been noted and used for his tone rather than for any improvisational ability.
A number of the band's musicians were to make names for themselves, including drummer
Davey Tough, bassist
Jimmy Middleton, trumpeter
Les Elgart, trombonist
Nelson Riddle, and singers
Garry Stevens,
June Hutton,
Tommy Mercer,
Jimmy Saunders, and
Irene Daye (who had sung with
Gene Krupa, and whom Spivak married in 1950). Riddle was also responsible for many of the band's arrangements, together with
Sonny Burke.
When the Spivak orchestra broke up, he went to live in
Florida, where he continued to lead a band until illness led to his temporary retirement in 1963. On his recovery, he continued to lead large and small bands, first in
Las Vegas, then in
South Carolina; in
Greenville, South Carolina in 1967 he led a small group featuring his wife as vocalist. She died in 1971 after years of fighting cancer. Spivak continued to play and record until his death.
Discography
- 1958: Pinciana (Design)
- 1985: Charlie Spivak and his Orchestra (Ranwood)
- 2002: Dance Date (Collectors Choice Music)
Sources and external links
Charlie Spivak
— brief biography by Scott Yanow, for AllMusic.
Charlie Spivak — biography from Solid!Further Information
Get more info on 'Charlie Spivak'.
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