Alice Faye With The Hal Kemp Orchestra
Double or Nothing is a 1937 musical comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Martha Raye, Andy Devine, Mary Carlisle, William Frawley, Samuel S. Hinds, and Frances Faye. The most famous song from the film is "The Moon Got In My Eyes".
Alice Faye (May 5, 1915 -- May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer, called by the New York Times "one of the few movie stars to walk away from stardom at the peak of her career." She is remembered first for her stardom at 20th Century Fox and, later, as the radio comedy partner of her husband, bandleader-comedian Phil Harris. She is also often associated with the Academy Award--winning standard, "You'll Never Know", which she introduced in the 1943 musical, Hello, Frisco, Hello.
Hal Kemp led the most popular and the most musical sweet band of the mid-1930s. With muted trumpets and full clarinet tones, its distinct sound earned it a large and dedicated following. Always the friendly, Southern gentleman, Kemp was well-liked by everyone and treated his musicians well. Bandmembers often referred to Kemp's orchestra as a ''fraternity.''
One of the main reasons for the band's success was arranger John Scott Trotter. The orchestra did not feature any outstanding musicians, and no one, save Trotter and Kemp, could read music particularly well. Kemp and Trotter often hummed their parts to the musicians. Trotter was brilliant in working around this limitation. None of the trumpeters could sustain notes and play legitimate tones, so Trotter muted the trumpets and introduced staccato triplets into the charts. This gave the band a unique sound, which Johnny Mercer jokingly referred to as like a ''typewriter.'' In contrast to the trumpets the clarinets played simple, sustained notes, often through megaphones. The musicians would place their fingers through holes in the sides of the megaphones and play softly. Out would come a rich, round tone.
The orchestra's heyday ended when Trotter left in 1936. New arrangers Hal Mooney and Lou Busch took the group in a different direction, creating a more fuller big band sound. Lead trumpeter Earl Geiger also left that year. His unique, delicate trumpet playing was never replaced. Ennis and Dowell left in 1938, further deteriorating the band's unique sound.
The Kemp band of the late 1930s couldn't seem to make up its mind on whether it was going to be a swing band or a sweet band, and its popularity began to slip. Allen remained as lead male vocalist. Nan Wynn and, later, future actress Janet Blair were the female vocalists. By late 1940, however, Blair and two key musicians had departed the band, and Kemp, realizing the need for a change, decided to revamp the group's sound. Kemp never realized his goal, however. On December 19, while driving from Los Angeles to a booking in San Francisco, his car hit another head on. Kemp suffered multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung. He developed pneumonia while in the hospital and two days later passed away.
Ennis and Trotter returned to the band after hearing the news. Allen took over leadership and tried to keep it going, but without Kemp the band was lost and soon broke up. Original saxophonist Porky Dankers reassembled some of the orchestra members a few months later, and under the leadership of Art Jarrett tried to revive the group, with Gale Robbins as female vocalist. It lasted only a few months, however, before it broke up, and the Hal Kemp Orchestra passed into the history books forever.
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