Erskine hawkins biography of rory
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The band went on to draw a loyal and enthusiastic public following during its high-profile engagements at the posh Savoy Ballroom.
The Bama State Collegians eventually evolved into the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, with the group making its recording debut in 1936. Once released to the public, the tune became an instant hit selling more than a million records and reaching #7 on the pop charts.
The track featured Parrish's piano playing from the longer song "Fine and Mellow". The Concord proved to be an ideal setting for Hawkins's old fashioned swing. In 1950 he legally separated from Florence, later marrying Gloria Dumas. Initially a drummer, Erskine learned to play several other instruments as well, including baritone saxophone and trombone, before turning his focus to trumpet at age 16.
Several members of Hawkins's first serious professional ensemble had been childhood friends.
1954; RCA Victor recording artist, 1938-50; recorded "Tuxedo Junction," 1939; led band at Concord Hotel, Kiamesha Lake, NY, 1967-89; numerous festival appearances, including 1979 Nice Jazz Festival.
Erskine Hawkins's Awards
Honorary Doctorate in Music, Alabama State Teachers' College, 1947; Lifetime Work Award for Performing Achievement, Alabama Music Hall of Fame, 1989.
Famous Works
- Selective Works
- Complete Erskine Hawkins, 1938-39, RCA Black & White.
- Jubilee, RCA, 1943.
- One Night Stand, RCA, 1946.
Further Reading
Periodicals
- Jazz Journal, July 1972, p.
In 1937 Hawkins signed a booking contract with the Savoys Moe Gale, who got him a recording contract on RCA Victor's Bluebird label. (Whatley was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 1991.)
While attending Alabama State Teachers College in Montgomery, Hawkins became the leader and trumpeter for a band called the Bama State Collegians.
The song was co-written by Hawkins and bandmates Bill Johnson and Julian Dash. Seven years later, Hawkins – who continued to play trumpet and perform live well into his 70s – became one of the first five artists inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. It was this showmanship, not to mention his ability to emulate Armstrong's solos, that made Hawkins the natural choice to take over as leader when Shims left the band in 1936.
The band made its first recording that year, under the name "Erskine Hawkins and His 'Bama State Collegians." Their first recordings, mostly cheap and scratchy, did not sell particularly well.
Hawkins died at his home in New Jersey in 1993 and is buried in Birmingham's Elmwood Cemetery.
Hawkins studied the technique of Louis Armstrong on recordings.
began reaching a wider audience around 1938. It was actually quite common for Bascomb to take the more sophisticated, jazzier solos, while Hawkins's delivered his customary onslaught of high-not pyrotechnics. He, his sister and three brothers grew up in a house directly across from Tuggle Institute, with his maternal grandfather and other members of his mother's family, the Sneads, who helped Carrie Tuggle rebuild the school in 1920 after a fire.
During the summers he played with neighborhood bands, often spending Sundays at Tuxedo Park with older musicians. At the height of the big band era, Hawkins’ signature high-note trumpet inspired an appropriate musical moniker, “The 20th Century Gabriel.”
Hawkins attended Industrial High School in Birmingham, where one of his instructors was J.T.
“Fess” Whatley, an influential African American music teacher who trained many of the musicians who went on to populate jazz bands fronted by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Skitch Henderson. A large part of the band's success stemmed from the virtuosity of all its soloists, and each was given ample opportunity to show off his chops.
Hawkins's next big hit, "After Hours," was recorded the following year.
Within a few weeks, however, it was clear to all that music was his true calling. The band became a regular attraction at the Savoy, and Hawkins became the de facto house bandleader.