Sammy Kaye Orchestra
Roger Thorpe
Musical Director
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For Booking Informantion contact:
Ted Schmidt & Associates, Inc.
1-800-972-1108
or
Tedschmidt@aol.com
Sammy Kaye, musically, has set the nation's band leading styles for years and his versatility in the music business as a leader, song writer and personality in his own right, has earned him the acclaim of loyal fans and the praise of the country's music critics, Variety, the show business newspaper, once price-tagged the coined phrase, "Swing and Sway" as a $1 million slogan. Sammy Kaye and his band have proved Variety right through the years with their sweet sound of success and as one of the bands that sparked the whole big band scene. Sammy Kaye has been one of the top orchestras in the band business for years because of his ability to relate his music to millions of fans with his superb dancing and listening tempos. He has appeared in movies, radio and television, in addition to his personal appearances in hotels, theatres, nightclubs and concert dates.
His top •selling records and albums attest to the fact that his musical popularity has continued to grow with the years. In the annual disc jockey polls of music trade magazines, Kaye has many times won top honors as the number one sweet band in the land. Yet, while he is associated with the "sweet" sound, he's never been stereotyped in a single groove. He's done swing, lush. strings, show tunes, novelties and with the present day "beat" sound, his latest releases have all the up-to-date touches. The Sammy Kaye story is as truly American as apple pie. It's a success story of a boy who worked his way through college to earn a civil engineering degree, only to find his true expression in music. He had a vital decision to make. A musical career and uncertainty, or the warm feeling of security as a civil engineer. He made his choice, and once it was made, never took a backward step. The rest is musical history. It was during the last half of his college days that Sammy decided to turn to music in an effort to finance the engineering studies that were still his first love. But he soon found himself far more interested in sharps and flats than in T-squares and slide rules. He put together an impromptu band to play school dances and proms and soon his undergraduate rhythm-makers became so popular with the student body that Kaye-.opened the "Varsity Inn" a campus nickel-a-dance spot featuring -his own music. Upon graduation he plunged into the entertainment world, and with the crew intact from his college campus day, went from whistle stop one-nighters to comparatively choice locations where radio networks did broadcast remotes and the Kaye musical signature began to catch on with dancing America. During the 1930's the band was featured on radio broadcast from some of their earliest engagements that included the Cabin Club in Cleveland, Bill Green's Casino in Pittsburgh and Jenkinson's Pavilion in Pt. Pleasant, N.J..
It was the Cabin Club that the famous slogan, "Swing and Sway" became Kaye's trademark. The announcer would introduce the band's appearance with catchy phrases such as "Music in the Rhythmic Way played by Sammy Kaye", "Music in the Sentimental Way played by Sammy Kaye" and occasionally, "Let's Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye." One night some fans came in and called to Kaye, "Hi Swing and Sway". That was it, everything else was dropped and "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye" was born. In 1938 New York demanded the Sammy Kaye band and they followed Tommy Dorsey into the Commodore Hotel's Century Room for two consecutive years. It was here that Kaye hit upon his highly entertaining audience-participation novelty, "So You Want to Lead A Band", when a youngster, encouraged by his girlfriend, challenged Kaye to let him "play" bandleader. After that Kaye and his band played one popular hotel after another. He was a "name" bandleader and his singing song titles plus the magical "Swing and Sway" and "So You Want To Lead A Band" became national favorites. In New York it was the Starlight Roof of the Waldorf-Astoria,.the famous Roosevelt Hotel Grill and Hotel Astor Roof. In Hollywood the band made two movies, Ice Land, for 20th Century Fox and The Song of The Open Road for United Artists. While in Hollywood, Sammy also played the famed Palladium. In Las Vegas they appeared at the Frontier and the Riviera and in Tahoe, the Sahara Tahoe. He pyramided with each record-breaking night
club, theatre and hotel performance until he reached the highest plateau a dance band could ascend, joining and being joined by such musical greats as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Guy Lombardo and the late Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. This was the "Day of the Big Band", the era of the Big Band sound and Sammy Kaye and his orchestra were one of its main-stays. It was then just a foxtrot, jitterbug and waltz to commercial radio, Hollywood and television.
Roger Thorpe
Roger Thorpe, the new leader of the Sammy Kaye Orchestra, began playing the trumpet when he was ten years old. His first taste of success, at age 15, was winning on the popular radio and television show, THE TED MACK ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR. At that point he knew his .career had to be as a Big Band leader like his idol, Harry James.
In high school, Roger took his first Big Band all over eastern New York State. Graduating from high school, he went on his own, playing trumpet with bands such as Les and Larry Elgart, Glenn Miller Orchestra (directed by Ray McKinley), Mort Lindsey, Ralph Flanagan and Woody Herman. Life on the road convinced Roger that college would provide a future more secure than what he had experienced. He went on to become
In 1979, Roger led his Big Band on the same program as Sammy Kaye. He noticed the legendary Kaye and his band waiting off stage for Roger to finish. As he announced his final number, Roger dedicated it to "one of the great Big Band leaders of all time, Mr. Sammy Kaye." Amid the audience's deafening agreement, Sammy Kaye strode on stage, hand outstretched and thanked Roger for his kindness. It was the beginning of a deep and affectionate relationship that continues today.
During their brief talk, Kaye asked Roger if he would like to go on tour with his band to Florida. During the Florida tour, Sammy and Roger became close professional and personal friends. Sammy featured the trumpet playing of his protege, sharing some of the old favorites, especially the one he played for the first time at age 15 on the Ted Mack Show, Sugar Blues. Audiences came to expect other pieces such as You Made Me Love You and And The Angels Sing. Their relationship evolved a warm, personal routine on stage, one the audiences sensed was more than mere show business. Calling Sammy "Maestro," and Roger, "Professor," they charmed audiences throughout the tour and since.
When Sammy decided to give over the baton to the Swing and Sway Orchestra, it was an easy choice. Sammy had featured Roger and been his mentor for so many years that he knew Roger would continue the traditions audiences loved.
Under Sammy Kaye's continued guidance, Roger Thorpe and the Swing and Sway Orchestra will feature "So You Want to Lead a Band," and the legendary Kaydets.