University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 24 text:

THE JAYHAWKER i 1 FROM the orchestra platform of the Memorial Union Ballroom on varsity nights, most of the Hill society can be surveyed in one sweeping glance. Inevitable is the small crowd of stags and couples crowded about the stand, too in- trigued by the music to dance. Farther out on the floor more ac- tive couples truck, glide, laugh, and, this year, big apple with noisy enthusiasm. As often as not, whether at a free mid-week or a $3.00 class party, even standing room is at a premium. K. U. is dance-conscious. And the credit is largely that of the K.U. dance bands, Louie Kuhn ' s and Red Blackburn ' s, top-notch in the Middle West. Five years ago students of this University did not know of swing, the blessed event for modern dance bands. Organized campus bands were not capable of meeting outside competition whether on or off the campus. But today, swing, as interpreted by Red ' s and Louie ' s orchestras, is completing the stu- dent ' s education. The orchestras themselves are out of the amateur class, with a record of engage- ments equal to many famous bands in this section of the country. Back in the fall of ' 33, our first personality, found in the bands to- day, broke into the lime light. Red Blackburn, medical student, took over the most prominent Hill band organized and led by one Bill Phipps. Whereupon the in- dustrious Phipps promptly or- ganized another, thus utilizing all the good dance band musicians available on the campus. During that winter these Hill bands handled all the Hill dances more capably than ever before. In the fall of ' 34, Phipps turned over his second band to Bill Hibbs, who successfully fronted it that winter. Phipps, still the man at the controls, acting as booker, keeping the bands busy, remained in the background. Replacing Hibbs as leader and bringing a new name, in the fall of ' 35, came one Wayne Wright, capable, enter-

Page 23 text:

21 1 J 1 J Photo by Hoffman In pairs and in crowds the stu- dents flocked to the afternoon sessions. I ONG predicted and hailed enthusiastically, swing has burst onto the | Hill. Blaring music, truckin ' , jam bands, the Big Apple all are part of the same sweeping trend for free expression. The style of this fall ' s dancing is a far cry from that of no farther back than last Christmas. Today ' s swing mania at K.U. was forecast just before school opened, as early arrivals pushed back the tables at the new Cottage and danced to the nickelodeon phonograph. Excitement of boys ' rushing was over- shadowed by excitement over the first jam band in a Hill hangout, as sweating, swaying humanity piled three layers deep in booths just for a peek. The cafeteria was next, and then the Jayhawk. When Benny Goodman came to Kansas City, K.U. made a mass pilgrimage, jamming the trains, paralyzing the highway, to stand in wide-eyed worship. Said Goodman over the air: K.U. is definitely an important branch of the swing school. Phcto by Hoffman In the afternoon, they just watched, sometimes standing. In the evening, they danced, at a Varsity or other party, swinging out with abandon. This year ' s music, this year ' s dancing, demands timeouts. These girls were sitting here partly to rest, partly to cool off, partly because room was all gone inside. The ' rested at night too. This gang is on the steps just outside the Union ballroom during one of those sweltering affairs that first week.

Page 25 text:

OCTOBER 1937 2J raining, redheaded, already well- known at M.U. The reputation the band quickly gained was re- tained when Dick Gossett took it over in the spring of that year. It was then that organizer Phipps left the campus for more attractive offers in the east, leaving mild chaos among the hodgepodge of student musicians. For some time now a certain Louie Kuhn, with a very passable band but no recog- nition, had been struggling to get engagements, finding competition against the organizing ability of Bill Phipps very hard indeed. Now Louie had the chance he had been waiting for. He and Red, along with the rest of the old timers in the bands, got their heads together, with the result that the three bands dissolved themselves into two com- plete and talented dance bands, incorporated into the Unit Music Service. These surviving bands were the ones that are now sc familiar. Not the least responsible for the success of these bands is Henry Miller, booker for the Unit Music Service. Henry, short, jovial, and vocally inclined, travels about, since his graduation from the Fine Arts school, and keeps the bands busy every week end, which is necessary to guarantee the musi- cians their means of support in school. He also scouts for candi- dates for new members in the bands. All is legitimate; support is promised, and the prospective swing-cat gets his money for the hard work that he expects and loves. A far cry is this from the By CHARLES ALEXANDER haphazard organization of the first university dance bands. Advancement has been spec- tacular. Miller keeps the bands busy and the bands steadily im- prove. As the bands improve they are more in demand, so it is easier to keep them busy. Among the new stars that Henry discovered for K.U. swing include: Dale Alligator Shroff, innocuous master of ceremonies in Louie ' s Band, front man for the smaller Dixie Land jam unit, and hitter of hot trumpet licks. Dale hailed from Kansas State College at Manhattan. Eddie Singleton, present front man for Kuhn, Ray Buckley, and Dorothy Jean Rus- sell, cute little soloist that was such a success in Kansas City last summer and packed the stags in front of the bandstand this fall. Lynn Hackler, first trumpet, had a band at Emporia State Teacher ' s College, and for the past year has been on the road with an orchestra whose engagements in- cluded Chicago and New York. Duff Samples and Don Wright are new ones shipped in from Emporia. And back from six months with Chic Scoggins comes our favorite keyboardman, Bud Frink, still nonchalant, slumped half under the piano- In Louie Kuhn ' s early days, when he was struggling hectically for existence as an outside band competing against organized bands on the Hill, he got his first summer engagement at Rockaway Beach, Missouri. His next summer, 1935, was spent at the Rendevous at St. Joseph. By sheer determination and an improved band he gained headway and reputation. His firs t summer after his full recognition by the Hill was spent at Lake Okabojie, and on the road, play- ing as far north as St. Paul, Min- nesota. He topped all previous records by his splendid reception during his 14 week engagement at Fairyland Park in Kansas City, this last summer, bringing in greater business for the park than did his (Continued on page 79)