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Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell (March 1, 1905 – November 17, 1993) was born in Oakland, California, United States, as Teodoro Paolella, and became a respected American jazz musician, band leader, composer, and arranger. Some of his compositions were written under the pseudonym Freddy James. Powell began playing violin when he was eight and picked up the banjo when he was fourteen. During the late 1920s to the early 1930s, he was a member of the Abe Lyman orchestra, taking on the additional tasks of gathering radio bands. He formed the Teddy Powell Orchestra in 1939 and it performed through the 1940s. Powell's sidemen included Tony Aless, Gus Bivona, Pete Candoli, Irving Fazola, and Charlie Ventura, but his best sideman left for better paying work. "Snake Charmer", a song Powell published in 1937 (lyrics by Leonard Whitcup), is still a popular song among partner dancers in Finland, where it is usually performed as a translation: Kuningaskobra fi). It placed 69th on the 1952-1959 charts, and is still being recorded by modern performers, as listed in the recordings database of the Finnish national broadcasting company Yle. After the band folded, Powell wrote music and arrangements. He had hits with "Bewildered" and "If My Heart Could Only Talk". During the latter part of his career, he worked in music publishing. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 1, 1905 (Oakland), Died November 17, 1993 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1934 - 1950
Roles Represented in DAHR: director, songwriter, leader, composer, arranger
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 76-100 of 135 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-066964 | 10-in. | 7/18/1941 | Yes, indeed! (A jive spiritual) | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | director | |
Victor | BS-066965 | 10-in. | 7/18/1941 | Amor | Dick Judge ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-067785 | 10-in. | 9/11/1941 | Honey | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-067786 | 10-in. | 9/11/1941 | Make love to me | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-067787 | 10-in. | 9/11/1941 | The birth of the blues | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-067788 | 10-in. | 9/11/1941 | I love you best of all | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-068074 | 10-in. | 11/4/1941 | Serenade to a maid | Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal ensemble | director | |
Victor | BS-068075 | 10-in. | 11/4/1941 | Hoe down | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-068076 | 10-in. | 11/4/1941 | How about you? | Dick Judge ; Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | director | |
Victor | BS-068077 | 10-in. | 11/4/1941 | How do you do without me? | Dick Judge ; Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | director | |
Victor | BS-068078 | 10-in. | 11/4/1941 | Kickin' the conga around | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-068482 | 10-in. | 12/16/1941 | Good-bye, Mama (I'm off to Yokohama) | Dick Judge ; Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet and vocal ensemble | director | |
Victor | BS-068483 | 10-in. | 12/16/1941 | Would it make any difference to you? | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-068484 | 10-in. | 12/16/1941 | All through the night | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-068485 | 10-in. | 12/16/1941 | I ain't tellin' | Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
Victor | BS-071490 | 10-in. | 10/15/1941 | Hereafter | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-071491 | 10-in. | 10/15/1941 | When your old wedding ring was new | Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with vocal quartet | director | |
Victor | BS-071492 | 10-in. | 10/15/1941 | You're not the kind | Ruth Gaylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-071493 | 10-in. | 10/15/1941 | Sweethearts or strangers | Dick Judge ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-073420 | 10-in. | 3/10/1942 | All those wonderful years | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-073421 | 10-in. | 3/10/1942 | 'Tain't no good | Peggy Mann ; Tommy Taylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | director | |
Victor | BS-073422 | 10-in. | 3/10/1942 | If you are but a dream | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-073423 | 10-in. | 3/10/1942 | There won't be a shortage of love | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
Victor | BS-073856 | 10-in. | 4/30/1942 | Somebody's thinking of you tonight | Peggy Mann ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, composer | |
Victor | BS-073857 | 10-in. | 4/30/1942 | Got the moon in my pocket | Tommy Taylor ; Teddy Powell Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Powell, Teddy," accessed May 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106247.
Powell, Teddy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106247.
"Powell, Teddy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 May 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Teddy Powell
Discogs: Teddy Powell
Allmusic: Teddy Powell
IMDb: Teddy Powell
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Powell, Teddy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n90669557
Wikidata: Teddy Powell - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2399911
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/71579079
MusicBrainz: Teddy Powell - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/fd1975dc-a340-4a1c-8b49-32252c2ff96c
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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