Ken Darby

Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for the Munchkinland mayor in The Wizard of Oz (1939), who was portrayed in the film by Charlie Becker. Darby is also notable as the author of The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe (1983), a biography of the home of Rex Stout's fictional detective.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1909 (Nebraska), Died January 24, 1992 (Sherman Oaks)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1935 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: bass vocal, arranger, piano, conductor, songwriter

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 40 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-94198 10-in. 9/7/1935 A picture of me without you Ken Darby ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Ramona Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet vocalist, bass vocal  
Victor CS-95096 12-in. 9/28/1935 Jubilee medley Ken Darby ; Bud Linn ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Ramona Jazz/dance band, with female and male vocal solos vocalist, bass vocal  
Victor BS-99058 10-in. 2/6/1936 Awake in a dream Ken Darby ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Ramona Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet vocalist, bass vocal  
Victor BS-017741 10-in. 12/17/1937 You're out of this world Jerry Blaine ; Stream Line Rhythm Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor D7VB-3156 10-in. 12/12/1947 Johnny Appleseed overture Ken Darby ; Dennis Day Male vocal solo, with vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble conductor  
Decca DLA 2460 10-in. 6/25/1941 Li'l Liza Jane King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2461 10-in. 6/25/1941 The chool song King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2462 10-in. 6/25/1941 Simple Simon King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2463 10-in. 6/25/1941 Old King Cole King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2476 10-in. 6/28/1941 The reluctant dragon King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2477 10-in. 6/28/1941 Old Dan Tucker King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2478 10-in. 6/28/1941 Little brown jug King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2479 10-in. 6/28/1941 Three blind mice King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2480 10-in. 6/28/1941 Polly put the kettle on King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2481 10-in. 6/28/1941 Old MacDonald had a farm King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2487 10-in. 6/30/1941 Travelin' back to Alabam' King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2488 10-in. 6/30/1941 In the morning by the brightlight King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2489 10-in. 6/30/1941 Gabriel's band King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2490 10-in. 6/30/1941 In the evening by the moonlight King’s Men arranger, vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2519 10-in. 7/9/1941 Close 'em windows King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2520 10-in. 7/9/1941 Marching to Pretoria King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2521 10-in. 7/9/1941 Listen to the silver trumpets King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2522 10-in. 7/9/1941 Way up yonder King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2523 10-in. 7/9/1941 Oh dem golden slippers King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
Decca DLA 2524 10-in. 7/9/1941 Tapioca King’s Men vocalist, bass vocal, instrumentalist, piano  
(Results 1-25 of 40 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Darby, Ken," accessed June 1, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103931.

Darby, Ken. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103931.

"Darby, Ken." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 1 June 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103931

External Sources

Wikipedia: Ken Darby

Discogs: Ken Darby

Allmusic: Ken Darby

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Darby, Ken - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82153810

Wikidata: Ken Darby - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2316737

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/41911379

MusicBrainz: Ken Darby - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/bd6e3ff9-b41a-4528-9455-7e1e0bb457eb

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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