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George Wettling

George Godfrey Wettling (November 28, 1907 – June 6, 1968) was an American jazz drummer.

He was born in Topeka, Kansas, United States, and from his early teens was living in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the young Chicagoans who fell in love with jazz as a result of hearing King Oliver's band (with Louis Armstrong on second cornet) at Lincoln Gardens in the early 1920s. Oliver's drummer, Baby Dodds, made a particular and lasting impression on Wettling.

Wettling went on to work with the big bands of Artie Shaw, Bunny Berigan, Red Norvo, Paul Whiteman, and Chico Marx, but he was at his best with bands led by Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and himself. In these small bands, Wettling demonstrated the arts of dynamics and responding to a particular soloist that he had learned from Baby Dodds.

Wettling was a member of some of Condon's bands, which included Wild Bill Davison, Billy Butterfield, Edmond Hall, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell, Cutty Cutshall, Gene Schroeder, Ralph Sutton, and Walter Page. In 1957, he toured England with a Condon band that included Davison, Cutshall, and Schroeder.

Toward the end of his life, Wettling, like his friend clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, took up painting and was influenced by the American cubist Stuart Davis. He has been said to have believed that "jazz drumming and abstract painting seemed different for him only from the point of view of craftsmanship: in both fields he felt rhythm to be decisive".

Birth and Death Data: Born November 28, 1907 (Topeka), Died June 6, 1968 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, traps

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

Recordings (Results 101-125 of 143 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 84273 4/7/1953 Since my best gal turned me down Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84274 4/7/1953 Swingin' the blues Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84297 4/9/1953 Ostrich walk Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84298 4/9/1953 Louisiana Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84501 5/14/1953 I'm coming Virginia Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84502 5/14/1953 Riverboat shuffle Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84503 5/14/1953 Singin' the blues Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 84504 5/14/1953 Clarinet marmalade Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86741 9/2/1954 When my dreamboat comes home Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86742 9/2/1954 Careless love, part 1 Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86743 9/2/1954 Careless love, part 2 Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86744 9/2/1954 Careless love, part 3 Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86747 9/3/1954 Judy Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86748 9/3/1954 Oh, Doctor Ochsner Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86749 9/3/1954 Washington and Lee swing Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 86750 9/3/1954 My wild Irish Rose Muggsy Spanier and his Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 88869 12/6/1955 Singin' the blues till my Daddy comes home Jimmy McPartland Jazz Band instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 89304 2/1/1956 Jazz me blues Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 89305 2/1/1956 In a mist Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 89306 2/1/1956 Way down yonder in New Orleans Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 89307 2/1/1956 Sorry Jimmy McPartland Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 90697 10-in. 4/24/1936 Eccentric Jimmy McPartland's Squirrels instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 90698 10-in. 4/24/1936 Original Dixieland one-step Jimmy McPartland's Squirrels instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 90699 10-in. 4/25/1936 I'm all bound 'round with the Mason-Dixon line Jimmy McPartland's Squirrels instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 90700 10-in. 4/25/1936 Panama Jimmy McPartland's Squirrels instrumentalist, drums  
(Results 101-125 of 143 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wettling, George," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

Wettling, George. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

"Wettling, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504

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