
Andy Kirk
Andrew Dewey Kirk (May 28, 1898 – December 11, 1992) was a jazz saxophonist and tubist who led the Twelve Clouds of Joy, a band popular during the swing era. Kirk grew up in Denver, Colorado, where he was tutored by Wilberforce Whiteman, Paul Whiteman's father. Kirk started his musical career playing with George Morrison's band, but then went on to join Terrence Holder's Dark Clouds of Joy. In 1929 he was elected leader after Holder departed. Renaming the band Clouds of Joy, Kirk also relocated the band from Dallas, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri. Although named the Clouds of Joy, the band has also been known as the Twelve Clouds of Joy due to the number of musicians in the band. They set up in the Pla-Mor Ballroom on the junction of 32nd and Main in Kansas City and made their first recording for Brunswick Records that same year. Mary Lou Williams came in as pianist at the last moment, but she impressed Brunswick's Dave Kapp, so she became a member of the band. Kirk moved the band to Kansas City, and since their first recordings in 1929–1930, they grew popular as they epitomized the Kansas City jazz sound. In mid-1936, he was signed to Decca and made scores of popular records until 1946. He presumably disbanded and reformed his band during that 6-year recording layoff, as his 1929–1930 Brunswick appeared to have sold well enough to stay in the catalog through the period and 1933-34 pressings (with the mid-1930s label variations) have been seen. In 1938, Kirk and band held the top spot of the Billboard chart for 12 weeks with "I Won't Tell a Soul (I Love You)", written by Hughie Charles and Ross Parker, featuring Pha Terrell on vocals. In 1942, Kirk and His Clouds of Joy recorded "Take It and Git", which on October 24, 1942, became the first single to hit number one on the Harlem Hit Parade, the predecessor to the Billboard R&B chart. In 1943, with June Richmond on vocals, he had a number 4 hit with "Hey Lawdy Mama". |
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Birth and Death Data: Born May 28, 1898 (Newport), Died December 11, 1992 (New York City)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1945
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, bass saxophone, tuba, composer, saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 145 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brunswick | E35750 | 10-in. | 12/15/1930 | Saturday | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | E35751 | 10-in. | 12/15/1930 | Sophomore | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C4470 | 10-in. | 4/30/1930 | Snag it | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C4471 | 10-in. | 4/30/1930 | Sweet and hot | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C4472 | 10-in. | 5/1/1930 | Snag it | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C4473 | 10-in. | 5/1/1930 | Mary’s idea | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C4480 | 10-in. | 5/1/1930 | Once or twice | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C6017 | 10-in. | 7/15/1930 | Gettin’ off a mess | Seven Little Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C6018 | 10-in. | 7/15/1930 | You rascal, you | Seven Little Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C6019 | 10-in. | 7/15/1930 | [Unknown title(s)] | Seven Little Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C6177 | 10-in. | 9/30/1930 | Okay, baby | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C6178 | 10-in. | 9/30/1930 | Dallas blues | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C6430 | 10-in. | 10/9/1930 | Dallas blues | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C6431 | 10-in. | 10/9/1930 | Travelin’ that rocky road | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | C6432 | 10-in. | 10/9/1930 | Honey, just for you | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C6435 | 10-in. | 10/9/1930 | You rascal you | Andy Kirk ; Seven Little Clouds Of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C4460-C4461 | 10-in. | 4/29/1930 | I lost my gal from Memphis | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | C4462-C4463 | 10-in. | 4/29/1930 | Loose ankles | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Brunswick | KC591 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Mess-a-stomp | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader | |
Brunswick | KC592 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Blue clarinet stomp | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | leader, composer | |
Brunswick | KC593 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Cloudy | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader, composer | |
Brunswick | KC594 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Casey Jones special | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader, composer | |
Brunswick | KC595 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Casey Jones special | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader, composer | |
Brunswick | KC596 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Casey Jones special | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | leader | |
Brunswick | KC597 | 10-in. | Nov. 1929 | Casey Jones special | Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy | Jazz/dance band | leader, composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kirk, Andy," accessed June 1, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105570.
Kirk, Andy. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105570.
"Kirk, Andy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 1 June 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kirk, Andy, 1898-1992 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n87135528
Wikidata: Andy Kirk (musician) - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q526442
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/2656663
MusicBrainz: Andy Kirk - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ad248993-817e-4e86-a267-000b19b8820c
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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