Joe Bishop

Joe Bishop (November 27, 1907, Monticello, Arkansas - May 12, 1976, Houston, Texas) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer.

Bishop learned piano, trumpet, and tuba when young, and also played flugelhorn and mellophone. He attended Hendrix College, and played professionally with the Louisiana Ramblers in 1927, including in Mexico. He then played with Mart Britt, Al Katz, and Austin Wylie before joining Isham Jones's band for five years. He was a founding member of Woody Herman's band in the 1930s, but he contracted tuberculosis in 1940 and had to leave the group. He was rehired by Herman as a staff arranger later in the 1940s, and his arrangements and compositions were recorded frequently by Herman, appearing on some 50 of Herman's albums. As a performer, Bishop played with Cow Cow Davenport and Jimmy Gordon's Vip Vop Band, but retired from studio work due to his health in the 1950s. He quit music and opened a store in Saranac Lake, New York, and later retired to Texas.

Bishop's compositions include "Midnight Blue", "Woodchopper's Ball", and "Blue Prelude" (with Gordon Jenkins), and his work has been covered by musicians as diverse as Ten Years After and Lawrence Welk.

Birth and Death Data: Born November 27, 1907 (Monticello), Died May 12, 1976 (Houston)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: flugelhorn, composer, arranger, songwriter

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

Recordings (Results 76-100 of 151 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 65380 10-in. 4/12/1939 Big wig in the wigwam Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65381 10-in. 4/12/1939 Dallas blues Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65382 10-in. 4/12/1939 Blues downstairs-1 Woody Herman Orchestra arranger, instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65383 10-in. 4/12/1939 Blues upstairs-1 Woody Herman Orchestra arranger, instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65634 10-in. 5/24/1939 Paleface Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65635 10-in. 5/24/1939 The Sheik of Araby Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65636 10-in. 5/24/1939 casbah blues Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65637 10-in. 5/24/1939 Farewell blues Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65978 10-in. 7/18/1939 East Side kick Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65979 10-in. 7/18/1939 Midnight echoes Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65980 10-in. 7/18/1939 Jumpin' blues Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 65981 10-in. 7/18/1939 Big morning Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66048 10-in. 8/2/1939 Love with a capital You Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66049 10-in. 8/2/1939 Still the bluebird sings Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66050 10-in. 8/2/1939 Love me Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66051 10-in. 8/2/1939 Rosetta Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66529 10-in. 9/11/1939 For tonight Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66530 10-in. 9/11/1939 Fine and dandy Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66531 10-in. 9/11/1939 Put that thing in writing Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66532 10-in. 9/11/1939 can this be love? Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66672 10-in. 9/26/1939 If I knew then Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66673 10-in. 9/26/1939 I'm comin' Virginia Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66674 10-in. 9/26/1939 Blue dawn Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66897 10-in. 11/20/1939 Swingin' a dream Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
Decca 66898 10-in. 11/20/1939 This changing world Woody Herman Orchestra instrumentalist, flugelhorn  
(Results 76-100 of 151 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Bishop, Joe," accessed May 30, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488.

Bishop, Joe. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved May 30, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488.

"Bishop, Joe." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 30 May 2023.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108488

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

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.