Erskine Hawkins Orchestra

The Bama State Collegians is a student jazz orchestra made up of students at Alabama State University. This group was organized in the late 1920s by Len Bowden, Fess Whatley, and Paul Bascomb. Bowden went on to direct the Navy's music program at Camp Robert Smalls during World War II. John Tuggle "Fess" Whatley (1895-1972) was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and has a K-8 school in Birmingham named after him.

The Bama State Collegians have been directed by a number of notable musicians, including Tommy Stewart and Erskine Hawkins.

The group also holds an important place in jazz history. In 1934, the entire group travelled to New York and became the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, recording hit records such as Tuxedo Junction, which rose to No. 7 nationally by Erskine Hawkins and No. 1 by Glenn Miller. Members of this band worked with the NBC Orchestra, the Lucky Millinder Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and others.

Among those who have played with the orchestra are Dud Bascomb, Paul Bascomb, Avery Parrish, and Haywood Henry.

In 2011, the story of Erskine Hawkins and his start in the Bama State Collegians was the subject of a Florida State University Film School MFA Thesis Film "The Collegians", written and directed by Alabama State University alumn Bryan Lewis.

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group

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

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 133 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-041378 10-in. 10/2/1939 You can't escape from me Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-041379 10-in. 10/2/1939 Rehearsal in love Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-041380 10-in. 10/2/1939 Satan does the rhumba Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-041381 10-in. 10/2/1939 More than you know Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-041382 10-in. 10/2/1939 Uptown shuffle Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-045784 10-in. 12/20/1939 I hadn't anyone till you Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-045785 10-in. 12/20/1939 Baltimore bounce Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-045786 10-in. 12/20/1939 Fine and mellow Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-045787 10-in. 12/20/1939 Saboo (Doing the saboo) Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-047277 10-in. 2/27/1940 Dolomite Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-047278 10-in. 2/27/1940 Midnight stroll Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-047279 10-in. 2/27/1940 Whispering grass Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-047280 10-in. 2/27/1940 Gabriel meets the duke Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-050157 10-in. 4/26/1940 Song of the wanderer (Where shall I go?) Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Jimmy Mitchell Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-050158 10-in. 4/26/1940 Too many dreams Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-050159 10-in. 4/26/1940 You bring me down Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-051260 10-in. 6/10/1940 Junction blues Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-051261 10-in. 6/10/1940 Sweet Georgia Brown Paul Bascomb ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with tenor saxophone solo Musical group  
Victor BS-051262 10-in. 6/10/1940 Ashes in the tray Dolores Brown ; Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo Musical group  
Victor BS-051263 10-in. 6/10/1940 Five o'clock whistle Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-051264 10-in. 6/10/1940 After hours Erskine Hawkins Orchestra ; Avery Parrish Jazz/dance band, with piano solo Musical group  
Victor BS-057362 10-in. 11/6/1940 Put yourself in my place Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-057363 10-in. 11/6/1940 Norfolk Ferry Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-057364 10-in. 11/6/1940 Soft winds Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
Victor BS-057365 10-in. 11/6/1940 Nona Erskine Hawkins Orchestra Jazz/dance band Musical group  
(Results 26-50 of 133 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Erskine Hawkins Orchestra," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.

Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954.

"Erskine Hawkins Orchestra." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/111954

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