Bob Chester
Bob Chester (March 20, 1908 – October 29, 1966) was an American jazz and pop music bandleader and tenor saxophonist. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Chester's stepfather ran General Motors's Fisher Body Works. He began his career as a sideman under Irving Aaronson, Ben Bernie, and Ben Pollack. He formed his own group in Detroit in the mid-1930s, with a Glenn Miller-influenced sound. This band was unsuccessful in local engagements and quickly dissolved. He then put together a new band on the East Coast under the direction of Tommy Dorsey and with arrangements by David Rose. This ensemble fared much better, recording for Bluebird Records. Chester's group, billed "The New Sensation of the Nation," had its own radio show on CBS briefly in the fall of 1939. The twenty-five-minute program aired from the Hotel Van Cleve in Dayton, Ohio late on Thursday nights (actually 12:30 am Friday morning, Eastern Time); the September 21, 1939 edition can be heard on the One Day In Radio tapes, archived by Washington D.C. station WJSV. Chester's Bluebird records have proved excellent sellers, both for retail dealers and coin phonograph operators such as "From Maine to California"; "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie"; "Madeliaine"; and two songs from "Banjo Eyes" - "Not a Care in the World" and "A Nickel to My Name". His only national hit was "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair" (b/w "I Walk With Music"; Bluebird 10614), which featured Dolores O'Neill on vocals and went to No. 18 on the chart in April 1940. Chester's orchestra included trumpeters Alec Fila, Nick Travis, Lou Mucci, and Conrad Gozzo, saxophonists Herbie Steward and Peanuts Hucko, drummer Irv Kluger, and trombonist Bill Harris. His female singers included Dolores O'Neill, Kathleen Lane, and Betty Bradley; among his male singers were Gene Howard, Peter Marshall, Bob Haymes, and Al Stuart. The orchestra disbanded in the mid-1940s, due in part to the shrinking market for big band sound. After a stint as a disc jockey at WKMH radio, Chester assembled another band for a short time in the early 1950s, but after it failed he retired from music and returned to Detroit, to work for the rest of his life in auto manufacturing. Bob Chester died in October 1966, at the age of 58. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 76-100 of 132 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-060618 | 10-in. | 2/4/1941 | Dolores | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, saxophone, director | |
Victor | BS-060619 | 10-in. | 2/4/1941 | You're dangerous | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, saxophone, director | |
Victor | BS-060620 | 10-in. | 2/4/1941 | You lucky people, you | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, saxophone, director | |
Victor | BS-060958 | 10-in. | 3/4/1941 | My sister and I | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-060959 | 10-in. | 3/4/1941 | Slow down | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-060960 | 10-in. | 3/4/1941 | Feed the kitty | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-060961 | 10-in. | 3/4/1941 | What has happened? | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Darnell | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, songwriter, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-063811 | 10-in. | 4/24/1941 | I'm through throwing good love after bad | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-063812 | 10-in. | 4/24/1941 | Until tomorrow | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Reynolds | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-063813 | 10-in. | 4/24/1941 | Time and time again | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bill Reynolds | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-063814 | 10-in. | 4/24/1941 | Clap your hands on the after beat | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | director, songwriter, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066192 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | You can't get lovin' (Where there ain't any love) | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066193 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | There goes that song again | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066194 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | You were meant for me | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066195 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | In Waikiki | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066196 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | It's so peaceful in the country | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-066197 | 10-in. | 7/8/1941 | You're a natural | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067522 | 10-in. | 8/1/1941 | A new shade of blue | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067523 | 10-in. | 8/1/1941 | I can't believe that you're in love with me | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bob Haymes | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067524 | 10-in. | 8/1/1941 | You betcha my life | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067525 | 10-in. | 8/1/1941 | The wind blows free | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bob Haymes | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067824 | 10-in. | 9/10/1941 | Harlem confusion | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067825 | 10-in. | 9/10/1941 | The magic of magnolias | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Bob Haymes | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067826 | 10-in. | 9/10/1941 | B-i-bi | Bob Chester Orchestra ; Betty Bradley ; Bob Chester ; Bob Haymes | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal trio and vocal ensemble | director, vocalist, instrumentalist, saxophone | |
Victor | BS-067827 | 10-in. | 9/10/1941 | From Maine to California | Bob Chester Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Chester, Bob," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116042.
Chester, Bob. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/116042.
"Chester, Bob." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Chester, Bob, 1908-1977 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2013031414
Wikidata: Bob Chester - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q887844
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/5117144
MusicBrainz: Bob Chester - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3012bb2f-4a2a-4601-82b0-74b341470399
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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