Ted Donnelly

Ted "Muttonleg" Donnelly (November 13, 1912 – May 8, 1958) was an American jazz trombonist.

Donnelly began playing violin at age eight and picked up trombone at age twelve. He played first in the orchestra of George E. Lee, and in 1934 played with Tommy Douglas. From 1936 to 1943 Donnelly was in Andy Kirk's retinue, and following this he worked with Count Basie from 1943 to 1950. He also did a USO tour with Al Sears during World War II and worked briefly with Illinois Jacquet. From 1951 to 1957 he played with Erskine Hawkins, and died the following year.

Birth and Death Data: Died May 8, 1958

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1951

Roles Represented in DAHR: trombone, vocalist, composer

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

Recordings (Results 76-100 of 125 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 65189 10-in. 3/16/1939 I'll never learn Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65190 10-in. 3/16/1939 Close to five Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65191 10-in. 3/16/1939 Floyd's guitar blues-1 Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65249 10-in. 3/23/1939 (I wanna go where you go) Then I'll be happy Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65250 10-in. 3/23/1939 S'posin' Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65251 10-in. 3/23/1939 I'll never fail you Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 65252 10-in. 3/23/1939 Why don't I get wise to myself Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 66877 10-in. 11/15/1939 I'm getting nowhere with you Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 66878 10-in. 11/15/1939 I don't stand a ghost of a chance with you Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 66879 10-in. 11/15/1939 Please don't talk about me when I'm gone Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 66880 10-in. 11/15/1939 Big Jim blues-1 Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67010 10-in. 1/2/1940 Wham (Wham-re-bop-boom-bam) Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67011 10-in. 1/2/1940 Love is the thing Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67012 10-in. 1/2/1940 Why go on pretending ? Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67013 10-in. 1/2/1940 It always will be you Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67893 10-in. 6/25/1940 Fine and mellow Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67894 10-in. 6/25/1940 Scratching in the gravel Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67895 10-in. 6/25/1940 Fifteen minute intermission Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67896 10-in. 6/25/1940 Take those blues away Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67917 10-in. 7/8/1940 Now I lay me down to dream Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67918 10-in. 7/8/1940 There is no greater love Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67919 10-in. 7/8/1940 Midnight stroll Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 67920 10-in. 7/8/1940 Little Miss Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 68317 10-in. 11/7/1940 The Count Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
Decca 68318 10-in. 11/7/1940 Twelfth Street rag Andy Kirk ; Twelve Clouds of Joy instrumentalist, trombone  
(Results 76-100 of 125 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Donnelly, Ted," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/312626.

Donnelly, Ted. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/312626.

"Donnelly, Ted." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/312626

External Sources

Wikipedia: Ted "Muttonleg" Donnelly

Discogs: Ted Donnelly

Allmusic: Ted Donnelly

Grove: Ted Donnelly

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Donnelly, Ted, 1912-1958 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2011046940

Wikidata: Ted "Muttonleg" Donnelly - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7693144

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/17409464

MusicBrainz: Ted "Muttonleg" Donnelly - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2bc4c595-92a1-4b14-a66d-b922c2acd8dd

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

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