Benny Krueger

Benny Krueger (June 17, 1899 – April 29, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist.

After a short stint with Ross Gorman's band, Krueger's joined the Acme Sextette in New York, which included Miff Mole on trombone, Ernie Holst on violin, and Edwin Taylor Williams on banjo. He had the distinction of being one of the first jazz saxophonists on record. In 1920, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, following a successful tour of England, cut a number of sides for the Victor Talking Machine Company. One of Victor's managers insisted, against the ODJB members' wishes, that a saxophonist be included on their early recordings. Krueger was chosen by Victor as the saxophonist, and he recorded with the ODJB in 1920 to 1921, according to Rust's Jazz Records 1897-1942.

Following the ODJB recording date, Krueger recorded numerous sides for Brunswick and Vocalion under his own name, as well as under several pseudonyms. His final recording session was for Columbia Records in May 1934, recording songs from the 1934 Carole Lombard-Bing Crosby film We're Not Dressing.

In the 1930s he worked in radio and served as musical director and orchestra conductor for Rudy Vallee and Bob Crosby. He was also a songwriter; "Sunday" was covered by Pat Boone, Lester Young and Louis Jordan). Among his outstanding recordings with his orchestra was "I Don't Know Why" (1931).

Birth and Death Data: Born June 17, 1899 (Newark), Died April 29, 1967 (Orange)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1920 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: alto saxophone, leader, saxophone, composer, songwriter, tenor saxophone, clarinet

Notes: Sometimes listed as Bennie Kreuger.

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 396 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-24580 10-in. 11/24/1920 In the dusk Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24581 10-in. 11/24/1920 Margie Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24590 10-in. 12/4/1920 Palesteena Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24809 10-in. 12/30/1920 Broadway Rose Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24810 10-in. 12/30/1920 Sweet mamma (Papa's getting mad) Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24825 10-in. 1/28/1921 Home again blues Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor B-24826 10-in. 1/28/1921 Crazy blues Original Dixieland Jazz Band Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor BVE-36238 10-in. 9/14/1926 Sunday Ben Pollack's Californians Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BVE-36829 10-in. 10/15/1926 Sunday Jean Goldkette Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal chorus songwriter  
Victor BVE-37245 10-in. 12/15/1926 Sunday Williams Sisters Female vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble composer  
Victor BVE-37501 10-in. 12/31/1926 Sunday Gene Austin Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor BVE-40972 10-in. 11/29/1927 Oh! Look at that baby Johnny Hamp ; Kentucky Serenaders Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BVE-41314 10-in. 12/4/1927 Oh look at that baby Charles J. Correll ; Freeman F. Gosden Male vocal duet, with piano composer  
Victor BVE-49999 10-in. 2/28/1929 That's the good old sunny South Benny Krueger’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Victor BVE-50900 10-in. 2/28/1929 Down among the sugar-cane Benny Krueger’s Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Victor BS-046055 10-in. 1/2/1940 Sunday Larry Clinton Orchestra Jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor BS-066792 10-in. 10/16/1941 Sunday Benny Carter Orchestra Jazz/dance band songwriter  
Victor [Trial 1920-01-22-04] Not documented 1/22/1920 St. Louis blues Benny Krueger Alto saxophone solo, with piano instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
Victor [Trial 1926-11-04-01] 10-in. 11/4/1926 Sunday Segar Ellis Male vocal solo songwriter  
Victor [Trial 1927-11-05-01] 10-in. 11/5/1927 Oh! Look at that baby Gertrude Newman Female vocal solo, with instrumental quartet composer  
Columbia W141426 10-in. 12/22/1925 Hot coffee Ernest Hare ; Billy Jones Male vocal duet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia W141427 10-in. 12/22/1925 Hot coffee "Ukulele" Bob McDonald Male vocal solo, with ukulele composer  
Columbia 141459 10-in. 1/6/1926 Hot coffee Honey Duke and his Uke Male vocal solo, with ukulele composer  
Columbia 142860 10-in. 10/22/1926 Sunday Broadway Bellhops ; Jack Wilson Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
Columbia W142872 10-in. 10/25/1926 Sunday Charles Kaley ; Radiolites Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter  
(Results 1-25 of 396 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Krueger, Benny," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112549.

Krueger, Benny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112549.

"Krueger, Benny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/112549

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