William Blue

William Thornton Blue (1902 – 1968), sometimes credited as Bill Blue, was an American jazz reed player.

Blue grew up playing in local bands in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was a part-time music instructor. He played with Wilson Robinson's Bostonians, a territory band, and worked with Charlie Creath and Dewey Jackson in the middle of the 1920s. Later that decade he worked with Andrew Preer's Cotton Club Orchestra in New York City and on tour in Europe as a member of Noble Sissle's ensemble. He remained in Paris briefly, playing with John Ricks.

When he returned to New York, he joined The Missourians, led by Cab Calloway, then worked with Luis Russell. Due to failing health, Blue played little in the late 1930s and afterwards; he spent the last several years of his life in a sanatorium.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 31, 1902 (Cape Girardeau), Died 1968

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone

Notes: Full name: William Thornton Blue.

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

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-53971 10-in. 8/1/1929 I've got someone Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-53972 10-in. 8/1/1929 '400' hop Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-53973 10-in. 8/1/1929 Vine Street drag Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-53974 10-in. 8/1/1929 Scotty blues Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-55852 10-in. 9/24/1929 Make a country bird fly wild Henry Allen ; Four Wanderers ; New York Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal quartet instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-58581 10-in. 2/18/1930 Sugar Hill function Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-58582 10-in. 2/18/1930 You might get better but you'll never get well Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-58583 10-in. 2/18/1930 Everybody shout Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-58584 10-in. 2/18/1930 Dancing Dave Henry Allen ; New York Orchestra Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
Victor BVE-59173 10-in. 2/17/1930 Two hundred squabble Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone  
Victor BVE-59174 10-in. 2/17/1930 Swingin' dem cats Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone  
Victor BVE-59175 10-in. 2/17/1930 Stoppin' the traffic Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone  
Victor BVE-59176 10-in. 2/17/1930 Prohibition blues Missourians Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet  
OKeh W403714 10-in. 2/1/1930 Bessie couldn't help it Louis Armstrong Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, alto saxophone  
OKeh W403715 10-in. 2/1/1930 Blue, turning grey over you Louis Armstrong Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, clarinet  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Blue, William," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115680.

Blue, William. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115680.

"Blue, William." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/115680

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