Red Norvo
Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His recordings included "Dance of the Octopus", "Bughouse", "Knockin' on Wood", "Congo Blues", and "Hole in the Wall". |
Birth and Death Data: Born Beardstown (city in Cass County, Illinois), Died April 6, 1999 (Santa Monica (beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1955
Roles Represented in DAHR: director, vibraphone, xylophone, piano, songwriter, vocalist
See Also: Norville, Kenneth
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 160 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-101132 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | The touch of your lips | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-101133 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | Will I ever know? | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-101134 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | I don't want to make history | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-101135 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | I hope Gabriel likes my music | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-101136 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | You | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-101137 | 10-in. | 3/27/1936 | You never looked so beautiful | Red Norvo ; Stew Pletcher Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | director | |
| Victor | BS-027216 | 10-in. | 9/23/1938 | Jump jump's here | Elisse Cooper ; Eddie De Lange Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | songwriter | |
| Victor | E4LB-4610 | 10-in. | 6/11/1954 | All I wanna do | Red Norvo | director, vocalist, instrumentalist, vibraphone | ||
| Victor | E4LB-4612 | 10-in. | 6/11/1954 | "X" marks the hits | Red Norvo | director, vocalist, instrumentalist, vibraphone, songwriter | ||
| Victor | D7VB-0091 | 10-in. | 1/24/1947 | Up on atom | Eric Siday Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, xylophone | |
| Victor | D7VB-0092 | 10-in. | 1/24/1947 | Slightly Volga | Eric Siday Orchestra | Instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, xylophone | |
| Columbia | C1733 | 10-in. | 1/8/1937 | A thousand dreams of you | Mildred Bailey ; Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
| Columbia | C1734 | 10-in. | 1/8/1937 | Smoke dreams | Mildred Bailey ; Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
| Columbia | C1735 | 10-in. | 1/8/1937 | Slumming on Park Avenue | Mildred Bailey ; Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
| Columbia | C1736 | 10-in. | 1/8/1937 | I've got my love to keep me warm | Mildred Bailey ; Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo | director | |
| Columbia | C1853 | 10-in. | 3/22/1937 | Remember | Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | C1854 | 10-in. | 3/22/1937 | Liza | Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | C1855 | 10-in. | 3/22/1937 | I would do anything for you | Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | C1856 | 10-in. | 3/22/1937 | Jiving the jeep | Red Norvo Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | CO16021 | 10-in. | 9/26/1934 | Old fashioned love | Red Norvo Swing Septet | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | CO16022 | 10-in. | 9/26/1934 | I surrender, dear | Red Norvo Swing Septet | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | COW16033 | 10-in. | 10/4/1934 | Tomboy | Red Norvo Swing Septet | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | COW16034 | 10-in. | 10/4/1934 | The night is blue | Red Norvo Swing Septet | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | CO16703 | 10-in. | 1/25/1935 | Honeysuckle rose | Red Norvo Swing Octet | Jazz/dance band | director | |
| Columbia | CO16709 | 10-in. | 1/25/1935 | With all my heart and soul | Red Norvo Swing Octet | Jazz/dance band | director |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Norvo, Red," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103480.
Norvo, Red. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103480.
"Norvo, Red." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Red Norvo
Discogs: Red Norvo
Allmusic: Red Norvo
Grove: Red Norvo
IMDb: Red Norvo
Britannica: Red Norvo
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Norvo, Red - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82020521
Wikidata: Red Norvo - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q491814
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/71578896
MusicBrainz: Red Norvo - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/54badd18-ff72-4409-bd06-acf6b0011529
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87218 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/87218
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