Jazz Connection Magazine


Bobby Byrne in a 1941 publicity photo from Decca Records.	Bobby Byrne, at age 83, in March 2002, pictured with
Byrne was a standout in Jimmy Dorsey's band before leading	his trombone in his home in Irvine, CA.
his own own successful outfit in 1939.	*-Photo by Stephen Fratallone/Jazz Connection Magazine*

Bobby Byrne, the handsome trombone-playing bandleader of the 1930s and 1940s, who was best remembered for his exceptional mastery of his instrument, and for the arrangement of his band's signature tune, Danny Boy, and who later became an executive with Enoch Light's Command Records in the 1960s, died on Saturday, November 25, 2006, at Green Hills Care Home in Irvine, CA. He was 88.

He was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease the last year of his life and he died in his sleep after suffering a stroke on Wednesday. "Bobby never woke from his sleep," according to Marilyn Byrne, his wife of 30 years.

Byrne rose to stardom as a teenager while working in the Jimmy Dorsey orchestra beginning in 1935. Four years later, he was leading his own band with Dorsey's blessing. He was considered by many critics to be the definitive trombonist of his era. The then-21-year-old sensation had been described as an "excellent trombonist whose cool jazz solos were ahead of their time." ''Brilliant'' and ''amazing'' were other superlatives often used to describe his playing.

During his over forty years in the music business, Byrne had played with many musical luminaries of the day including Benny Goodman, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Ray McKinley, Bobby Hackett, Freddy Slack, Tutti Camarata, Peanuts Hucko, Roc Hillman, Bob Eberly, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters.

Robert "Bobby" Byrne was born on May 13, 1918, on his grandfather's farm twelve miles south of Columbus, OH. He grew up in Detroit, where his father, an accomplished music professor, taught in the Detroit school system and also taught during the summers at New York University in New York.

Music was so much the life-blood of the Byrne family that Bobby and his younger brother, Don, who later played tenor saxophone and took on some of the arranging duties in his brother's band, started taking music lessons at five years of age.

"There was nothing else but music," Byrne said once in an interview. "Music was in our family every day including weekends. We went through various instruments over the years: piccolo, piano, harp, you name it."

After going through a myriad of musical instruments, Byrne finally settle on the trombone.

"I was just handed a trombone by my father and I was required to learn how to handle it," Byrne said. "My embouchure seemed suitable for a brass instrument, so my father decided that the trombone would be the instrument for me."

Being classically trained, Byrne soon developed a reputation of being a child prodigy, gaining advanced trombone techniques at an early age.

As a 16-year-old student at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Byrne led a small dance band. Through contacts made by his father, Byrne was first introduced to Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey when they visited his school in the spring of 1935. The Dorsey Brothers had students sit in with their band during their presentation at school. Byrne played a set with the group and after it was over, walked away thinking nothing more about it.

The young trombonist's playing so impressed the Dorsey's that Byrne was invited to sit in with the band during its Detroit theater engagement. About a month later, after Tommy Dorsey walked out on the band and formed his own orchestra, Byrne was asked to join Jimmy Dorsey and took over as lead trombone. For almost two years, the Dorsey orchestra was the house band on the Bing Crosby " Kraft Music Hall " radio series originating from Hollywood. Byrne soon began to receive great critical acclaim for his musicianship, and in 1939, with Jimmy's backing, he formed his own orchestra.

Byrne's outfit showcased not only his fabulous trombone tone, but some good ensemble sounds, some great arrangements by veteran arranger Don Redman , a fine bassist in Abe Siegel, an exciting clarinetist in Jerry Yelverton, a trio of very talented vocalists: Jimmy Palmer, Dorothy Claire, and later, Stuart Wade, and a kid drummer who later became a big name in the jazz world, Shelly Manne.

One of the greatest human interest stories of the Big Band Era revolved around Byrne when he was stricken with acute appendicitis during an engagement at New York 's Paramount Theater in October 1940. The media coverage was not so much because of his malady, but from the response he received from members of the musical community. During his hospitalization, a host of top name leaders such as Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Jan Savitt, Guy Lombardo and Abe Lyman, to name a few, filled in for him during their days off to front the band in Byrne's absence so the band would not lose its position at the Paramount.

Byrne's group struggled at first. His big break finally came in 1941 when the orchestra landed a spot at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY . Meadowbrook owner Frank Daily, always ready to one up the Casino, heard about the booking and immediately offered Byrne a spot at his Cedar Grove, NJ, ballroom prior to the Casino engagement. Suddenly Byrne was hot property. Regular radio broadcasts on the Raleigh cigarette-sponsored show opened the door to more bookings as well as an appearance in the 1943 film, Follies Girl.

Byrne disbanded his orchestra in early 1943 when he was offered a commission in the Army Air Corps. He had long expressed an interest in flying and served as both a bandleader and a P-47 pilot during the war.

After his discharge in 1945, Byrne formed a new orchestra, which lasted only a few years. The band business was fading and his reorganized band never experienced the same momentum as his earlier group. In 1946, Byrne and crew made Bobby Byrne and his Orchestra, a ten-minute movie short filmed in NYC which utilized radio and stage performers.

Upon giving up his second band, Byrne freelanced around the New York City area, often working with cornetist Bobby Hackett, and as a solo trombonist for radio, recordings and television.

Byrne's television work included being a cast member on the series, Club Seven (1948-1949 season); musical director from 1952-1954 for Tonight! hosted by Steve Allen and sponsored by Knickerbocker Beer. The show originated as a local New York City late night program, thus giving late night television its start; weekly appearances for three years as a musician on The Lucky Strike Hit Parade; a three-year stint on The Milton Berle Show; an eleven-year run on The Perry Como Show; and numerous Patti Page specials.

From the late 1950s to the late 1960s, Byrne worked as a musician, orchestra leader, producer and promoter for Grand Award Recording Company, a division of ABC Records, and rose to become the A&R director for Command Records, which showcased many classical artists as well as top jazz/pop artists such as trumpeter Doc Severinsen.

In the early 1970s Byrne completely left the music industry for the business world, though he occasionally continued to perform. He retired permanently in the late 1980s.

Byrne is survived by his wife, Marilyn; four daughters from two previous marriages: Shellye Hayden of Alvarado, TX; Barbara Fuhrmann and her husband, Joseph, of Poway, CA; Kathleen Kennedy and her husband, Chuck, of Paramus, NJ; and Eileen Mail of Encinitas, CA; two step-children: Geoffrey Goss of Lake Arrowhead, CA; and Carolyn Cavecche who was elected mayor of the City of Orange in 2006, and her husband, Richard, of Orange, CA; twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service celebrating the life of Bobby Byrne is planned for Saturday, December 9, 2006, at 3 p.m. at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, 18182 Culver Drive, Irvine, CA.

In my quest to search out and interview remaining former bandleaders from the Big Band Era, guitarist/sideman Roc Hillman was kind enough to provide me with Bobby Byrne's contact information. In March 2001, wrote to Bobby requesting a telephone interview. He graciously consented.

The following March, I was to attend the annual reunion of the Big Band Academy of America in Studio City, CA. I came to Southern California a day early hoping to meet Bobby Byrne personally. I telephoned him a month before the reunion and asked if I could possibly visit with him in his Irvine home. He and his wife, Marilyn, graciously said, "Yes."

I spent the entire afternoon visiting with the Byrne's talking about his band days and Bobby was very accommodating. Both he and Marilyn insisted that I stay for dinner. It turned out to be a delightful day.

I visited the Byrne's every March during the following two years prior to my attending the BBAA reunions. I had come to really grow close to Bobby and Marilyn during these times. We exchanged letters, Christmas cards, occasional telephone calls. Anytime that I came into possession of any Bobby Byrne recordings or photos, etc., I made it a point to share it with them.

In 2004, I came into a collection of all of Bobby's 1939-1942 Decca recordings on pristine 78 records. After transferring these priceless musical gems onto CDs and sending him copies, I asked Bobby what 78's he was missing in his original collection. I felt that he should have the original platters as heirlooms of sorts, for his children. I packed about eight of the fragile platters very carefully and securely in my carry-on luggage. The airport security screeners couldn't figure out what I was carrying as I was going through the security checkpoint. After seeing what I possessed, they let me pass unmolested.

Both Bobby and Marilyn were happy to receive the the replacement 78s. It was then I noticed that Bobby's mental faculties were quickly fading - early warnings of Alzheimer's disease. His short-term memory was almost non-existent. He would frequently ask me what he could do to be of help to me, etc.

Earlier this year, I telephoned Marilyn and it was then she shared the sad news with me that she reluctantly had to put Bobby in a local care facility because she couldn't handle his angry outbursts any more. Physically, he was becoming too difficult to care for by one person.

I had written letters to Bobby monthly while he was in the care facility, letting him know that people out in the world were thinking of him and cared for him. Of course, his ability to fully comprehend was challenging at best, but Marilyn kept the letters in her purse and re-read them to Bobby a number of times during her visits.

Four days before Bobby passed away, Marilyn called me to ask if I would write Bobby's obituary as she sensed he was taking a turn for the worst. She wanted to be prepared. Bobby had had a seizure of some kind or a stroke and never woke from his sleep. Marilyn called me on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 25 informing me that Bobby had passed away that morning.

I'm saddened that the music world has lost a wonderful artist, and I lost a friend. However, I am happy that Bobby was courageous enough a few months before he died to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, thanks to the loving concern and influence of the Hospice chaplain and a local clergyman. I rejoice that Bobby is part of that heavenly band where he is playing his magnificent trombone along side Gabriel's horn. It's a concert that I will look forward to hearing with much anticipation!

The following article on Bobby Byrne was based on a telephone interview I conducted with him and was originally published in the May 2001 issue of Jazz Connection Magazine.

Trombonist Bobby Byrne Talks Of Leading Bands, Working In Studios, And As a Record Exec

Former bandleader Bobby Byrne in a recent

photo. Byrne led a popular band in the early

1940s and later did studio work and became

an executive with Command Records.

If Bobby Byrne hadn't been talked in to leading his own band in 1939, he might well have been content to remain the trombonist in Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra. The handsome twenty-one-year-old sensation who has been described as an "excellent trombonist whose cool jazz solos were ahead of their time," went on to lead a very popular and successful band.

"Jimmy's agent talked me into it," said Byrne, 82, in a telephone conversation from his home in Irvine, CA. "He decided it would be good for me at that point. I didn't know whether it would be good for me or not. I had no true aspirations along those lines. I got a group of people together to do just that for the next several years."

In addition to his band leading notoriety, Byrne also became a much-in-demand free lance and studio musician after World War II, and later as the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) for Command Records.

When Byrne started out on his adventure, he was more fortunate than most aspiring bandleaders. Besides possessing exceptional mastery of his instrument and having band experience, he had a booking agency that was behind him one hundred percent and a recording contract with Decca Records.

Between Oct. 18, 1939 to March 13, 1942, Byrne and his orchestra waxed 54 sides for Decca, most of which were swinging original novelty-type dance tunes.

"In many cases, the companies that I was working for at the time, would help me with the material," Byrne said. "They were much more interested in making a saleable product, obviously. I was young in those days and not as bright as I thought I was. Some of those recordings are very dated, now that I look at them. How in the world could I have done something like that?"

Some of those "dated" tunes in the Byrne canon include Speaking Of Heaven and Make With The Kisses (both recorded Oct. 18, 1939, with vocals by Jimmy Palmer); If It Wasn't For The Moon (vocal by Jimmy Palmer), Two Little Doodle Bugs (vocal by Dorothy Claire), One Cigarette For Two (vocal by Jimmy Palmer) and Barnyard Cakewalk (all recorded Dec. 14, 1939); Way Back in 1939 A. D. (vocal by Jimmy Palmer), Busy As A Bee (vocal by Dorothy Claire) (both on Feb. 14, 1940); If I Could Be The Dummy On Your Knee (vocal by Dorothy Claire - April 2, 1940); I Found A Million-Dollar Baby (In A Five-And-Ten Cent Store) (vocal by Dorothy Claire and Stuart Wade - April 29, 1941); and Down, Down, Down (What A Song) (vocal by Dorothy Claire - June 18, 1941).

During this period Byrne wrote, My Colleen, a hit song for the band which was never recorded commercially, and he was also noted for the arrangement of the band's signature tune, Danny Boy (recorded Sept. 4, 1940).

One of the biggest human interest stories from the Big Band era involved the young and up-and-coming bandleader when he was stricken with acute appendicitis during an engagement in October 1940, at New York's Paramount Theater. The 22-year-old Byrne received heavy media coverage not so much because of his malady, but rather, from the response he received from members of the musical community. During his hospitalization, a host of top name leaders filled in for him during their days off to front the band in Byrne's absence so that he would not lose his position at the Paramount.

"Even though the band business was competitive, there's a sense of fraternity among leaders to help each other out when they can," Byrne explained. "It was publicity for all of us. Let's put it this way, it was a major theater and it was exposure. I don't think any of them (bandleaders) got paid for it, but after all, the publicity never hurts."

Bandleaders such as Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, Jan Savitt, and even Guy Lombardo, to name a few, pitched in to help. According to music critic George T. Simon, the Byrne orchestra's favorite substitute during this period was veteran sweet bandleader Abe Lyman.

"I never heard that," Byrne said about Simon's comment. "If that happened, I'd be surprised."

Robert "Bobby" Byrne was born on May 13, 1918, on his grandfather's farm twelve miles south of Columbus, OH. Growing up in Detroit, Byrne's

father, a music professor, taught in the Detroit school system and also taught during the summers at New York University in New York.

Music was so much the life-blood of the Byrne family that Bobby and his younger brother, Don, who later played tenor saxophone and did some of the arranging duties in his brother's band, started taking music lessons at age 5.

There was nothing else," Byrne said. "Music in our family was every day, including weekends. We went through various instruments over the years: piccolo, piano, harp, you name it."

After going through a myriad of musical instruments, Byrne finally settle on the trombone.

"I was just handed a trombone by my father and I was required to learn how to handle it," Byrne said. "My embouchure seemed suitable for a brass instrument so my father decided that the trombone would be the instrument for me. It was my duty to play it day in and day out."

Being classically trained, Byrne soon developed a reputation of being a child prodigy, a term he repudiates.

"I don't even think of that in those terms," he said. "It was a duty that I truly felt that would be helpful to me in a career. I was oriented in that area."

Byrne honed his trombone-playing skills without benefit of listening to any jazz-oriented trombonists of the day, he said.

As a 16-year-old student at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Byrne led a small dance band. Through contacts made by his father, Byrne was first introduced to alto saxophonist/clarinetist Jimmy and trombonist Tommy Dorsey when they visited his school during the spring of 1935.

"Jimmy and Tommy were in Detroit with their band playing at one of the major theaters and my dad invited them to visit the music students at school," Byrne recalled. "I had never heard of them before and my dad was quite insistent that I go listen to them. The brothers were having students sit in with the band during their presentation at school. I was required to play a little with the group. I did. After it was over, I walked away thinking nothing more about it."

But that wasn't the case. As a result of Byrne's exceptional playing, Tommy Dorsey invited the teenage brassman to sit in with the band during its Detroit theater engagement. Byrne accepted the invitation. Other musicians in the band at the time were George Thow, trumpet; Joe Yukl and Don Mattison, trombones; Jack Stacy, alto saxophone; Arthur "Skeets" Herfurt, tenor saxophone/vocals; Bobby Van Eps, piano: Roc Hillman, guitar/vocals; Del Kaplan, bass; Ray McKinley, drums; and band vocalists Kay Weber and Bob Crosby. Glenn Miller was arranging for the band. (Note of interest: As of this writing, Roc Hillman, now age 90, who resides in Woodland hills, CA, and Kay Weber Sillaway, age 91, a resident of Dallas, TX, are the two surviving members of the original Dorsey Brothers' band.)

"My parents drove me to the theater and I played a few sets," Byrne said. "I went back home thinking that was the end of it."

About a month later, Byrne received a letter from Corcoran O'Keefe, the Dorsey Brothers' booking agent, asking him to join the band, he said.

Tommy Dorsey had abruptly walked off the bandstand at the beginning of the band's summer engagement at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY, in May 1935, as a result of heated misunderstanding that had been building up between he and his brother, Jimmy. (When Tommy started to count off the tempo to I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again, Jimmy said it seemed a little too fast. Jimmy's remark, innocuous in itself, was the last straw in a partnership that had been simmering with resentment for a long time. Tommy glared at his brother, then packed his trombone and walked off. An attempt at reconciliation failed and soon both men were leading their own outfits). Byrne joined the band at Glen Island Casino, which, by default, was led by Jimmy.

"I sat in and I thoroughly enjoyed myself," Byrne said. "I played Tommy's book."

According to future bandleader Larry Clinton, who was arranging for the band then, Tommy's book was tough to master and Byrne handled it flawlessly.

It has been said that many trombonists of that period looked to Tommy Dorsey as a leader in developing "new" trombone styles. Byrne is somewhat hesitant to conform or deny such an assessment.

"My own feeling in this area is a little bit different," he said. "Tommy was a marvelous player. I thought of him as a fine player and a good friend. Without question, he made the trombone recognized for its artistic quality."

After a month playing with the band, led by Jimmy Dorsey, Byrne had heard that Tommy was technically under contract to properly finish his involvement with the Dorsey Brothers' band and that he would be rejoining the group soon.

"I figured that would be the end for me, so I was ready to head back for Detroit," Byrne said. "As it turned out, Tommy only played for a week and he insisted that I stay on. When he left for good, I was in the band from that point on."

Jimmy Dorsey's band from 1936 included Freddy Slack (standing left); Bobby Byrne (seated front left);

Tutti Camarata (over Byrne's right shoulder); Bob Eberly (over Byrne's left shoulder); Roc Hillman

(to Eberly's left); and Ray McKinley (back row, third from right).

Byrne stayed with Jimmy Dorsey from 1935 to 1939. During those years he played with such outstanding musicians as Ray McKinley, drums; Roc Hillman, guitar; Skeets Herfurt, alto saxophone; Tutti Camarata, Shorty Sherock, Ralph Muzillo, trumpets; Don Mattison, trombone; Bobby Van Eps, piano, and later Freddy Slack; Fud Livingston and Herbie Haymer, tenor saxophones; and vocalists Kay Weber, Bob Eberly, June Richmond, and Helen O'Connell, who joined Dorsey during Byrne's last few months with the band.

Herfurt, Hillman and Mattison, forming a vocal trio, usually sang the novelty rhythm numbers, with McKinley joining in on occasion, while Eberly and Weber sang the ballads, and O'Connell doing the rhythm tunes.

"It was a fine orchestra," Byrne said. "I was basically the Dorsey Brothers' orchestra without Tommy."

Jimmy Dorsey officially took over the band under his own name in September 1935, after the completion of the summer season at Glen Island Casino as the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra.

Bobby Byrne, top right, forms a third of the trombone

trio that plays pretty behind bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.

In 1936, the Jimmy Dorsey aggregation landed a great job as the house band on the Bing Crosby Kraft Music Hall radio series that originated from Hollywood. The job lasted for almost two years. However, due to a freeze on personal appearances and touring, J.D.'s band lacked the commercial successes that initially came Tommy's way.

J.D.'s band was under recording contract with Decca Records and waxed a number of outstanding sides with top name artists, including crooner Bing Crosby on I Can't Escape You, The House That Jack Built For You, and I'm An Old Cowhand (all July 17, 1936); songstress Frances Langford on Easy To Love and Rap Tap On Wood, I've Got You Under My Skin, and Swingin' The Jinx Away (all from early August 1936); trumpet and jazz icon Louis Armstrong, who fronted the band on Skeleton In The Closet, When Ruben Swings The Cuban, Hurdy-Gurdy Man, Dipper Mouth Blues and Swing That Music (all recorded Aug. 7, 1936); and the Andrews Sisters (Patty, Maxene and LaVerne) on Tu-Li-Tulip Time and Sha-Sah (both on July 27, 1938), and Billy Boy and Hold Tight, one of the female vocal trio's biggest hits (both on Nov. 21, 1938).

The J. D. band also waxed some early hits of their own including the two-beat instrumental, Parade Of The Milk Bottle Caps (July 7, 1936); a pair of swinging instrumentals, John Silver and Dusk In Upper Sandusky (both on April 29, 1938); and some Bob Eberly ballads on They Can't Take Away From Me (March 17, 1937), Love Is Here To Stay (Jan. 25, 1938), Deep Purple (Feb. 10, 1939, which climbed to Number Two on the chart), and Stairway To The Stars (June 16, 1939).

In spite of his relaxed manner when it came to leading a band, Byrne considers Jimmy Dorsey, known as "The World's Greatest Saxophonist," an outstanding instrumentalist, he said.

"In his area, I'd say Jimmy was equally musically proficient as Tommy," he said. "They both had the same background. Their father taught both of them."

Many musicians have come to the conclusion that as a result of the original band's split, J. D. would hire exceptional trombonists in his band as a way of "getting back" at his brother, while T. D. would showcase superb clarinetist in retaliation. Byrne disagrees.

Byrne's own outfit showcased not only his fabulous trombone tone, but some good ensemble sounds; some great arrangements by veteran Don Redman; a fine bassist in Abe Siegel; an exciting clarinetist in Jerry Yelverton; a trio of fine vocalists : Jimmy Palmer, Dorothy Claire, and later, Stuart Wade; and a kid drummer who later became a big name in the jazz world: Shelly Manne.

It has been said that Byrne was a musical perfectionist who drove his men exceptionally hard, and a result, the band as a whole was unusually tense. Byrne described his band leading style in this way:

"I was trying music that would 'fit' the capabilities that I had, limited though they may be on my instrument. I found a few singers that could handle a lyric. They weren't great, but they were good singers. I tried to make the music I was dealing with and make it acceptable as I possibly could and to treat it with respect. I worked diligently at trying to make it sound well. People did their best for me."

When the band waxed its first three recordings on Oct. 18, 1939, its vocalist was a young man by the name of Jimmy de Palma. De Palma's given surname was printed on the record labels as providing the vocal refrains on Speaking Of Heaven, Make With The Kisses and Can't We Be Friends. After these recordings, he became know as Jimmy Palmer.

"For some reason our management decided that they didn't want to emphasize Jimmy's surname and came up with a new surname for him," Byrne said.

Palmer stayed with Byrne until the end of 1940 and then returned briefly in early 1942, replacing Stuart Wade. Palmer made 19 commercial cuts with Byrne. He later led a popular territory band in the Midwest.

Bobby Byrne fronting his band at Frank Daily's Meadowbrook in Cedar Grove, NJ, early 1941

At the next recording session on Dec. 14, 1939, singer Dorothy Claire had joined the band cutting her first sides with Two Little Doodle Bugs and How Many Times? She quickly became a popular attraction to the Byrne aggregation. She was also the source of some heated controversy between Byrne and rival bandleader Glenn Miller.

In early 1941, Marion Hutton left Miller, and Miller wooed Claire over to his camp, resulting in some ill feelings between the two bandleaders. Claire stayed with Miller less than three months before returning to Byrne. During her absence, Kay Little, another fine vocalist, took over the girl singer chores for Byrne. While with Byrne, Claire recorded 17 commercial sides.

Upon Claire's return, Byrne also hired new boy singer Stuart Wade, a handsome baritone with a fine sense of phrasing who later became a standout with Freddy Martin's band. From April through July 1941, Wade recorded ten songs with the Byrne orchestra.

"I didn't discover Stuart Wade," Byrne said about the misconceived notion that he somehow discovered the singer, "I took advantage of his talents!"

The Byrne orchestra traveled the usual band circuit, did their share of one-nighters in various parts of the country, and played at Frank Daily's Meadowbrook, the landmark night spot in Cedar Grove, NJ. Another big break that came Byrne's way was when his band was hired to play at Glen Island Casino, the country's top dance spot and also nicknamed "The Cradle of Name Bands."

Byrne also captured the Raleigh cigarette-sponsored radio show which added greater exposure for his band.

Just as things were going well, some set backs occurred. In addition to his appendicitis attack, one of Byrne's most important engagements at the Hotel New Yorker was canceled at the last moment due to an electricians' strike.

There was also an embarrassing moment on stage when Byrne wanted to showcase his harp-playing abilities for the audience in New York's Strand Theater. Byrne was also a fine harpist, and he played the stringed instrument by identifying the notes using colored strings.

"The harp strings are set up by a color scheme," Byrne explained. "The C-naturals are green and F's blue. All the rest of the strings are the same color. That's the way you find the respective notes."

Just as Byrne was about to play, the lighting man in the theater thought he would lend mood to the performance by bathing the bandleader in a purple spotlight. Chaos ensued.

"When the stage guy hit me with the purple light, all the strings looked white!" Byrne said. "I couldn't tell one string from the other. That was the end of my performance right there."

By the end of 1942, Byrne was very popular and he and the band went to Hollywood to appear in the "B" film, Follies Girl, directed by William Rowland and starring Wendy Barrie, Doris Nolan and Gordon Oliver. A young, attractive up-and-coming starlet named Virginia Mayo also appeared in the film as an uncredited extra.

Byrne disbanded his outfit in early 1943 to heed Uncle Sam's call to arms when he was offered a commission in the Army Air Corps due to his interest and ability to fly airplanes. He was trained as a P-47 pilot.

"I went where they told me to go," Byrne said. "I graduated in Class 44-A, that's how classes were differentiated when finished," Byrne said. "I started in the Army Air Corps and transferred to Air Service to complete pilot training school."

Bobby Byrne, far right, takes a solo while in military uniform as a guest performer with Tommy Dorsey's band at the University

of Texas prom in 1944. Dorsey is seated at far left, while Gene Krupa, who joined Dorsey after serving a few months in prison for a

questionable marijuana rap, is on drums. The Clarke Sisters who formed the vocal group, The Sentimentalists, are front center.

After World War II ended, Byrne organized another band that briefly featured alto saxophonist Larry Elgart and arrangements by Charlie Albertine, who later helped to create the Elgart band style. Stuart Foster often appeared as guest male crooner in Byrne's new band, while Karen Rich provided the "feminine touch" to the vocal duties. She helped to create a minor hit for Byrne with the bouncy tune, Hey, Bobby! (May 20, 1946). Trumpeter Dick Luther would also sing some of the novelty rhythm tunes. In 1946, Byrne and crew were also the subject of the two-reel musical short, Bobby Byrne and his Orchestra.

Indicative of most big bands that regrouped after the war, Byrne's was also short lived. He gave up leading a full-time outfit at the end of 1947.

"The first few years after the war the band business was pretty good but then it went all to pieces," Byrne said. "I decided that life is too short and I didn't want to live this way any longer. We did an honest job and tried to play good music as best we could, but I was also dog-tired of one-nighters!"

Byrne then became a "hired gun," so to speak, working as a freelance artist in jazz clubs in the New York City area with cornet legend Bobby Hackett. He also went into the studios working as a solo trombonist for radio, recordings, and television.

"I worked with everybody," Byrne said. "Whatever the music was, I played it. I picked up my check and went to another date. Sometimes I'd do three or four recording sessions in a day. It was a good way to be comfortable in music and to play all kinds of music. I enjoyed the remuneration."

Bobby Byrne and his band in the 1946 two-reel movie short, Bobby Byrne and his Orchestra.

In February 1953, Byrne was part of an all-star orchestra led by Benny Goodman to record a memorial album for the late arranger Fletcher Henderson, who played an important role in Goodman's early success. Appearing in the band with Byrne on Wolverine Blues, You're A Heavenly Thing, What A Little Moonlight Can Do, and I'll Never Say "Never Again" Again were trumpeters Billy Butterfield, Chris Griffin and Jimmy Maxwell; trombonists Lou McGarity and Cutty Cutshall; alto saxophonists Milt Yaner and Hymie Shertzer; tenor saxophonists Boomie Richmond and Al Klink; pianist Bernie Leighton; guitarist Barry Galbraith; with Eddie Safranski on bass; and Don Lamond on drums; and former Goodman vocalist Helen Ward.

From the late 1950s throughout the 1960s, Byrne worked as a musician, orchestra leader, producer and promoter for Grand Award Recording Company, a division of ABC Records) and spent the next seven-plus years rising to the position of Director of Artists and Repertoire for Enoch Light's Command Records.

"Enoch hired me," Byrne said. "I did everything that had to do with practicing music. We had many great artists and with my classical background, it helped."

Albums that Byrne recorded during this period as a musician and orchestra leader include The Great Themes of America's Greatest Bands Played By The All-Star Orchestra Conducted By Bobby Byrne (Grand Award Records); Dixieland (Grand Award Records); Greatest Hit Songs Of Glenn Miller (Grand Award Records 1958); Greatest Hit Songs Of Dorsey (Grand Award Records 1958); Jazzbone's Connected (Grand Award 1960); 1966 Magnificent Movie Themes Played By Bobby Byrne And His Orchestra (Command Records); The Roaring '20s: The Charleston City All-Stars Conducted By Enoch Light (series recordings Grand Award Records); and A Shade Of Brass (Command Records).

As the A&R man for Command Records, one of Byrne's functions was to seek out artists to record. Prominent artists to sign on with the label included trumpet sensation Doc Severinsen, noted for his flashy suits and who went on to direct Johnny Carson's Tonight Show band; and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, who did the bulk of the company's symphonic works.

"My classical background came in handy in this area because I was familiar with the music we were recording," Byrne said. "I was qualified to make certain judgments on pieces."

While Byrne was busy seeking musicians out, younger trombonists never sought him out for technical and artistic tips on the instrument, he said.

Byrne also led an all-star group on the project, Dixieland Jazz, for Waldorf Music Hall Records featuring clarinet great Peanuts Hucko. Rounding out the group for the session were Pee Wee Erwin, trumpet; Lou Stein, piano; Jack Lesberg, bass; and Cliff Leeman, drums.

"Peanuts is a good friend and we enjoyed those sessions together," Byrne said. "We had a good time playing that type of music."

In March and April 1958, Byrne was part of an all-star aggregation recording session led by trumpeter and Duke Ellington stalwart, Cootie Williams, for RCA Records called Cootie Williams In Hi-Fi. The trumpetless band (save for Williams himself) also included in various groupings, Billy Byers, Lou McGarity, Chauncey Welch and Dick Hixson, trombones; Phil Bodner, Elwyn Fraser, Nick Caiazza, Romeo Penque and Boomie Richmond, saxophones; Lou Stein, Hank Jones and Henry Rowland, piano; George Barnes, Tony Mottola and Barry Galbraith, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Don Lamond and Osie Johnson, drums; Bill Stegmeyer, arranger.

On the topic of today's music, Byrne chooses to the the rhetorical question of "Who can argue with taste?" be his guide.

"Everyone has their own tastes in music," he said. "They are all entitled to it. Their thoughts are as good as mine. I'm not going to criticize it. I know what I like. If others differ, that doesn't bother me at all."

Bobby and Marilyn Byrne in 2001.

In the early 1970s Byrne completely left the music industry for the business world, though he occasionally continued to perform. He retired permanently in the late 1980s.

"I served my apprenticeship," he said. "I have no interest in it anymore. I can't stand to see the pain in people's eyes when they hear me. I don't go backwards. I had my shot at it and I enjoyed it. I got great pleasure out of doing what I was doing."

Byrne retired as a major in the Air Force Reserve and retained his pilot's license until a few years ago. He also enjoys going skeet shooting.

Byrne looks and sounds like an energetic man in his 50s and he wants to keep things that way, he said.

"When you consider what the alternative is, it's not that great," he said with a laugh. "I feel well and my wife, Marilyn, takes good care of me."

Byrne has been married three times. He has a daughter from his first marriage, Shellye Hayden of Alvarado, TX; and three daughters from his second marriage: Barbara Fuhrman of Poway, CA, Kathleen Kennedy of Paramus, NJ, and Eileen Mail of Encinitas, CA; he is married to his current wife, Marilyn, a former elementary school teacher, on Jan. 1, 1977. Byrne has twelve grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Byrne is somewhat reluctant when it comes to sharing his thoughts as to what his contribution may be to big band music.

"I truly couldn't even comment on that," Byrne said. "I have never thought of it in those terms. It would be fatuous in my thinking to think of myself in that area. If I gave pleasure to people who listened to my music, that's great. If I didn't, then turn the dual! I enjoyed working as a musician and playing all kinds of music with many people over the years. I tried not to embarrass myself by playing poorly."

Bobby Byrne, left, with Roc Hillman, his friend and former

band mate from the Jimmy Dorsey days, in front of Byrne's

Irvine home in October 1999.