Matthew Michael "Matty" Malneck (December 9, 1903 – February 25, 1981) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

violinist, songwriter, and arranger.

Career

Born in 1903, Malneck's career as a violinist began when he was age 16. He was a member of the

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

orchestra from 1926 to 1937 and during the same period recorded with

Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady", and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentime ...

, Annette Hanshaw,

Frank Signorelli Frank Signorelli (May 24, 1901 – December 9, 1975) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Signorelli was born to an Italian Sicilian family in New York City, New York. Signorelli was a founding member of the Original Memphis Five in 1917, ...

, and

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He al ...

. He led a big band that recorded for Brunswick, Columbia, and

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. His orchestra provided music for '' The Charlotte Greenwood Show'' on radio in the mid-1940s and '' Campana Serenade'' in 1942–1943. A newspaper article published September 19, 1938, noted that having only one brass instrument in Malneck's eight-instrument group was "unique for swing" as were the $3,000 harp and a drummer who played on "an old piece of corrugated paper box". The group played in the film ''

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

'' (1939) and ''

You're in the Army Now In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' (1941). Malneck announced he was changing the group's name to Matty Malneck and His St. Louis Blues Orchestra. Malneck's credits as a songwriter have overshadowed his contributions as a performer. He composed songs which became hits, such as "Eeny Meeny Miney Mo" (1935) and " Goody Goody" (1936; both with lyrics by

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

), " I'll Never Be the Same" (1932; music by Malneck &

, lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (G ...

), and " I'm Thru With Love" (1931; music by Malneck & Fud Livingston, lyrics by Kahn).

References

External links

Matty Malneck recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malneck, Matty 1903 births 1981 deaths Musicians from Newark, New Jersey American jazz violinists American male violinists Songwriters from New Jersey 20th-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters