Richard Dominic Stabile (May 29, 1909 – September 18, 1980) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. Cary Grant Betsy Drake Dick Stabile 1955

Career

He was born in

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The son of a band leader and violinist, Stabile learned piano and violin at an early age. His father got a job with band leader

Vincent Lopez Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist. Early life and career Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Distinguished Am ...

on the condition that he learn saxophone. Seeing his father play, Stabile started playing saxophone, too, and was hired by Jules Ansel at the Brunswick Hotel in Newark. He then went on tour with band leader

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

, Ansel's cousin, and remained with Bernie from 1928 to 1936, appearing on Bernie's weekly radio show as lead alto saxophonist and soloist. In 1936, Stabile started his own ensemble, the All-America "Swing" Band, which featured

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

Dave Barbour David Michael Barbour (May 28, 1912 – December 11, 1965) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Peggy Lee and was her co-writer, accompanist, and bandleader. Biography Barbour was born in Long Island, New York, United States ...

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 Stan King. He recorded with vocalists such as Berigan, Paula Kelly, Burt Shaw, and Gracie Barrie, the last of which he would go on to marry. During this time, he recorded for the labels

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

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...

, ARC, and

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

Okeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

. His band worked often in hotels in New York City, and was chosen to play at the New York World's Fair in 1959–60. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Stabile led a band while serving in the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

; Gracie Barrie led his own ensemble in his absence. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles and became music director for Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and had a small role as 'Private Pokey' in their film, ''

At War with the Army ''At War with the Army'' is a 1950 American musical comedy film directed by Hal Walker, released by Paramount, starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis and introducing Polly Bergen. Filmed from July through August 1949, the film premiered i ...

''.Simon, George T. (1974). ''The Big Bands''. Collier Books. p. 479. After spending the latter 1960s leading dance bands at Los Angeles ballrooms, Stabile took a job at the Hotel Roosevelt in New Orleans, where he worked from the middle of the 1970s until his death from a heart attack in 1980.

Vocalists

Evelyn Oaks sang with Stabile's orchestra in 1939, and Paula Kelly sang with him prior to joining the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1941.

Instruments

Stabile designed a line of saxophones and clarinets that carried his name.

Personal life

Stabile was married to and divorced from Gracie Barrie. Stabile was the cousin of singer

Dolly Dawn Dolly Dawn (born Theresa Maria Stabile; February 3, 1916 – December 11, 2002) was an American big band singer. She was vocalist with George Hall (musician), George Hall's Hotel Taft Orchestra in the 1930s, and later had a solo career. Life She ...

(aka Theresa Stabile)

Discography

As leader

* ''Dick Stabile Plays for You'' (

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, 1957) * ''At the Statler'' (

Tops Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), S ...

, 1957) * ''Dancing on the Sunset Strip'' (

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, 1959) * ''This Cat Really Blows!'' ( Dot, 1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stabile, Dick 1909 births 1980 deaths American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders Musicians from New Jersey United States Coast Guard enlisted 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians