Ralph Elias Flenniken (April 7, 1914 – December 30, 1995), known professionally as Ralph Flanagan, was an American big band leader, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of

Hal McIntyre Hal McIntyre (born Harold William McIntyre; November 29, 1914, Cromwell, Connecticut – May 5, 1959 Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader. McIntyre played extensively as a teenager and led his ow ...

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

, Blue Barron,

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Skyliner", " Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "Southland Shuffl ...

, and

Alvino Rey Alvin McBurney (July 1, 1908 – February 24, 2004), known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American jazz guitarist and bandleader. Career Alvin McBurney was born in Oakland, California, United States, but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Early i ...

. He joined the

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

in 1950.

Biography

He was educated at

Lorain High School Lorain High School is part of Lorain City School District in Lorain, Ohio and was founded in 1876, beginning as a two-year high school course. In 1879, the first graduating class consisted of three members. By 1883, the high school curriculum was ...

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6 ...

, United States, where he was a member of the

National Honors Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

, the student senate, the school newspaper staff (Hi-Y) and the chorus. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in the Merchant Marine from October 1942 to 1946. By 1949, he formed a successful orchestra which is credited with re-popularizing the

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forc ...

"sound," and which made many records, among them "Singing Winds", "Rag Mop" and "Hot Toddy." The Ralph Flanagan band was managed by

Herb Hendler Herb Hendler (June 17, 1918 – October 16, 2007) was an American record producer and lyricist. He was director of A&R and sole producer at RCA Victor Records in the 1940s. He produced Perry Como's first hit records and signed Glenn Miller to his ...

, an

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

A&R man who had signed

to his final record contract before Miller's fatal plane crash in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

during World War II. It was Hendler who had encouraged Flanagan to adopt the Miller sound that led to his success. Hendler also co-wrote "Hot Toddy," which was recorded by many artists, including

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

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, Red Foley and

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty album ...

. Flanagan's recording of "Slow Poke", a number 6 hit in early 1952, was the first song played on the initial edition of the ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

'' on January 14, 1952. The Flanagan orchestra's theme songs were "Giannina Mia" and "Singing Winds", the latter title also applying to the orchestra's singing group. During the peak of his career, he also lived in the suburban village of

Malverne, New York Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total are ...

Royalties

As of August 19, 2010, Ralph Flanagan and his Orchestra were listed by EMI Music as a missing royaltor, which means that EMI have lost contact with the estate of Flanagan and his heirs and band members, and that royalty checks are being returned to the record company by the Post Office.

Discography

* ''Ralph Flanagan Plays Rodgers and Hammerstein II for Dancing'' (RCA Victor, 1949) * ''Let's Dance Again with Flanagan'' (RCA Victor, 1951) * ''Ralph Flanagan and His Orchestra'' (Metronome, 1951) * ''Favorites'' (RCA Victor, 1951) * ''The Old Ox Road'' (RCA Victor, 1952) * ''Ralph Flanagan Plays Rodgers and Hammerstein II Vol. II'' (RCA Victor, 1951) * ''Dance to the Top Pops'' (RCA Victor, 1952) * ''Tops in Pops'' (RCA Victor, 1954) * ''The War of the Bands Concert'' (RCA Victor, 1954) * ''Junior-Senior Prom'' (RCA Victor, 1954) * ''The Freshman-Sophomore Frolics'' (RCA Victor, 1954) * ''1001 Nighters'' (RCA Victor, 1956) * ''Dancing Down Broadway'' (RCA Camden, 1956) * ''Dancing in the Dark'' (RCA Camden, 1957) * ''They're Playing Our Song'' (Imperial, 1958) * ''Ralph Flanagan in Hi-Fi'' (RCA Victor, 1958) * ''Holiday Inn'' (

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, 1959) * ''Plays Your Request'' (Imperial, 1959) * ''They're Playing Our Cha Cha!'' (Imperial, 1960) * ''Dance to the New Live Sound of Ralph Flanagan'' (Coral, 1961) * ''Live from the Palladium'' (Collectors' Choice, 2001) * ''The Big Band Sounds of Ralph Flanagan'' (Sounds of Yesteryear, 2013)

References

External links

BigBandLibrary.com: Ralph Flanagan-Prime Time (December, 2005)Ralph Flanagan on IMDbRalph Flanagan on AOL Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Ralph 1914 births 1995 deaths Big band bandleaders Imperial Records artists RCA Victor artists People from Lorain, Ohio People from Malverne, New York