William "Bill" J. Tennyson Jr. (1923–1959) was a notable

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

musician.

Career

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Creole, Tennyson was born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and his father was born in

Donaldsonville, Louisiana Donaldsonville (historically ) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Baton ...

. After his mother died when Tennyson was aged three, he and his two younger siblings moved to live with their grandmother, Mathilda, who had formerly owned a

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation near the Bayous of Louisiana. "Bill" was a major part of Jazz and the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

period. He attended a university in Louisiana at age 13, was a self-taught musician and, aged 16, was one of the first of color to attend the world-renowned

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

. He was an ASCAP member from 1950. During the latter part of his career, he partnered with Fay Tishman to found what would have been one of the few black music publishing companies (Tishman went on to become president of ASCAP's New York branch). In addition he wrote and composed for artists including

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

and

The Orioles The Orioles were an American R&B group in the late 1940s and early 1950s. One of the first vocal groups in R&B, they were early pioneers of the doo-wop sound. Dubbing themselves after Maryland's state bird, the Orioles started the trend of b ...

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

, and wrote and composed soundtracks for several

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

films, one of history’s first breaking black moviemakers.Louis Jordan Films
/ref>

Selected compositions

# "Bar Fly Blues"
w & m Bill Tennyson Jr. (w&m)
© Preview Music Co., Chicago
26 May 1947; EU77215
# "It Really Ain't Fair to Condemn a Square"
William J. Tennyson Jr. (w&m)
Huey Long (w&m)
© William .Tennyson Jr., New York, &
Huey Long,

Corona, N.Y. Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East ...

15 February 1947 EU63129
# "New Orleans Makes Me Think of Beans"
William J. Tennyson Jr. (w&m)
Huey Long (w&m)
© William .Tennyson Jr., New York &
Huey Long,

15 February 1947; EU63127
# "On Sentimental Boulevard"
William J. Tennyson Jr. (w&m)
Huey Long (w&m)
© William .Tennyson Jr., New York &
Huey Long,

15 February 1947; EU63130
# "Watch Her or She'll Get You"
William J. Tennyson Jr. (w&m)
Huey Long (w&m)
© William .Tennyson Jr. New York &
Huey Long,

15 February 1947; EU63128
# "Oh! Gram'Pa"

Death

Tennyson died, aged 36, in a car crash in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

soon after completing a hit record ''Centerpiece'' with

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

References

Notes

Inline citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennyson, William 1923 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American male composers 20th-century American composers ASCAP composers and authors