Mickey Sheen (born Milton Scheinblum, December 13, 1927 – March 25, 1987) was a
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 majo ...
drummer known for
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
and mainstream jazz.
Sheen was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. He married Marilyn Feinstein and had two sons, Neil and Brian Sheen.
In the 1940s and 1950s Sheen worked with the
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...
and
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
bands and accompanied singers such as
Peggy Lee
Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
,
Vikki Carr
Florencia Vicenta de Casillas-Martínez Cardona (born July 19, 1940), known by her stage name Vikki Carr, is an American vocalist. She has a singing career that spans more than four decades. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican parents, she has pe ...
,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
,
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
and
Eddie Fisher
Edwin Jack Fisher (August 10, 1928 – September 22, 2010) was an American singer and actor. He was one of the most popular artists during the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show, ''The Eddie Fisher Show''. Actress Eli ...
.
While in the service in 1946, Sheen was sent to Germany to join 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 United States Arm ...
Army Air Force Band. In the late 1940s, Sheen and
Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Life and career
Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents, ...
performed on as many as 11 television shows a week for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
while also making recordings, commercials, sound tracks, charity performances, radio spots and museum charity events.
Sheen also played drums on ''
Going for Myself
''Going For Myself'' is a 1957 jazz album by Harry "Sweets" Edison and Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson. The album is one of Young's last studio recordings.
Track listing
#"Flic" (Oscar Peterson, Lester Young) - 06:16
#"Love Is Here ...
'' and ''
Laughin' to Keep from Cryin'
''Laughin' to Keep from Cryin is a 1958 studio album by Lester Young featuring the trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison and Roy Eldridge.
Reception
Scott Yanow reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that "...this date apparently had a lot of diff ...
'', one of
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.
Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...
's final studio sessions. Sheen also worked with
Roy Eldridge
David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...
,
Charlie Shavers
Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. H ...
,
Bud Freeman
Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet.
Biography
In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sch ...
,
Marty Napoleon
Marty Napoleon (June 2, 1921 – April 27, 2015) was an American jazz pianist. He replaced Earl Hines in Louis Armstrong's All Stars band in 1952. In 1946 he worked with Gene Krupa and went on to work with his uncle Phil Napoleon, a trumpeter, ...
,
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Career Early life and career
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...
,
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.
Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie and recorded with
Charlie Shavers
Charles James Shavers (August 3, 1920 – July 8, 1971) was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. H ...
,
Sol Yaged
Sol Yaged (December 8, 1922 – May 11, 2019) was an American jazz clarinetist who was strongly influenced by Benny Goodman.
Life and career
Yaged was born in Brooklyn, New York and began playing the clarinet at the age of 12 after hearing Goodm ...
,
Hank Jones
Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...
,
George Duvivier
George Duvivier (August 17, 1920 – July 11, 1985) was an American jazz double-bassist.
Biography
Duvivier was born in New York City, the son of Leon V. Duvivier and Ismay Blakely Duvivier. He attended the Conservatory of Music and Art, where ...
,
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
,
Ray Brown,
Roy Eldridge
David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from ...
,
Buck Clayton
Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...
, and
Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert Ellis (August 4, 1921 – March 28, 2010), known professionally as Herb Ellis, was an American jazz guitarist. During the 1950s, he was in a trio with pianist Oscar Peterson.
Biography
Born in Farmersville, Texas, and raise ...
. Sheen also gave drumming lessons to
Sal Mineo
Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination f ...
for his title role in "
The Gene Krupa Story
''The Gene Krupa Story'' (also known as ''Drum Crazy'') is a 1959 biopic of American drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa. The conflict in the film centers on Krupa's rise to success and his corresponding use of marijuana.
Plot synopsis
The young ...
".
Sheen later taught percussion at
Five Towns College
Five Towns College is a private college in Dix Hills, New York. The college's degree programs focus on music, media, and the performing arts.
History
Founded in 1972, Five Towns College holds an Absolute Charter issued by the New York State B ...
. He died of a heart attack at his home in
Dix Hills
Dix Hills is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 26,892 at the 2010 census.
In the past, Dix Hills and some of its neighbors have propose ...
on
Long Island, and there is an ongoing scholarship at Five Town College in his name for students of percussion.
Television performances
* ''
The Bell Telephone Hour
''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...
'' (1 episode, 1961)
* Music Hath Charms (1961) TV episode (with The
Eddie Condon
Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang.
Early years
Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of ...
Jazz All-Stars)
Recordings
*Mickey Sheen and the Swing Travelers - Have Swing Will Travel (1956)
*
Harry "Sweets" Edison
Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backi ...
and Lester Young - ''
Going for Myself
''Going For Myself'' is a 1957 jazz album by Harry "Sweets" Edison and Lester Young, accompanied by Oscar Peterson. The album is one of Young's last studio recordings.
Track listing
#"Flic" (Oscar Peterson, Lester Young) - 06:16
#"Love Is Here ...
'' (1957)
*Rex Stewart - Rendezvous With Rex (1958)
*''
Laughin' to Keep from Cryin'
''Laughin' to Keep from Cryin is a 1958 studio album by Lester Young featuring the trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison and Roy Eldridge.
Reception
Scott Yanow reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that "...this date apparently had a lot of diff ...
'' (1958)
*Jazz From Then Till Now (1958)
*The Napoleon Brothers: A Rare Musical Vintage (1958)
*
Rex Stewart
Rex William Stewart Jr. (February 22, 1907 – September 7, 1967) was an American jazz cornetist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra.
Career
As a boy he studied piano and violin; most of his career was spent on cornet. Stewart drop ...
: ''
Rendezvous with Rex
''Rendezvous with Rex'' is an album by cornetist Rex Stewart which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...
: ''
Coleman Hawkins and Confrères
''Coleman Hawkins and Confrères'' is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins which was recorded in 1958 (with one track from 1957) and released on the Verve label.Evensmo, JThe Tenor Sax of Coleman Hawkins Part 3: 1950 - 1959 Retrieved July 10, ...
'' (Verve, 1958), ''
The High and Mighty Hawk
''The High and Mighty Hawk'' is an album by saxophonist Coleman Hawkinsthat which was recorded in 1958 and released on the Felsted label.Evensmo, JThe Tenor Sax of Coleman Hawkins Part 3: 1950 - 1959 Retrieved July 10, 2017.
Reception
Scott Yano ...
'' (Felsted, 1958)
*We Three: A Jazz Approach To Stereo (1959)
*
From Then Till Now
''From Then Till Now'' is an album released by "The Big 3", a Chubby Jackson-led group, in 1960 on Everest LPBR-1041 (mono) and SDBR-1041 (stereo).
Track listing
# "At the Jazz Band Ball"
# "Struttin' With Some Bar-B-Que"
# " Bill Bailey, Won ...
(1960)
*Various Artists - Milton Jazz Concert (1963)
*Henry "Red" Allen - Nice! (1978)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheen, Mickey
Swing drummers
1927 births
1987 deaths
20th-century drummers
American jazz musicians