Mike Pedicin (born Michael L. Pedicine; October 24, 1917 – June 26, 2016) was an American saxophonist and jazz bandleader. He initially performed in the idiom of swing music, before switching to heavily influenced R&B-flavoured dance music, becoming an early pioneer of rock and roll in a similar vein of

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

Biography

Pedicine was born the son of a barber in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and was one of four children. He started playing the saxophone at the age of nine. By the age of 10, he was a regular on the local radio show "

The Horn & Hardart Children's Hour ''The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour'' (later known as ''The Children's Hour'') is a variety show with a cast of children, including some who later became well-known adult performers. It had a long run for more than three decades. The program w ...

". He appeared on the show for eight years. In the 1950s and 1960s, during the summer, Pedicin's band played at various night spots in

Somers Point, New Jersey Somers Point is a city (New Jersey), city situated on the Jersey Shore that is the oldest settlement in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was settled by Europeans in 1693 and was incorporated as a ...

; Tony Marts & Bay Shores, being the two most popular spots. His best-known record was a cover version of

Faye Adams Faye Adams (born Fanny Tuell, May 22, 1923), who also performed under the stage names Faye Scruggs and Fannie Jones, is an American former singer who recorded and performed gospel and rhythm and blues. She had several chart hits in the early 19 ...

1953 hit "

Shake a Hand "Shake a Hand" is a 1953 song written by the trumpeter and bandleader Joe Morris and originally recorded by Faye Adams, whose version stayed number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B chart for nine weeks. Background The song, which has a stron ...

" (released by

Cameo Records Cameo Records was an American record label that flourished in the 1920s. It was owned by the Cameo Record Corporation in New York City. Cameo released a disc by Lucille Hegamin every two months from 1921 to 1926. Cameo Records are also noted f ...

, 1958). Pedicin, a resident of

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Ardmore is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) spanning the border between Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery counties in the U.S. ...

, died of pneumonia in June 2016 at the age of 98.

References

1917 births 2016 deaths American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders Musicians from Philadelphia RCA Victor artists Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania American male jazz musicians 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz saxophonists {{US-jazz-saxophonist-stub