Murray Kane (born Moses Simon Kaplan, May 26, 1915 – January 31, 1986) was an American

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

, composer and

band manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...

. As a performer, he was a member of the Crew Chiefs vocal group and the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most pop ...

Early life

Kane was born in 1915 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. During high school, Kane hosted a radio show on WNEW alongside

Hal Kanner HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

Career

Early career

Around 1937–38, after graduating from high school, Kane and Kanner recruited a female vocalist and performed under the names of "The Manhattanites" and "Two Bees and A Honey". The group was later joined by Daisy Brennier, and they performed with Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians on the Chesterfield radio tour.

Glenn Miller Orchestra

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kane was a member of

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

's Army Air Force Orchestra, performing with them overseas for the duration of the war.

The Crew Chiefs

Kane's military career originally saw him as a Private First Class officer in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In 1943, Kane formed The Crew Chiefs with Sergeant Steve Steck, Corporal

Artie Malvin Artie Malvin (July 7, 1922 – June 16, 2006) was a composer and vocalist who was the baritone member of The Crew Chiefs. He also sang with Glenn Miller's band. Career During World War II, Malvin performed with Glenn Miller as part of The Crew Ch ...

, and Privates Lynn Allison and Gene Steck. Around the same time, his rank was changed to that of Corporal. His despondency at this move led him to compose " Have Ya Got Any Gum, Chum?", quoting a popular phrase used between children and soldiers. Kane left the group in 1945.

Management career

After leaving The Crew Chiefs, Kane became a

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports, and they determine whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the s ...

in New York City. He managed and composed for the DeMarco Sisters and secured them as a permanent fixture on

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...

's radio show. In 1950, Kane became the vocal arranger for

The McGuire Sisters The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. The group was composed of three sisters: * Ruby Christine McGuire (July 30, 1926 – December 28, 2018) * Dorothy "Dottie" McGuire (February 13, 1928 – September 7, 2012) * P ...

, after hearing them perform on

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain". She began ...

's radio show. Kane's compositions and arrangements helped the group secure an audition (and

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

) at

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. Kane subsequently became their personal manager, and helped arrange their breakthrough performance on

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') is an American radio and television variety show that ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting '' Arthur God ...

. The group retired in 1968. Through his work with The McGuire Sisters, Kane also worked with The Kane Triplets, who later performed on ''

The Jack Benny Show ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'', ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' is an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland in 1961 before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went i ...

'', ''

The Perry Como Show Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

'' and ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

''. In 1984, Kane restarted The McGuire Sisters' career with a song entitled "The Second Time Around".

Later life and death

Kane moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in 1975. He died in Las Vegas on January 31, 1986, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Murray 1915 births 1986 deaths United States Army Air Forces soldiers Singers from New York City American jazz singers Musicians from Las Vegas Musicians from Brooklyn 20th-century American singers Jazz musicians from New York (state) United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II