The Stardusters were American jazz vocalists.

History

The Stardusters were founded as a male trio in the mid 1930s. Glen Galyon, Curt Purnell, and Dick Wylder had already established themselves in 1936 as the Stardusters, and in 1939, were featured on NBC radio: ''The Vitalis Show, featuring George Jessel and his Celebrated Guests.'' They were also featured in late 1939 and early 1940 with Frank Novak and his Music Creators on the Chiclets program heard over NBC. May McKim — who had been a singer with an orchestra when she met Curt Purnell, married him on August 10, 1936, in Boston, and settled down to a non-professional home life — eventually joined the trio as a permanent member sometime around 1939. May and Curt divorced in August 1941. In 1941,

Charlie Spivak Charlie Spivak (February 17, 1907 – March 1, 1982) was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s. Early life The details of Spivak's birth are unclear. Some sources place it in Ukraine in 1907, and that h ...

hired the group, but added June Hutton. The arrangements featured Hutton backed by the trio. While with Spivak's Orchestra, the Stardusters recorded with

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 ...

(1941),

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peo ...

(1941), and Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra (1941). The group later went on to record with

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

(1948) and

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Ke ...

(1957). The Stardusters had two notable hits, ''Brother Bill'', and ''This is no Laughing Matter.'' And, they sang backup for Evelyn Knight's hit, ''A Little Bird Told Me'',

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

, which became the subject of a landmark court case over covering. * see ''Federal court case over "covering"''

Personnel

* May McKim ''(née'' Arvilla May McKim; 1917–2004), vocal * June Hutton (1920–1973), vocal † * Harry Glen Galyon (1914–1988), vocal * Ira Curtis "Curt" Purnell (1911–1982), vocal * Harry Richard "Dick" Wylder (1910–1963), vocal *

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

(1914–1980), arranger Also * Maureen O'Connor, vocal *

Helen O'Connell Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s". Early life Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell grew up in Toledo, Ohio. By the time ...

(1920–1993), vocal *

Irene Daye Irene Daye (January 17, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts – November 1, 1971, Greenville, South Carolina) was an American jazz singer. Daye began her career at age 17 by singing in Jan Murphy's big band while still in high school in 1935, con ...

(1918–1971), vocal † When Hutton left The Stardusters in 1944,

Spivak Spivak or Spivack is a surname of Ukrainian language origin, meaning ''singer''. It is also common among Ukrainian Jews, in which case it refers to cantor. The name may refer to: * Charlie Spivak (1907–1982), American trumpeter and bandleader ...

brought in Gene Krupa's vocalist,

, whom he later married.Joe Conzo (Joseph A. Conzo, Jr., born 1963), David A. Pérez II, ''Mambo Diablo: My Journey With Tito Puente'',

Authorhouse AuthorHouse, formerly known as 1stBooks, is a self-publishing company based in the United States. AuthorHouse uses print-on-demand business model and technology. History Originally called 1stBooks, the company was founded in Bloomington, India ...

(2012)

Selected discography

* ''The Stardusters,''

Swan Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

8000–8001 (1946) :# ''Brother Bill'' :# ''Crystal Paradise'' :# ''Weekend In Havana'' :# ''

I Surrender Dear "I Surrender Dear" (sometimes written as "I Surrender, Dear") is a song composed by Harry Barris with lyrics by Gordon Clifford, first performed by Gus Arnheim and His Cocoanut Grove Orchestra with Bing Crosby in 1931, which became his first s ...

'' * ''The Stardusters,''

8002–8003 (1947) :# ''What Happened, Joe?'' :# ''I Wasn't Born in Ireland'' :# ''Yes, Yes, Honey'' :# ''When You're Not There'' *

with

Bobby Tucker Bobby Tucker (born Robert Nathaniel Tucker; January 8, 1923 – April 12, 2007). was a pianist and arranger during the jazz era from the 1940s into the 1960s. He is most famous for being Billie Holiday's accompanist from 1946 to 1949 and Bil ...

And His Trio, New York, December 10, 1948 Decca (original release) :

(vocal), accompanied by

(piano), John Levy (bass),

Denzil Best Denzil DaCosta Best (April 27, 1917 – May 24, 1965) was an American jazz percussionist and composer born in New York City. He was a prominent bebop drummer in the 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Best was born in New York City, into a musi ...

(drums),

Mundell Lowe James Mundell Lowe (April 21, 1922 – December 2, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician. He produced film and TV scores in the 1970s, such as the ''Billy Jack'' soundtrac ...

(guitar), The Stardusters (vocal quartet that included Johnny Eager, aka Johnny Parker) :: W74650-A – ''Weep no More'' :: W74651-A – ''Girls Were Made to Take Care of Boys'' ::(other tracks did not include The Stardusters)

Filmography

''Pin Up Girl'' (1944 film)
Wikipedia page : Re-released by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of ...

(

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

) (2006); : Re-released by

(

) (2007);
''Trocadero'' (1944 film)
Wikipedia page : Re-released by Mill Creek Entertainment (

) (2005); : Re-released by Mill Creek Entertainment (

) (2009);
''Slightly Terrific'' (1944 film)IMDb: Slightly Terrific
* (currently a

Lost Film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...

); * (currently a

) * ;

References

{{reflist Musical groups established in 1936 American vocal groups Vocal trios Vocal quartets