Vincent Lopez (December 30, 1895 – September 20, 1975) was an American bandleader, actor, and pianist.

Early life and education

Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents 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 City, United States, Distinguished Americans & Canadians of Portuguese Descent and was leading his own dance band in New York City by 1916. On November 27, 1921, his band began broadcasting on the new medium of entertainment radio; the band's weekly 90-minute show on the Newark, New Jersey, station WJZ boosted the popularity of both himself and of radio. He became one of North America's most popular bandleaders, and would retain that status through the 1940s.

Career

He began his radio programs by announcing "Hello everybody, Lopez speaking!" His theme song was "Nola", Felix Arndt's novelty ragtime piece of 1915, and Lopez became so identified with it that he occasionally satirized it. (His 1939 movie short for

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

, ''Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra'', features the entire band singing "Down with Nola".) Lopez worked occasionally in feature films, notably '' The Big Broadcast'' (1932) and as a live-action feature in the

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was an American animator and studio owner. Born in Kraków, in Austrian Poland, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became a pioneer in the development ...

cartoon ''I Don't Want to Make History'' (1936). In 1940, he was one of the first bandleaders to work in Soundies movie musicals. He made additional Soundies in 1944. Noted musicians who played in his band included

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

, Xavier Cugat,

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 Peopl ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

, Bob Effros,

Mike Mosiello Mike Mosiello (full name ''Michele Alfonso Mosiello'') (December 2, 1896 – June 3, 1953) was an Italian-born American trumpet player. Biography Michele "Mike" Mosiello was born in Frasso Telesino in Italy into a musical family. His father, To ...

, Fred Lowery, Joe Tarto and

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 ...

. He also featured singers Keller Sisters and Lynch,

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

, and Marion Hutton. Lopez's longtime drummer was the irreverent Mike Riley, who popularized the novelty hit "The Music Goes Round and Round". Lopez's flamboyant style of piano playing influenced such later musicians as

Eddy Duchin Edwin Frank Duchin (April 1, 1909 – February 9, 1951), commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American popular music pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Duchin was born on April 1, 1909, ...

and Liberace. In 1941, Lopez's Orchestra began a residency at the Taft Hotel in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

that would last 25 years. In the early 1950s, Lopez along with Gloria Parker hosted a

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...

broadcast from the Taft Hotel called ''Shake the Maracas'' in which audience members competed for small prizes by playing

maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

with the orchestra. In 1960 he published his autobiography ''Lopez Speaking''. Vincent Lopez died at the Villa Maria nursing home in North Miami, Florida, on September 20, 1975.

Business interests

Lopez saw jazz and bandleading as a big business opportunity. Like rival

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

had done a few years earlier with his United Orchestras, Inc, in 1924 he created the company Vincent Lopez, Inc, with a stated goal of starting jazz orchestras and schools in major North American cities, and managing copyrights. By 1926 the endeavor became insolvent, and to avoid bankruptcy Lopez, Inc went into partnership with Eugene Geiger's Eldorado Finance Co. In 1927, he partnered with other major bandleaders

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelevitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 20, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P ...

, George Olson,

Roger Kahn Roger Kahn (October 31, 1927 – February 6, 2020) was an American journalist and author, best known for his 1972 baseball book '' The Boys of Summer''. Biography Roger Kahn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 31, 1927, to Olga (''née ...

, Fred Rich, B. A. Rolfe, and Ernie Golden to launch the trade union National Association of Orchestra Leaders. They hired Julian T. Abeles at an annual salary of $25,000; his stated goal was to stop competition among their orchestras for musicians, contracts, and bookings. In practice this was a labor cartel, and the NAOL's efforts and lawsuits on behalf of orchestra leaders and owners continued into the 21st century.

Big band / swing-era music

* ''Early In The Morning'', recorded by Vincent Lopez on Columbia Records, lyrics and music by Gloria Parker * ''Here Comes That Mood'', recorded by Vincent Lopez, music and lyrics by Gloria Parker * ''In Santiago by the Sea'', recorded by Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra, music and lyrics by Gloria Parker * ''I Learned To Rumba, recorded by Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra, music and lyrics by Gloria Parker * ''My Dream Christmas'', recorded by Vincent Lopez, lyrics and music by Gloria Parker * ''Shake The Maracas'', name of a

on WABC hosted by Vincent Lopez and Gloria Parker, lyrics and music by Gloria Parker * ''When Our Country Was Born'', recorded by Vincent Lopez, lyrics and music by Gloria Parker

References

External links

*
Vincent Lopez recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...