Brown, Les(ter Raymond)
Brown, Les(ter Raymond)
Brown, Les(ter Raymond) pop-jazz bandleader of the “Band of Renown,” arranger, composer; b. Reinerton, Pa., March 14, 1912. He formed a band at Duke Univ. in the early 1930s. In 1938, he led Les Brown and his Band of Renown, which became the most popular white dance band in the U.S. in the 1940s and early 1950s. Doris Day was his vocalist; their biggest hits together included “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time” and “Sentimental Journey” (both #1 in 1945), plus instrumentais “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” (#1 in 1948; the last big instrumental hit of the Swing era), “Bizet Has His Day,” and “Leap Frog.” He had quit in 1946, but a March 1947 ballroom gig forced him to form a new band. He eventually worked in radio and TV, playing with Bob Hope, Steve Allen, and Dean Martin. He remained one of the most popular leaders on the West Coast. His albums during the 1980s included long-time vocalist Jo Ann Greer, and Butch Stone on baritone sax and vocals. His orch. was strictly a dance group, with lightweight arrangements and novelty tunes.
Discography
Over the Rainbow (1951); Lullaby in Rhythm (1954); Cool Classics (1955); Composer’s Holiday (1957); Les Brown Goes Direct to Disc (1977); Twilight Time; Sentimental Journey (1977).
—Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue/Lewis Porter