- For other persons with this name, see Charlie Barnett.
Charles Daly Barnet
(October 26, 1913 –
September 4, 1991)
was an American
jazz saxophonist, composer,
and bandleader.
His major recordings were "Skyliner", "
Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea",
"Scotch and Soda", and "Southland Shuffle".
Early life
Charlie
Barnet was born in New York
City
. His parents divorced when he was two, and
he was raised by his mother and her grandparents. His grandfather
was Charles Frederick Daly, a vice-president for the
New York Central Railroad, banker,
and businessman.
Barnet attended various boarding schools, both in the New York and
Chicago areas. He learned to play piano and saxophone as a child.
He often left school to listen to music and to try to gain work as
a musician.
Career
Although he began his recording career in October, 1933, Charlie
Barnet was at the height of his popularity between 1939 and 1941, a
period that began with his hit version of "
Cherokee", written by
Ray Noble and arranged by Billy May. In
1944, Barnet had another big hit with "Skyliner". In 1947, he
started to switch from
swing music to
bebop. During his swing period his band
included
Buddy DeFranco,
Roy Eldridge,
Neal
Hefti,
Lena Horne,
Barney Kessel,
Dodo
Marmorosa,
Oscar Pettiford, and
Art House, while later versions of the band included
Maynard Ferguson,
Doc Severinsen, and
Clark Terry. Trumpeter
Billy May was an arranger in the Charlie Barnet
Orchestra before joining
Glenn Miller
in 1940.
He was one of the first bandleaders to
integrate his band; the year is variously
given as 1935 or 1937. He was an outspoken admirer of
Count Basie and
Duke
Ellington. In 1939, Basie once lent Barnet his charts after
Barnet's had been destroyed in a fire at the Palomar Hotel in Los
Angeles. Throughout his career he was an opponent of syrupy
arrangements. In the song "The Wrong Idea", he lampooned the
"sweet" Big Band sound of the era.
In 1949 he retired, apparently because he had lost interest in
music. He was able to retire when he chose because he was one of
the few heirs in a very wealthy family. He occasionally returned
from retirement for brief tours but never returned to music full
time.
Compositions
Charlie Barnet's compositions included "Skyliner", "Southland
Shuffle", "Swing Street Strut", "The Right Idea", "The Wrong Idea"
with
Billy May, "Growlin'", "Scotch and
Soda", "Midweek Function", "Oh What You Said (Are We Burnt Up?)",
"I Kinda Like You", "Tappin' at the Tappa", "The Last Jump",
"Knocking at the Famous Door", "Lazy Bug" with
Juan Tizol, and "Ogoun Badagris (Voodoo War
God)".
Honors
In 1984, Charlie Barnet was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz
Hall of Fame.
Sources
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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