I’m sorry to report that legendary big band arranger Lyle “Spud” Murphy passed away on August 5 at age 96. Murphy was responsible for the arrangements of the Stooges’ “Three Blind Mice” opening music from 1947-58. More info on Murphy can be found at: http://www.jazzhot.bigstep.com/generic18.html
Gary
Well, making it to age 96 isn't so bad!
Thanks for that, Gary. I've been planning a Picks segment on great Swing Era arrangers, which will include Spud, Bill Challis, Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Sy Oliver, Billy Strayhorn, and other "behind the scenes" unsung heroes. I had that one in the pipeline for later on, but I think I'll move it up to next week. I could do a whole segment just on the Casa Loma Orchestra, one of the pioneering big bands that's pretty much been forgotten except by archivist-collectors like yours truly.
The arrangers hardly ever got much public credit (some of them didn't
want it—) but classic American jazz wouldn't have been what it was without them.
Stay tuned, gang...
