- published: 23 Mar 2009
- views: 248364
Eddy Duchin (April 1, 1909 or April 10, 1910 – February 9, 1951) was an American popular pianist and bandleader of the 1930s and 1940s, famous for his engaging onstage personality, his elegant piano style, and his fight against leukemia.
Edwin Frank Duchin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sources are divided as to whether his birth occurred on 1 April 1909 or 10 April 1910. He first became a pharmacist before turning full-time to music and beginning his new career with Leo Reisman's orchestra at the Central Park Casino in New York, an elegant nightclub where he became hugely popular in his own right and eventually became the Reisman orchestra's leader by 1932. He became widely popular thanks to regular radio broadcasts that boosted his record sales, and he was one of the earliest pianists to lead a commercially successful large band.
Playing what later came to be called "sweet" music rather than jazz, Duchin's success opened a new gate for similarly styled, piano-playing sweet bandleaders such as Henry King, Joe Reichman, Nat Brandwynne, Dick Gasparre, Little Jack Little, and particularly Carmen Cavallaro (who acknowledged Duchin's influence) to compete with the large jazz bands for radio time and record sales.
What's your direction?
Tell me what's wrong, tell me what's right
What's your direction?
Think about somebody else for the night
Life's more than girls
God's more than words
You're more than this
So what's your direction?
And where are you now?
Grow, grow where you are
Anchor your roots underneath
Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs
What's your direction?
What matters most?
What should you know?
What's your direction
All that you've been
Makes who you are now
'Cause I've been ashamed
I've been a fool
You know I've backed down
When I lose direction I pray to be found
Grow, grow where you are
Anchor your roots underneath