Barney Rapp

Barney Rapp (March 25, 1900 – October 12, 1970) was an American orchestra leader and jazz musician from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Career

Born Barney Rappaport in New Haven, Connecticut, Rapp first organized a jazz orchestra in the 1920s that played dancing music called "Barney Rapp and his New Englanders". He later moved to Ohio, becoming a regional attraction. Several albums were recorded on RCA Victor and Bluebird. Rapp, unlike most orchestra leaders of his day, normally played the band's drums. His band was active through the 1940s, launching many artists who later rose to fame. One of these was Doris Kappelhoff, who replaced the band's singer, Rapp's wife Ruby, when she became pregnant. Rapp reportedly asked her name, and on hearing it said: "It’s a very nice name but a little too long for the marquee outside." He suggested the name Doris Day after hearing her sing "Day After Day".

Another of his finds was the Clooney Sisters, Rosemary and Betty. After hearing the teenagers sing on the radio in Cincinnati, he recommended them to Tony Pastor. Others who got their start with Rapp include Eddie Ryan, Bunny Welcome, Marty Quinto, and his younger brother, Barry Wood, who went on to perform with Buddy Rogers.