- published: 07 Jun 2013
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In 1934 in jazz:
Dick McDonough (1904-May 25, 1938) was an influential American jazz guitarist and composer. His major recordings included "Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jibe" with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra with Johnny Mercer, "Stage Fright" with Carl Kress, "Chasin' a Buck", "Feelin' No Pain", recorded in 1927 with Red Nichols, and "Chicken a la Swing".
McDonough played with Red Nichols in 1927 as a banjoist, and soon after played with Paul Whiteman. After exchanging banjo for guitar, he did extensive work as a session musician in the 1930s and played with Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, The Boswell Sisters, Joe Venuti, Benny Goodman, Miff Mole, Adrian Rollini, Red Norvo, Jack Teagarden, Johnny Mercer, Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell, Frankie Trumbauer, Glenn Miller, and Gene Gifford among others. He and Carl Kress recorded as a guitar duet in the mid-1930s as well. He played in the Jam Session at Victor with Fats Waller, Tommy Dorsey, Bunny Berigan, and George Wettling.
McDonough was an alcoholic and died as a result of this in 1938.
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.