Wednesday 26 October 2016

Tony Pastor born 26 October 1907


Tony Pastor (born Anthony Pestritto) (October 26, 1907-October 31, 1969) was an Italian American novelty singer and tenor saxophonist and band leader.
Tenor saxophonist and vocalist Tony Pastor began playing professionally while still a teenager. He worked with the Wesleyan Serenaders in the mid-1920s, John Cavallaro in 1927, Irving Aaronson from 1928 to 1930, and Austin Wylie around 1930. He formed his own orchestra based out of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1931. The group struggled, and in 1934 he disbanded it. He toured with Smith Ballew in 1935 and played briefly with Joe Venuti and Vincent Lopez before joining Artie Shaw in 1936, where he remained when Shaw regrouped the following year.
Featured by Shaw as both a musician and singer, Pastor became popular for his expressive singing and impish personality. When Shaw decided to quit the band business in late 1939 and run off to Mexico Pastor was asked to head the orchestra, which was to become a cooperative affair. He turned down the offer and formed his own band instead. His second group proved a success. Pastor was both honest and friendly and well loved by his musicians and fans. His sax playing and his vocals were the highlights of each performance.
Soon after going out on his own, Pastor and his orchestra played at the Hotel Lincoln in New York City for seven months. That engagement included five broadcasts per week on NBC. Pastor won the 1940 Metronome magazine poll as top tenor saxophonist.


                               
Pastor went all out when it came to buying charts for his book. His orchestra featured some of the most modern jazz arrangements of its time. It outlived just about all other swing bands, finally breaking up in the late 1950s.  It was estimated that between 1940 and 1950 Pastor's band travelled a million miles around the U.S. The group's most prominent vocalists, aside from Pastor himself, were sisters Rosemary and Betty Clooney. Other singers included Johnny McAfee, Dorsey Anderson, Kay Little, Eugenie Baird, Virginia Maxey, and Dolores Martel.

Pastor and his orchestra appeared on television a number of times during the 1950s, including the "Cavalcade of Bands" program and the Robert Q. Lewis show.  In 1960, Pastor was guest of honour on a "This Is Your Life" TV episode.   But eventually he reduced the size of his band, cutting it down to a small combo in order to work nightclubs around Las Vegas with his sons Guy and Tony Jr.
Pastor's final recordings were for Roulette (1958), Everest (1959), and Capitol (1960). He appeared with a small group, billed as "Tony Pastor and His All-Stars," on the "Bring Back the Bands" transcribed radio show in 1967.
Early in 1968, Pastor suffered a heart attack and became very ill and quit the music business. He lived in virtual seclusion for the rest of his life. (Info mainly Solid @ Parabrisas.com)


11 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Tony PASTOR & His Orch. - T - You're Adorable” go here:

http://www93.zippyshare.com/v/fme5F51h/file.html

1. DANCE WITH A DOLLY (WITH A HOLE IN HER STOCKING)
2. LET'S DO IT (LET'S FALL IN LOVE)
3. READY, GET SET, JUMP
4. (I'M) CONFESSIN' (THAT I LOVE YOU)
5. PARADIDDLE JOE 6. MARIA, MARI (OH MARIE!)
7. MARIA ELENA
8. FLAG WAVER
9. BLOSSOMS (Theme Song)
10. ONE MEAT BALL
11. MAKIN' WHOOPEE!
12. BELL BOTTOM TROUSERS
13. FIVE SALTED PEANUTS
14. PLEASE NO SQUEEZA DA BANANA
15. RED SILK STOCKINGS AND GREEN PERFUME
16. MY MAMMY
17. I'M SORRY I DIDN'T SAY I'M SORRY
18. GONNA GET A GIRL
19. INDIAN LOVE CALL
20. SAN
21. "A" YOU'RE ADORABLE (THE ALPHABET SONG)
22. BUSY LINE
23. THE SHEIK OF ARABY
24. THERE'S YES! YES! IN YOUR EYES

Kevin said...

Thanks! I didn't know about this guy!

RiCK SAUNDERS said...

Thank you so much! Love Tony Pastor.

RiCK SAUNDERS said...

Aw, rats! Broken link!

luis.lisboa said...

Could you re-up, please? Thanks in advance

boppinbob said...

Sorry gang for the reply as I have not cataloged my external storage data base. And some files are just numbered. But the good news is I found the cd in question. If anyone is still interested please leave another comment and I'll post it. A.S.A.P.

Hit Parade said...

Bob,
Please re-up this album, it has several of his hits.
Thank you-)

boppinbob said...

Hello HP, here's the new link.

https://www.upload.ee/files/10489929/Tony_Pastor.rar.html

RiCK SAUNDERS said...

Yes! Thanks Bob!

Howard said...

Is there a recording of Tony Pastor and Eugenie Baird “So Near And Yet So Far”

boppinbob said...

Hi Howard, Yes there is and here's the link for the 78 which you can download.Regards, Bob

https://od.lk/f/NTlfNjY4MjQxOTVf