Ford Leary (September 5, 1908 - June 4, 1949) was a gifted trombonist and singer who gained fame in the 1930s and 1940’s.
Ford was born in Lockport, New York. He was married to Bernice Harlow and had a son (Scott) and apparently left them for a musical career.*Ford was noted for
having performed with the bands of Frank Trumbaur (1937) & Bunny Berigan (1937 - 38). That association was one of the
better jobs Leary found for himself while scuffling to establish himself as a
freelance musician in New York City. Other bands included Larry Clinton (1938-
39), Charlie Barnet (1940 -41), and Mike Riley (1941). In 1942, trumpeter
Muggsy Spanier also featured Leary in a big band.
He was just beginning a new career track as a replacement
performer in the hit Broadway musical Follow the Girls in 1944 when he suffered
a serious back injury from which he never fully recovered. Leary’s short musical career ended in the late
'40s at Bellevue Hospital. He is in fact the only trombonist of note to have
died institutionalized on June 4, 1949. He was only 40.
(Edited from scarce sources mainly All Music. * from YouTube comment by Bill Rayney.)
4 comments:
Here’s 25 tracks I have accrued mainly from Jazz On Line & Archive.org. Some are good quality and some hard to get ones are from the original 78’s so quality will vary throughout the play list. Ford Leary's stellar style in both vocal performance and on trombone is found in only a few tracks recorded with the big bands of the era, sometimes without his name in the credits. Although it remains difficult to find his work, perhaps time will uncover more.
So for “Ford Leary – Collected” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/10446680/Ford_Leary_-_Collected.rar.html
01 - All Dark People Are Light On Their Feet (1937)
02 - The First Time I Saw You
03 - You Can't Run Away From Love
04 - For Men Only (1938)
05 - Jeepers Creepers
06 - Shadrach
07 - The Devil With The Devil
08 - The Jitterbug
09 - The Kerry Dancers
10 - Who Blew Out The Flame
11 - Comes Love (1939)
12 - An Apple For The Teacher
13 - Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers
14 - Sweet Little Buttercup
15 - The Little Man Wh Wasn't There
16 - He's a Latin from Staten Island (1940)
17 - Scrub Me Mama, With a Boogie Beat
18 - Whatcha Know Joe
19 - 50,000,000 Nickels (1941)
20 –Blues in the Night
21 - Conga Del Moaxo
22 - I Get a Kick Outa Corn
23 - Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan)
24 - Swingin' on Nothin'
25 - The Wreck Of The Old '97 (1942)
Bunny Berigan & His Boys (1 - 3)
Larry Clinton & His Orchestra (4 – 15)
Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra (16 – 21 & 24)
Ford Leary & His Boys (22 & 23)
Mugsy Spanier & His Orchestra (25)
Hi Boppinbob,
I just found your blog on Ford Leary. I want to thank you posting it and the 78 recordings although I am having trouble downloading them. Ford Leary was my great uncle and I have spent years finding his memorabilia and records. I do have several vocal recording from 78s that are not listed on your list. I also have some fantastic pictures of Ford with my dad in 1946. Ford struggled with untreated diabetes throughout his life. Ford like many musicians from that era struggled with alcohol abuse and that impacted his career. Bea Wain once told me that Ford had a incredible sense of humor and was always making people laugh. So his moniker of " Big Jovial Ford Leary" was so true. To think he replaced Jackie Gleason in Follow the Girls in 1944. Ford was a pit musician for the musical and memorized Jackie Gleasons lines while playing in the band. When Gleason got sick from alcohol issues Ford stepped up and replaced Gleason after showing is acting and memorization skills. Could you send me a better link for your recordings as some of them may be better than my recordings. Cheers. Paul I can be reached at pbeak@verizon.net
Hi Paul, No problem. Here's the new link..
https://krakenfiles.com/view/WLRuloiWPk/file.html
My father was Frank Ford Leary. His sons, Scott, Bobby, and David, my half-brothers are deceased. I am the only child, daughter, of the union between Ford and Berniece "Bobby" Evelyn Harlow. I am now 82. I would like to have access to this playlist. Thank you for posting. Generally, true information although some errors. pkokemoore@aol.com
Post a Comment