Casa Loma Orchestra - Help Yourself To Happiness
- 15 years ago
This was an American band active from 1927 to 1963. It did not tour after 1950 but continued to record as a studio group. It began its existence in 1927 as the Orange Blossoms, one of several Detroit-area groups that came out of the Jean Goldkette office. It was a co-operative organization, fronted for the first few years by violinist Hank Biagini, although the eventual leader, saxophonist Glen Gray (1900-1963) was the most prominent member. The band had adopted the Casa Loma name by the time of its first recordings in 1929, shortly after it was supposed to play at Casa Loma in Toronto, which was then operating as a hotel. Ironically the band never actually played the Casa Loma. From 1929 till 1935, this group was one of the top North American dance bands. By 1950, the Casa Loma band had ceased touring, Gray retired to Massachusetts, and the later recordings were done by studio musicians in Hollywood. This however is an early 1931 recording. Vocal by Kenny Sargent.