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The Pied Pipers | |
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 The Pied Pipers in a 1945 advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1938–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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The Pied Pipers are an Americanpopularsinging group originally formed in the late 1930s. They had several chart hits throughout the 1940s, both under their own name and in association withTommy Dorsey, withJohnny Mercer and withFrank Sinatra.
Originally, the group consisted of eight members who had belonged to three separate groups:Jo Stafford from The Stafford Sisters, and seven male singers: John Huddleston, Hal Hopper, Chuck Lowry, Bud Hervey, George Tait, Woody Newbury, andDick Whittinghill, who had belonged to two groups named The Four Esquires and The Three Rhythm Kings, all of whom were contributing to the 1938 movieAlexander's Ragtime Band.[1][2] Multi-instrumentalistSpencer Clark was also a member at one point.
Paul Weston andAxel Stordahl, who were arrangers forTommy Dorsey'sbig band, heard of the group through two ofThe King Sisters, Alyce and Yvonne. Weston had a jam session at his home and a visiting advertising executive signed the octet for Dorsey'sradio program, broadcast inNew York City.[1][3] They sang with Dorsey's orchestra for about six weeks before a British representative of the sponsor objected to some of the songs in their repertoire and fired them.[4] They went back toCalifornia, but in the time they had been in New York had recorded two records forRCA Victor Records.[4]
While inLos Angeles, the group was reduced to a quartet: Jo Stafford, her then-husband John Huddleston, and Chuck Lowry from the original eight, and Billy Wilson. They were getting little work, however, and were on the threshold of disbanding when they received a call from Tommy Dorsey (inChicago). Dorsey said he could not afford to hire eight Pipers but would be happy to have them join him if they could cut the number down to a quartet. As they had already done that, and with only one unemployment check remaining, they were happy to comply.[4]
In 1939, they moved to Chicago, with Clark Yocum, who had playedguitar and sung for Dorsey, replacing Wilson.[4] Although Paul Weston left Dorsey to becomeDinah Shore's music director about that time, he was to figure in the fortunes of the group again.[5]
In 1940, Dorsey hired another vocalist,Frank Sinatra, who had previously sung in a quartet,The Hoboken Four, and later withHarry James' orchestra. Sinatra and the Pipers teamed to record a major hit, "I'll Never Smile Again", in that year. The group had twelve more chart hits with Dorsey, ten of them with Sinatra.[2] Also, Jo Stafford herself had a solo hit, "Yes Indeed", in 1941.[6][7]
Around Thanksgiving 1942, Tommy Dorsey (who was prone to incidents of bad temper) became angry at one of the Pipers for sending him in the wrong direction at a railroad station inPortland, Oregon, and fired him. The Pipers, out of "team loyalty," resigneden masse. At that moment, the No. 1 record on the charts was "There Are Such Things" sung by Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers, the last RCA record they did with Dorsey.[4]
They returned to Los Angeles and signed withCapitol Records, where Paul Weston was now working, and he became the arranger and orchestra leader for most of the Pipers' recordings.[5] Huddleston left to join the war effort (he was divorced from Stafford around that time), and Hal Hopper rejoined the group to replace him. The group also backedJohnny Mercer on a number of sides. In 1944 Jo Stafford had a hit on her own, ahead of the Pipers, and after a couple more hits, she left for good to pursue a solo career.[8] She was replaced in May byJune Hutton,[9] who had been singing with theStardusters.
The Pipers had twelve charted hit singles on Capitol, including "Dream" and ending with "My Happiness" (biggest hit version byJon and Sondra Steele, later made popular again byConnie Francis) in 1948.[10] They also continued a relationship with Frank Sinatra, doing several tours with him starting in 1945 and becoming a regular on his radio program from 1945 to 1947.
In 1944, The Pied Pipers were regulars onJohnny Mercer's Chesterfield Music Shop on theNBC Radio Network Monday through Friday nights.[11]Beginning March 30, 1948, the group became a part ofClub Fifteen onCBS. They sang on the program's Tuesday and Thursday episodes, alternating withThe Andrews Sisters, who sang on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.[12]
In 1950, June Hutton left the group and was replaced by Sue Allen and later by Virginia Marcy.[10] (However, the trade publicationBillboard reported that Virginia Maxie replaced Hutton in December 1949.)[13] Hutton married Axel Stordahl, the other half of Dorsey's original arranging team. Just as Jo Stafford (who had married Paul Weston) had her husband's orchestra accompany her on her solo hits, June Hutton's solo hits on Capitol in the 1950s featured Stordahl's orchestra as backing group.
Louanne Hogan, who was the dubbed singing voice behind several movie stars, was briefly a member of The Pied Pipers in 1951. Lee Gotch, who had sung in the 1940s with the swing groupSix Hits and a Miss, joined the Pied Pipers from 1954 to 1967, during which time he recorded an LP by Lee Gotch's Ivy Barflies.[14][deprecated source] The Pied Pipers appeared on the December 12, 1955 episode 'Ricky's European Booking' on TV's "I Love Lucy".
The Pied Pipers sang on a few tracks ofFrank Sinatra's 1950s studio albums, backed upSam Cooke on his No. 1 hit, "You Send Me", and made a guest appearance onI Love Lucy.
The current Pied Pipers are Nancy Knorr, Don Lucas, Kevin Kennard, Chris Sanders, and David Zack. The group frequently performs with theJimmy Dorsey Orchestra.[15]
In both 1944 and 1945, The Pied Pipers won awards fromDown Beat magazine as the best and most popular group of the year.[9] The group was inducted into theVocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001.
The group was one of the early artists to return to recording at the end of theAmerican Federation of Musicians' recording ban. Under the musical leadership of Johnny Mercer and Paul Weston the Pied Piper recorded singles and albums for Capitol Records in the mid and latter 1940s.
In the 1950s they recorded forTops Records. In the 1960s they recorded forWarner Bros. Records and other companies.
jonathan darlene edwards.
jo stafford.
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