Dave Tough | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Jarvis Tough |
| Born | (1907-04-26)April 26, 1907 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1948(1948-12-09) (aged 41) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1925–1948 |
Dave Tough (April 26, 1907 – December 9, 1948)[1] was an American jazz drummer associated withDixieland andswing jazz in the 1930s and 1940s.
Born inOak Park,Illinois, United States,[1] Tough was a friend ofBud Freeman, who was part of a group of musicians known as theAustin High School Gang in Chicago.[1] In 1925, he became a professional musician, playing withJack Gardner, Art Kassel, Sig Meyers, and Husk O'Hare's Wolverines. After two years in Europe, he returned home and played withBenny Goodman andRed Nichols.[2]
He left music for three years until 1935, then joined the big bands ofTommy Dorsey,Red Norvo,Bunny Berigan, and Benny Goodman.[2][3] He playedDixieland jazz with Bud Freeman,Jack Teagarden,Eddie Condon,Mezz Mezzrow, andJoe Marsala.[1] In the 1940s, he played with the big bands ofCharlie Spivak andClaude Thornhill, inArtie Shaw's Symphonic Swing Orchestra (1941) and the subsequent naval band led byShaw (1942-1944), then joinedWoody Herman's big band (1945).[1] He subsequently worked withEddie Condon,Jerry Gray,Muggsy Spanier,Will Bradley andJazz at the Philharmonic.[2]
Tough struggled with epilepsy throughout his life. He died at the age of 41 after falling down and hitting his head on the street in Newark, New Jersey.[2]
"...(Woody) Herman told (Ed) Soph that Dave Tough was an epileptic. This condition wasn't fully understood in the twenties and thirties. In many instances it was considered a mental deficency. As a recommended aid in reducing the epileptic attacks, Tough drank......One cold icy evening in the winter of 1948, Dave Tough was out walking on leave from a stay at a Veterans Hospital. He had an epileptic attack, fell hitting his head on the sidewalk and was dead."[4]
He was played byShelly Manne in the 1959Paramount Pictures biopicThe Five Pennies, a biography ofRed Nichols starringDanny Kaye,Barbara Bel Geddes, andLouis Armstrong.
Dave Tough has been described as "the most important of the drummers of the Chicago circle".[3]
In 2000, he was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
WithTommy Dorsey
WithBenny Goodman
WithCharlie Ventura
With others
