The big bands are back
in a new and exciting way
image courtesy Glenn Miller Productions, Inc.
BOOKING A NAME BAND NOW
by Music Librarian Christopher Popa
portions updated February and June 2017
During the heyday of the legendary bands, the biggest names were booked by about a dozen famous agencies, such as the Music Corporation of America (MCA), General Artists Corporation (GAC), Rockwell-O'Keefe, Associated Booking Corporation (ABC), and Mills Artists, Inc.
But as public interest in the bands dwindled, those agencies turned their attention to more lucrative fields like rock'n' roll groups, movie stars, and other celebrities.
For many years, especially in the 1960s, ‘70s, and early ‘80s, The Willard Alexander Agency was the prime specialist for big bands, but it ceased operation following Alexander’s death in 1984.
As you can see by the list below, there are still name bands in existence. In fact, some, like The Ted Lewis Orchestra directed by Joseph Rubin, put on wonderful performances.
Today, most bands simply operate out of their own offices – but, there is an uncertain status for a few of the groups, because some bands don’t even have their own website (it’s almost like they don’t want you to be able to find them) and others that do have a website haven’t updated anything on it, such as their performance calendars, in a while.
Please use the information below only for employing the name bands listed, not for other questions unrelated to booking the groups, comments, fan requests, where can I buy your records, etc.
RAY ANTHONY
“Ray Anthony and His Orchestra” rayanthonyband.com
contact: 310.858.1992 / 888.RAY.ANTHONY (888.729.2684) M-H 9-5 PST
NOTE: Ray Anthony is still alive (born January 20, 1922)
COUNT BASIE
“The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra” thecountbasieorchestra.com
contact: Dee Askew, CEO/Bookings, dee@thecountbasieorchestra.com,
973.275.0529
TEX BENEKE
“The Tex Beneke Orchestra” terryhillentertainment.com
contact: Terry M. Hill & Associates, Inc., terryhillinc@verizon.net, 760.674.0540
RANDY BROOKS
“The Randy Brooks Orchestra” bobcary.webs.com/randybrooksorchestra.html
contact: Bob Cary, bcary600@gmail.com
LES BROWN
“Les Brown’s Band of Renown directed by Les Brown Jr.” bandofrenown.com
no information available
CAB CALLOWAY
“Cab Calloway Orchestra Official Homepage” cabcalloway.cc
contact: C. Calloway Brooks, info@cabcalloway.cc, 914.833.3777
XAVIER CUGAT
“The Xavier Cugat Orchestra”
contact: ACK Enterprises, Inc., 21 Kenneth St., Plainview, NY, 516.681.1271
JIMMY DORSEY
“The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra” jimmydorseyorchestra.com
contact: Bill Tole, BillTole1@aol.com
TOMMY DORSEY
“The One & Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra” buddymorrowproductions.com
contact: Carol Morrow, info@buddymorrowproductions.com, 407.831.1675
LES AND LARRY ELGART
“The World Famous Les Elgart Orchestra” has ceased to exist, following leader Russ Dorsey's passing on July 19, 2015. Likewise, their official website, leselgart.com, is no longer active. Meanwhile, Larry is still alive (born March 20, 1922), but he is retired.
DUKE ELLINGTON
“The Duke Ellington Orchestra” dukeellington.com
contact: A.C. Lichtenstein, President, Ideal Entertainment, Inc., ace@idealtalent.com
JAN GARBER
“The Jan Garber Orchestra” jangarber.com
contact: Howard Schneider, trumpeterone@hotmail.com, 262.626.1600
DIZZY GILLESPIE
“The Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Quintet, and Afro-Cuban Experience” dizzygillespie.org
contact: Frank Moten, bands@ourgig.net, 305.604.5256
LIONEL HAMPTON
“The Lionel Hampton New York Big Band”
no information available
HORACE HEIDT
“Horace Heidt Jr. and His Musical Knights” bigbands.com
contact: Horace Heidt Productions, productions@bigbands.com, 818.995.6827
WOODY HERMAN
“The Woody Herman Orchestra” woodyherman.biz
contact: Stew Jackson, CEO, info@woodyherman.biz, 303.300.2500 ext 101
EDDY HOWARD
“Memories of the Eddy Howard Orchestra”
contact: Gerald Accola, 815.747.3196
status uncertain 6/2014
HARRY JAMES
“The Harry James Orchestra” fredradke.com
contact: Fred Radke, info@harryjamesband.com or Mike Magnelli, Regal Artists
Corporation, 617.287.1221
DICK JURGENS
“The Dick Jurgens Orchestra”
status uncertain 6/2014
SAMMY KAYE
“The Sammy Kaye Orchestra” sammykayeorchestra.com
contact: Roger Thorpe, RPThorpe@aol.com, 845.255.1944
GENE KRUPA
Mike Berkowitz has let his license to lead the Gene Krupa Orchestra lapse, so there is no longer an official Krupa band. Likewise, Berkowitz's website, berkmusic.com, has been discontinued.
LESTER LANIN
“The Lester Lanin Orchestra” lesterlanin.com
contact: Spencer Bruno, Spencer Bruno Productions, Inc.,
spencer@LesterLanin.com, 212.265.5208
TED LEWIS
“The Ted Lewis Orchestra” tedlewisorchestra.com
contact: Joseph Rubin, Director
jrubin@tedlewisorchestra.com, 646.580.6833
GUY LOMBARDO
“Guy Lombardo’s Royal Canadians” continue to perform, directed by Al Pierson, though his wife, Nancy Pizzamiglio, who acted as their contact via the e-mail address ApGLO@aol.com, passed away on May 8, 2016.
HAL McINTYRE
“The Hal McIntyre Orchestra”
contact: Don Pentleton, donpentleton@yahoo.com
GLENN MILLER
“The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra”
[ United States, Canada, Mexico ] glennmillerorchestra.com
contact: Charles DeStefano, Charles@glennmillerorchestra.com, 321.441.9135 ext 1
or Phoenix Talent Agency, Inc., office@phoenixtalentagency.com, 321.441.9139
[ England, Scotland, Ireland ] glennmillerorchestra.co.uk
[ Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Denmark ] glennmillerorchestra.se
[ Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus ]
glenn-miller-orchestra.de/t3/index.php
LOUIS PRIMA
“Keely Smith”
contact: Terry M. Hill & Associates, Inc., terryhillinc@verizon.net, 760.674.0540
“Lena Prima” lenaprimamusic.com / lenaprimaofficial.com
contact: Tim Fahey, Lena Prima Productions, tim@lenaprimamusic.com,
504.616.2322
BUDDY RICH
“The Buddy Rich Big Band”
contact: Scabeba Entertainment, scabeba1@aol.com
ARTIE SHAW
“The Artie Shaw Orchestra” artieshaworchestra.com
contact: Bill Curtis, William.ciamusic@gmail.com, 781.400.5610 or 917.309.3544
A good way to hire one of the above groups would also be to contact Thomas Cassidy of America’s Music Agency, info@americasmusicagency.com, 520.751.4751, as he and his wife, Susan, can probably book most (if not all) of the name bands still in existence. Cassidy was a former employee of the Willard Alexander Agency.
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