Bill Finegan
William James Finegan (April 3, 1917[1] – June 4, 2008)[2] was an American jazz bandleader, pianist, arranger, and composer. He was an arranger in the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Life and career
Born in
After the demise of Miller's orchestra in 1942, Finegan joined Horace Heidt, writing "some pieces for the band that immediately sent its musical stock skyward."[5]
In 1947-48 Finegan studied with
Compositions
He composed and/or arranged "Down For The Count", "Conversation Piece", "Are Ya Jumpin' Jack?", recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, "Doodletown Fifers", "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum", "Doodletown Races", "Yankee Doodletown", "Pussy Willow", "Bingo, Bango, Boffo", "Hollywood Hat", "Piccalilli Dilly", "Church Mouse", "Alright Already", "Texas Tex", recorded by Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1946, "Child's Play", and "Tail End Charlie" which was released by Glenn Miller and his AAFTC Orchestra as a V-Disc, no. 144A, in March, 1944.
Other professional activities
Finegan taught a class in arranging at Housatonic Community College in 1974.[7]
Personal life
Finegan's first wife was Kay Finegan. They divorced in the early 1960s.[8] Finegan later married to Rosemary O Reilly Finegan. They had a son James Finegan and a daughter Helen (Finegan) Dzujna.
Death
Bill Finegan died on Wednesday, June 4, 2008, in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the age 91. The cause of death was pneumonia.[2]
Sauter-Finegan Orchestra discography
- Moonlight On The Ganges/April In Paris (7") RCA Victor 1952
- Rain/Stop! Sit Down! Relax! Think! (7") RCA Victor 1952
- Doodletown Fifers/Azure-Té (Paris Blues) (7") RCA Victor 1952
- Now That I'm In Love/Yankee Doodletown (7", Promo) RCA Victor 1953
- Where's Ace/Hit The Road To Dreamland(7") RCA Victor 1954
- Of Thee I Sing/Pale Moon (7") RCA Victor 1954
- Concert Jazz (12") RCA Victor 1955
- Directions In Music (CD Compilation) BMG Music 1989
- Doodletown Fifers/Moonlight On The Ganges (7")
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
- ^ a b "Bill Finegan". Heraldscotland.com. 5 July 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ISBN 9781467101769. Accessed October 4, 2019. "Big Band music arranger (class of 1935) learned to read and write music simultaneously from Elizabeth Connelly, and European-trained Austrian Rudolf Winthrop provided him with lessons in harmony each week."
- ^ "Alphabetized Hall of Fame". Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Archived from the original on 2016-04-01. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ^ Simon, George T. (1974). The Big Bands. Collier Books. P. 241.
- ^ "Kay Finegan". Variety.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
Bibliography
- Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford, 1999, p. 225.
External links
- "Remembering Bill Finegan" by Jeff Sultanof, (Jazz.com)