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George Wettling

George Godfrey Wettling (November 28, 1907 – June 6, 1968) was an American jazz drummer.

He was born in Topeka, Kansas, United States, and from his early teens was living in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the young Chicagoans who fell in love with jazz as a result of hearing King Oliver's band (with Louis Armstrong on second cornet) at Lincoln Gardens in the early 1920s. Oliver's drummer, Baby Dodds, made a particular and lasting impression on Wettling.

Wettling went on to work with the big bands of Artie Shaw, Bunny Berigan, Red Norvo, Paul Whiteman, and Chico Marx, but he was at his best with bands led by Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and himself. In these small bands, Wettling demonstrated the arts of dynamics and responding to a particular soloist that he had learned from Baby Dodds.

Wettling was a member of some of Condon's bands, which included Wild Bill Davison, Billy Butterfield, Edmond Hall, Peanuts Hucko, Pee Wee Russell, Cutty Cutshall, Gene Schroeder, Ralph Sutton, and Walter Page. In 1957, he toured England with a Condon band that included Davison, Cutshall, and Schroeder.

Toward the end of his life, Wettling, like his friend clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, took up painting and was influenced by the American cubist Stuart Davis. He has been said to have believed that "jazz drumming and abstract painting seemed different for him only from the point of view of craftsmanship: in both fields he felt rhythm to be decisive".

Birth and Death Data: Born November 28, 1907 (Topeka), Died June 6, 1968 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1956

Roles Represented in DAHR: drums, traps

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 148 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 65783 10-in. 6/13/1939 All alone Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 65784 10-in. 6/13/1939 Remember Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66498 10-in. 11/9/1939 Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny! Oh! The Andrews Sisters instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66499 10-in. 11/9/1939 South American way The Andrews Sisters instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66906 10-in. 11/24/1939 All the things you are Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66907 10-in. 11/24/1939 All in fun Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66908 10-in. 11/24/1939 Heaven in my arms Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66909 10-in. 11/24/1939 That lucky fellow Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66996 10-in. 12/21/1939 The creaking old mill on the creek Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66997 10-in. 12/21/1939 The gaucho serenade Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66998 10-in. 12/21/1939 Darn that dream Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 66999 10-in. 12/21/1939 My fantasy Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67014 12-in. 1/3/1940 Manhattan serenade Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67015 12-in. 1/3/1940 Manhattan moonlight Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67016 12-in. 1/3/1940 Metropolitan nocturne Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67021 12-in. 1/4/1940 Manhattan masquerade Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67022 12-in. 1/4/1940 Side street in Gotham, part 1 Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67023 12-in. 1/4/1940 Side street in Gotham, part 2 Paul Whiteman Orchestra instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67059 10-in. 1/16/1940 I've found a new baby George Wettling's Chicago Rhythm Kings instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67060 10-in. 1/16/1940 Bugle call rag George Wettling's Chicago Rhythm Kings instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67061 10-in. 1/16/1940 I wish I could shimmy like my sister Kate George Wettling's Chicago Rhythm Kings instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 67062 10-in. 1/16/1940 Darktown Strutters' Ball George Wettling's Chicago Rhythm Kings instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 73279 1/16/1946 After you've gone Bing Crosby instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 73280 1/16/1946 Personality Bing Crosby instrumentalist, drums  
Decca 72497 10-in. 11/8/1944 That ole devil called love Billie Holiday instrumentalist, drums  
(Results 51-75 of 148 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wettling, George," accessed July 7, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

Wettling, George. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 7, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504.

"Wettling, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 July 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105504

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