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George Olsen

George Edward Olsen Sr. (March 18, 1893 – March 18, 1971) was an American musician and bandleader.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Olsen's orchestra's debut hotel engagement came at the Multnomah Hotel in Portland. He then made the cross-county transition to Broadway, appearing in Kid Boots (1923), the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924, Ziegfeld Follies of 1925, and Good News (1927).

George Olsen and his orchestra were in Eddie Cantor's 1928 Broadway hit Whoopee!, and in the 1930 movie version. In the Follies George met a singer, Ethel Shutta, who sings and dances memorably in Whoopee!, and they married, appearing together in nightclubs and on radio. They had two children, George Jr. and Charles; following a divorce, Olsen opened a restaurant in Paramus, New Jersey. Olsen and Shutta were heard on the Oldsmobile Program on CBS radio in 1933. He also was an orchestra leader for The Jack Benny Program on radio.

Olsen signed with Victor in 1924 and remained as one of Victor's most popular bands until 1933 when he signed with Columbia. He stayed with Columbia through January, 1934. He recorded a single session in 1938 for Decca, and one final date for the rare Varsity label in 1940.

Olsen's bands produced few stars. Singer-saxophonist Fred MacMurray passed through in 1930 on his way to eventual movie stardom, recording a vocal on I'm in the Market for You. Olsen's long-time alto saxist and singer, Fran Frey, with his distinctive, reedy bass-baritone, was perhaps the best known Olsenite until he left in 1933 for a career as a music director in radio.

In 1936, Olsen became leader of Orville Knapp's band after Knapp died in a plane crash. Olsen was chosen to lead the band by Knapp's widow. Morale problems plagued the group, and in 1938, after many musicians had already left, the group disbanded.

A resident of Paramus, New Jersey, Olsen ran a popular local restaurant there on Paramus Road for many years before he died there on March 18, 1971. According to John S. Wilson in The New York Times, reviewing a retrospective of Olsen's recording "George Olsen and His Music" on RCA-Victor, in 1968, Olsen had a restaurant in Paramus, NJ called "George Olsen's". Wilson noted that "Olsen is there every day greeting guests at lunch and dinner... In the background, the original George Olsen records of the Twenties play softly.

After his divorce from Shutta, Olsen married Claralee Pilcer.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 18, 1893 (Portland), Died March 18, 1971 (Paramus)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1948

Roles Represented in DAHR: director, leader, composer, songwriter, speaker, traps, vocalist

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 247 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-30115 10-in. 5/16/1924 He's the hottest man in town George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30116 10-in. 5/16/1924 Sally Lou George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30165 10-in. 6/5/1924 A new kind of man George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30326 10-in. 6/26/1924 Beale Street blues George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30327 10-in. 6/26/1924 You'll never get to heaven with those eyes George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30621 10-in. 7/25/1924 Sax-o-phun George Olsen and his Music ; Rudy Wiedoeft Jazz/dance band, with saxophone solo leader  
Victor B-30622 10-in. 7/25/1924 My papa doesn't two-time no time George Olsen and his Music ; Billy Murray Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Victor B-30660 10-in. 8/19/1924 Follow the swallow George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30661 10-in. 8/19/1924 Biminy George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band, with saxophone solo leader  
Victor C-30882 12-in. 10/3/1924 Toodles George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-30883 10-in. 10/3/1924 Goin' home blues George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader, composer  
Victor B-31036 10-in. 10/22/1924 A sun-kist cottage George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader, composer  
Victor B-31037 10-in. 10/22/1924 The slave of love George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31091 10-in. 11/7/1924 Dixie dreams George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31098 10-in. 11/11/1924 Nancy George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader  
Victor B-31099 10-in. 11/11/1924 My best girl George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31400 10-in. 11/11/1924 Ever lovin' bee George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31413 10-in. 11/14/1924 Put away a little ray of golden sunshine for a rainy day George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31787 10-in. 1/29/1925 Nobody knows what a red-head mamma can do George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31989 10-in. 2/20/1925 Those Panama mamas (Are ruining me) George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-31990 10-in. 2/20/1925 Why couldn't it be poor little me George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-32050 10-in. 3/4/1925 Everybody loves my baby (But my baby don't love nobody but me) George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor B-32248 10-in. 3/24/1925 Toddle along George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band leader  
Victor BVE-32739 10-in. 6/23/1925 Say Arabella (What's a fella to do?) George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo director  
Victor BVE-32740 10-in. 6/23/1925 Save your sorrow for to-morrow George Olsen and his Music Jazz/dance band director  
(Results 1-25 of 247 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Olsen, George," accessed November 14, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106120.

Olsen, George. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106120.

"Olsen, George." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 14 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106120

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