Gene Gifford
Harold Eugene Gifford (May 31, 1908 – November 12, 1970) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and arranger. Gifford was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and played banjo in high school. He played in territory bands, including Watson's Bell Hops and the bands of Bob Foster and Lloyd Williams. He formed his own group to tour Texas and then switched to guitar to play with Blue Steele and Henry Cato's Vanities Orchestra in 1928. In 1929 he wrote arrangements for Jean Goldkette, and that same year he joined the Casa Loma Orchestra, where he became the group's chief arranger. He played guitar and banjo in the ensemble but quit in 1933 to concentrate on arrangements for the group. He remained with Casa Loma until 1939, when he was bought out of his contract due to alcohol-related infractions of the band's strict rules, but he returned to play with them in 1948-49. He worked as a freelance arranger in the 1940s and did much work arranging for radio. In the 1950s and 1960s he went into semiretirement from music, working in radio engineering. Gifford led only one session as a bandleader, which yielded four tunes for Victor Records in 1935.
|
Birth and Death Data: Born May 31, 1908 (Americus), Died November 12, 1970 (Memphis)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1927 - 1939
Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, guitar, leader, arranger, songwriter, lyricist, banjo
Notes: Some Victor disc labels list his composition credits under name, "Eugene Gifford."
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-28 of 28 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gennett | 15069 | 10-in. | 4/22/1929 | I'll never forget | Johnny Burris Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Gennett | 15070 | 10-in. | 4/22/1929 | So comfy | Johnny Burris Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, guitar | |
Decca | DLA 835 | 10-in. | 7/23/1937 | Casa Loma stomp | Glen Gray Orchestra | arranger |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gifford, Gene," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110276.
Gifford, Gene. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/110276.
"Gifford, Gene." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gifford, Gene, 1908-1970 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no96032323
Wikidata: Gene Gifford - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1490796
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/64193957
MusicBrainz: Gene Gifford - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/cd161027-8d96-46f8-a5cd-812c763bee66
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.