Today in Jazz History
Joe Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in silent-movie theaters, on radio stations, and with dance orchestras where he was exposed to jazz. He graduated from the Chicago Conservatory of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and subsequently became an important contributor to the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s. Joe Sullivan was born November 5, 1906.
Sullivan's recording career began in1927 when he joined McKenzie and Condon’s Chicagoans. The group, led by banjo player Eddie Condon and vocalist Red McKenzie made several recordings during that period that were important influences on the “Chicago Style” of 1920s jazz. Other musicians in Sullivan’s circle included cornetist Jimmy McPartland, saxophonists Frank Teschemacher and Bud Freeman, bassist Jim Lanigan and drummer Gene Krupa, some of whom were associated with the famous “Austin High Gang.”
In 1933 Sullivan was hired by Bing Crosby as his accompanist. Together they made many recordings and were heard on numerous radio broadcasts. Four years later, while Joe was convalescing at a sanitarium in California after contracting tuberculosis, Crosby organized and appeared in a five-hour benefit for him before an audience of six thousand at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast over two radio stations and featured performances by the bands led by Jimmy Dorsey, Ray Noble, Woody Herman and Louis Prima.
After his recovery, Sullivan briefly rejoined Bing Crosby in 1938 and played with Bob Crosby and his Bobcats in 1939. While leading Joe Sullivan's Cafe Society Orchestra in 1940 he had a minor hit with the song I’ve Got a Crush on You. By the 1950s, Sullivan was largely forgotten, playing solo piano in San Francisco. Excessive drinking caused Sullivan to become increasingly unreliable and unable to keep a steady job, either as band member or soloist. However, in 1963 he did play with Jack Teagarden and Pee Wee Russell at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Joe Sullivan died in San Francisco in October 1971, at the age of 64.
Here is a link to Joe Sullivan playing one of his compositions: