Drummer Chick Webb was born February 10, 1905 in Baltimore, Maryland - or 1907 or 1909 - it depends on the source you consult. They all agree, though, that his birthday was February 10th. When Webb was an infant, he fell down some stairs and the resulting injury progressed to tuberculosis of the spine. A doctor eventually recommended that playing an instrument would “loosen up his bones,” and Webb sold newspapers to earn enough money to purchase a drum set.

Webb played his first professional gig before reaching his teenage years, moved to New York City when he was 17, and was leading his own band in Harlem by 1926. In 1931 his group became the house band at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Webb himself had developed into one of the best of the swing era drummers and his playing influenced many who followed him, including Gene Krupa, Art Blakey, Louis Bellson and Buddy Rich, who referred to Webb as “the daddy of them all.”

During the Chick Webb Orchestra’s reign at the Savoy they regularly took part in tremendously popular “battles” with other bands including those led by Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Webb’s ensemble almost always came out the victor. In 1935 Chick Webb began featuring the teenaged Ella Fitzgerald as his vocalist and together they recorded a number of huge hit records in the 1930s, including A-Tisket, A-Tasket.

In 1938 Webb’s health began to seriously deteriorate but he refused to stop playing and touring citing the need to keep his musicians employed during the Great Depression. Eventually, though, he required an operation at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and succumbed on June 16, 1939. After Webb’s passing Ella Fitgerald headed the band for the next three years. In February 1940 more than 7500 people attended a Chick Webb Benefit in his hometown.

Here is a link to the Chick Webb Orchestra playing one of their best-known tunes from a 1934 recording:

"STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY"