Sonny Greer

born on 13/12/1895 in Long Branch, NJ, United States

died on 23/3/1982 in New York City, NY, United States

Sonny Greer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

William Alexander "Sonny" Greer (December 13, c. 1895 – March 23, 1982) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.

Biography

Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C., before joining Duke Ellington, whom he met in 1919. He was Ellington's first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians, and moving with Ellington into the Cotton Club. As a result of his job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company of Indiana, Greer was able to build up a huge drum kit worth over a then-considerable $3,000, including chimes, a gong, timpani, and vibes.[1]

Greer was a heavy drinker, as well as a pool-hall hustler (when he needed to retrieve his drums from the pawnbroker), and in 1950 Ellington responded to his drinking and occasional unreliability by taking a second drummer, Butch Ballard, with them on a tour of Scandinavia. This enraged Greer, and the consequent argument led to their permanent estrangement.

Greer continued to play, mainly as a freelance drummer, working with musicians such as Johnny Hodges, Red Allen, J. C. Higginbotham, Tyree Glenn, and Brooks Kerr, as well as appearing in films, and briefly leading his own band. Greer featured in the iconic 1958 black-and-white photograph by Art Kane known as "A Great Day in Harlem". He was part of a tribute to Ellington in 1974, which achieved great success throughout the United States.

Greer died in 1982 and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.

Discography

With Johnny Hodges

  • Castle Rock (Norgran, 1951–52 [1955])
  • Creamy (Norgran, 1955)

References

  1. ^ "Sonny Greer" at Drummerworld.

Notes and external links

  • Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather & Brian Priestley. Jazz: The Rough Guide. ISBN 1-85828-528-3
  • Sonny Greer — brief biography by Scott Yanow, for Allmusic (also contains a discography)
  • Sonny Greer at Drummerworld.com
  • Sonny Greer on IMDb
This page was last modified 07.08.2018 21:13:20

This article uses material from the article Sonny Greer from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.