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Sam Donahue

Samuel Koontz Donahue (March 18, 1918 – March 22, 1974)[1] was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, and musical arranger. He performed with Gene Krupa, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Billy May, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton.[2]

Sam Donahue
At the Aquarium in New York City, c. December 1946
At the Aquarium in New York City, c. December 1946
Background information
Birth nameSamuel Koontz Donahue
Born(1918-03-18)March 18, 1918
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedMarch 22, 1974(1974-03-22) (aged 56)
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Saxophone, trumpet

Biography

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Donahue was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He put together his first band when he was only 15 years old.[3] Donahue played in the bands of Gene Krupa, Harry James, and Benny Goodman.[1] During World War II, Donahue took over the US Navy band of Artie Shaw. Marc Myers of JazzWax stated that “Donahue's Navy Band was easily one of the most swinging bands of the war.”[4][5] After the war, he assembled and led a group that recorded “extensively” for Capitol Records.[5][6] Trumpeters Harry Gozzard and Doc Severinsen, Wayne Herdell, arranger Leo Reisman and vocalists Frances Wayne and Jo Stafford were some of the members included in the new band. It dissolved in 1951 when Donahue re-enlisted in the Navy to serve in the Korean War.[7][unreliable source?]

It is mentioned in Donahue’s IMDb bio and also in an UPROXX article that Frank Sinatra Jr. was a vocalist for Donahue.[8] According to a DownBeat article, “he began performing in his mid-teens for the Sam Donahue band.”[9] Sinatra later mentioned that the majority of what he learned about singing was learned through the time he spent with Donahue and the other musicians in the band.[10] Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe while on tour with Donahue. His father Frank Sinatra paid the $240,000 ransom which ultimately led to his son’s release from the kidnappers.[11][12]

Donahue was married to actress Patricia Donahue, was the father of one-time Fairport Convention member guitarist Jerry Donahue who played on the album, Fotheringay 2.[13]

His compositions included "Quiet and Roll 'Em" with Gene Krupa, "Convoy" released as V-Disc No. 610B, "LST Party" released as V-Disc No. 573A in January, 1946, with the Navy Dance Band, "Scuttlin'", "Love Scene", "Please Get Us Out", "Root Toot", "Constellation", "Conversation at Lindy's", "Saxa-Boogie", and "Saxophone Sam".

 
Donahue, left, talking with Stan Kenton at the Aquarium in NYC, 1946. He later worked with Kenton, performing in two album recordings that won Grammy Awards.

"I’ll Never Tire of You" is a 1941 song written by Richard Kollmar, Cy Walter and Jimmy Dobson. It was recorded in New York City on November 12, 1941, by Donahue and his orchestra as a RCA Victor - Bluebird 78 rpm single. Andy Blaine was the sole vocalist. The song is featured in The Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48[14][15] on Acrobat Records. Marketing and distribution for the album was handled by Arista Records.[16] An article in Jazz Journal featured that reissue album; which has a majority of Donahue’s songs from the 1940s.[17] Online music database AllMusic also highlighted that album on their website.[18][19] Trapeze Music & Entertainment Limited, an independent label and distributor with a loyal customer base in the UK, US and throughout mainland Europe, highlighted a quote in their reviews (borrowed from Jazzviews March 2021) by Derek Ansell, a regular contributor to Jazz Journal, stating, “Although these pieces vary tremendously from track to track the music is all well played and shines a spotlight on a musician who really deserved to be much better known than he was.”[20] In an article in The Syncopated Times, Scott Yanow, who has written for DownBeat, JazzTimes, AllMusic, Cadence, Coda and the Los Angeles Times, stated, regarding the collection of Donahue’s songs, that “it is a pity that it could not have been a three-CD set that included everything” that he recorded during 1940-48. Yanow also voiced his opinion in that article regarding the musical skills of Donahue and his band members, stating that “the musicianship is consistently excellent.”[21] The songs from that album are listed in the Spotify and Apple Music listening databases.[22]

Donahue died from pancreatic cancer on March 22, 1974.[23]

Discography

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As leader

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  • For Young Moderns in Love (Capitol, 1954)
  • Classics in Jazz (Capitol, 1955)
  • Dance Date With Sam Donahue (Remington, 1957)
  • Stop Look Go And Listen To Sam Donahue (Prescott, 1958)
  • Convoy (Hep, 1994)
  • LST Party (Hep, 1994)
  • Hollywood Hop (Hep, 2000)
  • Take Five (Hep, 2002)
  • The Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48 (Acrobat, 2021)

As sideman

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With Stan Kenton

With others

References

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  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 715/6. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. ^ Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (1995). Jazz: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides. pp. 175–176. ISBN 1-85828-137-7.
  3. ^ "Biography of Sam Donahue". AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Myers, Marc. "Sam Donahue's Navy Band". JazzWax. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Myers, Marc (June 18, 2014). "Sam Donahue's Navy Band". All About Jazz. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  6. ^ Vera, Billy (2000). From the Vaults Vol. 3: Capitol Jumps (CD). Hollywood: Capitol Records. p. 6.
  7. ^ "IMDB". IMDb.
  8. ^ Roberts, Andrew (March 17, 2016). "Frank Sinatra Jr. Has Died At The Age Of 72".
  9. ^ Zimmerman, Brian (March 28, 2016). "Frank Sinatra Jr. Dies at 72". DownBeat Magazine. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "Frank Sinatra Jr".
  11. ^ Williams, Richard (March 17, 2016). "Frank Sinatra Jr Obituary". TheGuardian.com.
  12. ^ Randisi, Robert J. (November 29, 2023). It Was A Very Bad Year. Severn House. ISBN 9780727881915 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ^ "2 - Fotheringay | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  14. ^ "Sam Donahue - The Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48 (2021)". IsraBox - Music is Life. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Ansell, Derek. "SAM DONAHUE - Collection 1940 - 1948". Jazz Views. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  16. ^ "Acrobat Records". Discogs. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  17. ^ Jack, Gordon (June 4, 2021). "Sam Donahue: Collection 1940-48". Jazz Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  18. ^ "Sam Donahue Collection: 1940-48". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "I'll Never Tire of You". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  20. ^ Ansell, Derek. "Sam Donahue - The Collection 1940-48". Trapeze Music. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  21. ^ Yanow, Scott (May 27, 2021). "Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48". The Syncopated Times. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  22. ^ "Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48". Spotify. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  23. ^ Popa, Christopher (April 2009). "Sam Donahue: "No Other Life of Which I'm Fonder"". Big Band Library. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
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