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Red Nichols Collection

A child prodigy trained as a classical musician, Red Nichols would reshape Jazz.

Red Nichols

36 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 14 hours, 1145 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
15 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from July 18, 1951:

"Tune All By Myself"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Red Nichols
(1905 – 1965)

Red NicholsMusic is music and Jazz cares little about the color of the skin on the fingers playing the notes. The important thing is the skill in those fingers, which in turn is the product of an active and open mind.

Loring "Red" Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, 1905, where his father was a professor of music at a local university. Little Red was a prodigy and his father placed a cornet in his young hands when he was just five years old. By the age of twelve, he was tackling difficult set pieces with his father's brass band and the youngster can be heard on recordings by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and Bix Beiderbecke. Although his father's classical and formal music training would serve him well throughout his career (Nichols could "spot-read" sheet music), it was obvious to all that Red was destined to be a Jazzman.

Red began an Eastward migration in the early Twenties, playing the Midwest with a group called The Syncopating Seven. When the Seven broke up in 1923, Nichols joined the Johnny Johnson Orchestra and moved to New York City. Teamed with trombonist Miff Mole, Red pioneered the "Chamber Jazz" movement. Chamber Jazz is played by much smaller ensembles than the more directed Big Band or Swing Jazz and presents a more intellectual or strictly listenable sound than the danceable hits of Swing artists. "Red Nichols and His Five Pennies" were leaders of this movement and the "Five Pennies" were usually more than five musicians. They were a rotating crew of whichever players were available for a session and took their name from a pun on Red's surname ("five pennies make a nickel").

Red and his Pennies cut dozens of records during this period, and critics gave the ensemble favorable comparison with Louis Armstrong's Hot Five bands. Musicians who worked with the Five Pennies at various times included Miff Mole, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jack Teagarden, Pee Wee Russell, Eddie Lang, Gene Krupa, and others. Chamber Jazz drew heavily on the Dixieland influence, and when Swing began to eclipse Dixieland, Red formed a Swing outfit, but the wind in the band's sails began to fade around 1932.

Red NicholsNichols married a former showgirl from George White's Scandals, Willa Stutsman. He got through the early years of the Great Depression leading show bands, including Bob Hope's radio show band. Willa had a daughter, Dorothy, and the family moved to Los Angeles following the Radio industry. When Dorothy contracted polio in 1942, Red quit music for a more dependable income at an aircraft factory.

After the War, Red began putting together new ensembles which played small clubs around Los Angeles. Red's amazing career in the music industry was profiled in an article titled "Intermission" in the pages of Readers Digest and Red was the subject of an episode of Ralph Edwards' This is Your Life. Old friends like Miff Mole, Jimmy Dorsey, and Phil Harris remembered Nichols as a bandleader who "made sure everybody got paid". Paramount took up the story in The Five Pennies (1959) starring Danny Kaye. The film was a somewhat fictionalized version of Red's life, although he did not appear in the film, Nichols recorded the cornet music that Kaye was supposedly playing on the screen.

Red Nichols and the Five Pennies rode this renewed wave of success to a 1965 engagement at the then-new Mint Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. Just a few days into the gig, Red was awakened by paralyzing chest pains. He called the front desk who summoned an ambulance, but it was too late. Red Nichols died on June 28, 1965, at the age of 60. The Five Pennies played that night as scheduled, but in place of Red and his cornet, a single spotlight shone on an empty chair on the stage.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    36 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 14 hours, 1145 min
    36 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 14 hours, 1145 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 36 shows – total playtime 14 hours, 19 minutes
    2. Alexanders Ragtime Band By Miff Mole Red Nichols 1927.mp3
    3. Bing Crosby 491109.mp3
    4. Bing Crosby 520326 Anna Marie Alberghett.mp3
    5. Bing Crosby 521127 Connie Boswell.mp3
    6. Brunswick Brevity 290000 Early Radio Sponsored by Brunswic.mp3
    7. Chesterfield Show 491109 008 Mills Bros Ella Fitzgerald.mp3
    8. Chesterfield Show 520123 091 Paul Douglas And Helen Oconnell.mp3
    9. Chesterfield Show4952 491012 004 Peggy Lee.mp3
    10. Chesterfield Show4952 520213 094 Bogart Lauren Bacall.mp3
    11. Chesterfield Show4952 520319 099 Jimmy Stewart Fran Warren.mp3
    12. Chesterfield Show4952 520326 100 Anna Maria Albergetti.mp3
    13. General Electric Show 521127 08 Connie Boswell.mp3
    14. General Electric Show 530326 25 Rosemary Clooney.mp3
    15. Gi Jive Navy Day Carol Bruce.mp3
    16. Guest Star 501231 Dixieland Clambake Number 1.mp3
    17. Heres To Veteran 1490 Red Nichols.mp3
    18. On Stage 530430 17 Happy Anniversary Album.mp3
    19. One Night Stand 440624 0358 Champ.mp3
    20. Phil Harris 19531023 How To Repair Living Room.mp3
    21. Phil Harris 491023 115 Sponsors Formal Party Honoring Harris.mp3
    22. Phil Harris 531016 260 Barbells Of Scotland.mp3
    23. Phil Harris 531023 261 How To Repair Living Room.mp3
    24. Philco Radio Time 470409 026 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee.mp3
    25. Philco Radio Time 481110 079 Oscar Levant.mp3
    26. Philco Radio Time 481110 Oscar Levant.mp3
    27. Philco Time 470409 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee.mp3
    28. Red Nichols Remote 501028 From Sardis Restaurant.mp3
    29. Red Nichols Show 510712 03 Tune American Patrol.mp3
    30. Red Nichols Show 510719 04 Tune All By Myself.mp3
    31. Red Nichols Show 510726 05 Tune Ruhr March.mp3
    32. Red Nichols Show 510802 06 Tune Shake It And Break It.mp3
    33. Red Nichols Show 510906 11 My Adobe Hacienda.mp3
    34. Red Nichols Show 510913 12 Buddys Habits.mp3
    35. Red Nichols Show 511101 19 Sweet Georgia Brown.mp3
    36. Screen Guild Theater 510118 491 Birth Of Blues.mp3
    37. Suspense 510208 Windy City Six.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    36 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 14 hours, 1145 min
    36 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    393 MB – total playtime 14 hours, 19 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 36 shows – 393 MB – total playtime 14 hours, 19 minutes
    2. Alexanders Ragtime Band By Miff Mole Red Nichols 1927.mp3
    3. Bing Crosby 491109.mp3
    4. Bing Crosby 520326 Anna Marie Alberghett.mp3
    5. Bing Crosby 521127 Connie Boswell.mp3
    6. Brunswick Brevity 290000 Early Radio Sponsored by Brunswic.mp3
    7. Chesterfield Show 491109 008 Mills Bros Ella Fitzgerald.mp3
    8. Chesterfield Show 520123 091 Paul Douglas And Helen Oconnell.mp3
    9. Chesterfield Show4952 491012 004 Peggy Lee.mp3
    10. Chesterfield Show4952 520213 094 Bogart Lauren Bacall.mp3
    11. Chesterfield Show4952 520319 099 Jimmy Stewart Fran Warren.mp3
    12. Chesterfield Show4952 520326 100 Anna Maria Albergetti.mp3
    13. General Electric Show 521127 08 Connie Boswell.mp3
    14. General Electric Show 530326 25 Rosemary Clooney.mp3
    15. Gi Jive Navy Day Carol Bruce.mp3
    16. Guest Star 501231 Dixieland Clambake Number 1.mp3
    17. Heres To Veteran 1490 Red Nichols.mp3
    18. On Stage 530430 17 Happy Anniversary Album.mp3
    19. One Night Stand 440624 0358 Champ.mp3
    20. Phil Harris 19531023 How To Repair Living Room.mp3
    21. Phil Harris 491023 115 Sponsors Formal Party Honoring Harris.mp3
    22. Phil Harris 531016 260 Barbells Of Scotland.mp3
    23. Phil Harris 531023 261 How To Repair Living Room.mp3
    24. Philco Radio Time 470409 026 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee.mp3
    25. Philco Radio Time 481110 079 Oscar Levant.mp3
    26. Philco Radio Time 481110 Oscar Levant.mp3
    27. Philco Time 470409 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee.mp3
    28. Red Nichols Remote 501028 From Sardis Restaurant.mp3
    29. Red Nichols Show 510712 03 Tune American Patrol.mp3
    30. Red Nichols Show 510719 04 Tune All By Myself.mp3
    31. Red Nichols Show 510726 05 Tune Ruhr March.mp3
    32. Red Nichols Show 510802 06 Tune Shake It And Break It.mp3
    33. Red Nichols Show 510906 11 My Adobe Hacienda.mp3
    34. Red Nichols Show 510913 12 Buddys Habits.mp3
    35. Red Nichols Show 511101 19 Sweet Georgia Brown.mp3
    36. Screen Guild Theater 510118 491 Birth Of Blues.mp3
    37. Suspense 510208 Windy City Six.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    36 recordings on 15 Audio CDs. Total playtime 14 hours, 19 min
    36 recordings on 15 Audio CDs
    total playtime 14 hours, 19 min

    Red Nichols Disc A001

    1. Alexanders Ragtime Band By Miff Mole Red Nichols 1927
    2. Gi Jive Navy Day Carol Bruce
    3. Heres To Veteran 1490 Red Nichols
    4. Phil Harris 19531023 How To Repair Living Room
    5. Brunswick Brevity 290000 Early Radio Sponsored by Brunswic

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A002

    1. One Night Stand 440624 0358 Champ
    2. Philco Radio Time 470409 026 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A003

    1. Philco Time 470409 Alec Templeton And Peggy Lee
    2. Philco Radio Time 481110 079 Oscar Levant

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A004

    1. Philco Radio Time 481110 Oscar Levant
    2. Chesterfield Show4952 491012 004 Peggy Lee

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A005

    1. Phil Harris 491023 115 Sponsors Formal Party Honoring Harris
    2. Bing Crosby 491109

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A006

    1. Chesterfield Show 491109 008 Mills Bros Ella Fitzgerald
    2. Red Nichols Remote 501028 From Sardis Restaurant
    3. Guest Star 501231 Dixieland Clambake Number 1

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A007

    1. Screen Guild Theater 510118 491 Birth Of Blues

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A008

    1. Suspense 510208 Windy City Six
    2. Red Nichols Show 510712 03 Tune American Patrol
    3. Red Nichols Show 510719 04 Tune All By Myself
    4. Red Nichols Show 510726 05 Tune Ruhr March

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A009

    1. Red Nichols Show 510802 06 Tune Shake It And Break It
    2. Red Nichols Show 510906 11 My Adobe Hacienda
    3. Red Nichols Show 510913 12 Buddys Habits
    4. Red Nichols Show 511101 19 Sweet Georgia Brown

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A010

    1. Chesterfield Show 520123 091 Paul Douglas And Helen Oconnell
    2. Chesterfield Show4952 520213 094 Bogart Lauren Bacall

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A011

    1. Chesterfield Show4952 520319 099 Jimmy Stewart Fran Warren
    2. Bing Crosby 520326 Anna Marie Alberghett

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A012

    1. Chesterfield Show4952 520326 100 Anna Maria Albergetti
    2. Bing Crosby 521127 Connie Boswell
    3. General Electric Show 521127 08 Connie Boswell

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A013

    1. General Electric Show 530326 25 Rosemary Clooney
    2. On Stage 530430 17 Happy Anniversary Album

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A014

    1. Phil Harris 531016 260 Barbells Of Scotland

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Red Nichols Disc A015

    1. Phil Harris 531023 261 How To Repair Living Room

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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