| Birth: | Feb. 17, 1907, Ukraine | | Death: | Mar. 1, 1982
Greenville
Greenville County
South Carolina, USA | 
Band Leader. Charlie Spivak was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came with his family to New Haven, Connecticut when just a small boy. At age ten, he learned to play the trumpet. Charlie played with locally formed bands during his teenage years. He found work with Don Cavallaro's Orchestra which was his first real professional debut. Charlie became a gypsy trumpet player, performing with one, then another major orchestra of the time. During 1924-'30 he was with Paul Specht's Orchestra, then with Ben Pollack in 1931-'34, the Dorsey Brothers 1934-'35 and then with Ray Noble. During most of 1936-'37 he played for Bob Crosby, Tommy Dorsey and the Jack Teagarden orchestras, almost always as the Lead Trumpet. Then, in November 1939, with Glenn Miller's encouragement, and financial backing, he formed his own band, which failed within a year due to friction between the musicians and himself. His second attempt shortly thereafter was more successful. This band was to become a major attraction throughout the 1940's. By late summer of 1942, trumpeter Charlie Spivak (Sweetest Horn In The World) was at the peak of popularity. His band was the hottest in the nation chalking up a number of top 10 and top 20 hits. However; his demise began with a musicians strike and the draft of World War II which diminished his orchestra. A curious sidelight on his career is that despite spending a good deal of his young life with great Jazz musicians, Charlie rarely improvised and his orchestra was what might best be termed a good Hotel or Society Dance band. When the Big Band era ended, Spivak remained active forming orchestras for specific work in Las Vegas, and Florida. His best remembered recordings are his theme 'Let's Go Home, Autumn Nocturne" and Star Dreams.' He worked right up to his death from cancer at age seventy five and recorded as late as 1981 (bio by: Donald Greyfield (inactive))
Search Amazon for Charlie Spivak | | | Burial:
Grandview Memorial Gardens
Travelers Rest
Greenville County
South Carolina, USA
Plot: Garden of the Cross lot 109 |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Donald Greyfield (inacti...
Record added: Jan 07, 2005
Find A Grave Memorial# 10285230 |
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