Chester Leighton & His Sophomores - A Peach Of A Pair

Chester Leighton & His Sophomores was a pseudonym used for several bands, including those of Fred Rich (like on this record), Harry Reser, Ben Selvin and possibly several more. The conductor featured here - Fred Rich - was a Polish-born American bandleader and composer who was active from the 20's to the 50's. Among the famous musicians in his band included the Dorsey Brothers, Joe Venuti, Bunny Berigan and Benny Goodman. In the early 30's, Elmer Feldkamp was one of his vocalists. Rich was a pianist and he formed his own band in the 20's. Between 1925-1928, he toured Europe. Rich enjoyed a long stay at the famous Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. After this, he began leading studio band that featured many famous musicians. He often recorded under the names Fred Richards, the Astorites, the Hotel Astor Band (considering that Rich and his band played at the Astor Hotel for a time in the 1920s) and many others. In the late 30's, he would become a musical director for various radio stations and in 1942, he moved onto a staff position with United Artists Studios in Hollywood, where he was to remain for most of his career. In 1945, Rich was badly injured when he suffered a fall. Despite this, Rich continued to lead studio bands into the 1950s. Fred Rich died on September 8, 1956 in California aged 58 after a long illness. As a pianist, Fred Rich has a number of song credits to his name, He also wrote scores for many movies. On this particular recording Tommy Dorsey and Joe Venuti have really nice jazzy solos. Possibly Tommy's brother Jimmy does some nice filling in on clarinet, altnough it could actually be Tony Parenti who is playing. We hear a strong rhythm section with Eddie Lang, Joe Tarto (?) and Stan King. The vocal is by Smith Ballew. He was an excellent singer who worked with the most diverse jazz and dance bands (Ben Pollack, the Dorsey Brothers...).