Bill Finegan

William James Finegan (3 April 1917 – 4 June 2008) was an American jazz bandleader, pianist, arranger, and composer. He was an arranger in the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Life and career

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Finegan grew up in a household full of piano players. While growing up in Rumson, New Jersey, he taught orchestration to schoolmate Nelson Riddle,[1][2] and he studied piano with Elizabeth Connelly, piano and musicianship with flautist/alto saxophonist Rudolph John Winthrop (1883–1959), himself a student of Engelbert Humperdinck. He spent time studying at the Paris Conservatory and had his first professional experience leading his own piano trio. Finegan was offered a job as a staff arranger for Glenn Miller after Tommy Dorsey bought a copy of his "Lonesome Road" and recommended him; he remained with Miller until 1942, and arranged such hits as "Little Brown Jug", "Sunrise Serenade", "Song of the Volga Boatmen", and "Jingle Bells", arranged in collaboration with Glenn Miller. Finegan also arranged music for films in which the band appeared, such as Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and Orchestra Wives (1942). He then worked off and on for Tommy Dorsey from 1942 to 1952, including on the 1947 film The Fabulous Dorseys.

After the demise of Miller's orchestra in 1942, Finegan joined Horace Heidt, writing "some pieces for the band that immediately sent its musical stock skyward."[3]

In 1947-48 Finegan studied with Stefan Wolpe in NYC, and lived in Europe from 1948-1950 where he studied with Darius Milhaud and Valerie Soudere, a pianist and composer who premiered Bartók's 3rd Piano Concerto in Paris. After returning to the United States, in 1952, Finegan and Eddie Sauter (whom Finegan had met in 1939)[4] formed a highly successful ensemble, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, which remained active until 1957. His composition "Doodletown Fifers" was one of the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra's best-known originals. Following this Finegan found work in advertising, writing music for commercials. In the 1970s he arranged for the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Mel Lewis's orchestra. He taught jazz at the University of Bridgeport in the 1980s. He wrote arrangements for cornetist Warren Vaché (with the Scottish String Ensemble) in 2004, and the vocal group Chanticleer until his death in 2008.

Compositions

He composed "Down For The Count", "Conversation Piece", "Are Ya Jumpin' Jack?", recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra, "Doodletown Fifers", "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum", "Doodletown Races", "Yankee Doodletown", "Pussy Willow", "Bingo, Bango, Boffo", "Hollywood Hat", "Piccalilli Dilly", "Church Mouse", "Alright Already", "Texas Tex", recorded by Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1946, "Child's Play", and "Tail End Charlie" which was released by Glenn Miller and his AAFTC Orchestra as a V-Disc, no. 144A, in March, 1944.

Other professional activities

Finegan taught a class in arranging at Housatonic Community College in 1974.[5]

Personal life

Finegan's first wife was Kay Finegan. They divorced in the early sixties.[6] Finegan was married to Lorenda Robinson, a singer/songwriter. They had a son, Jamie Finegan.[7]

Death

Bill Finegan died on Wednesday, June 4, 2008, in Bridgeport, Connecticut at the age 91. The cause of death was pneumonia.

Sauter-Finegan Orchestra discography

See also

References

  1. ↑ Van Anda, Roberta H. (2015). Legendary Locals of Rumson. Arcadia. p. 80. ISBN 978-1467101769.
  2. ↑ "Alphabetized Hall of Fame". Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  3. ↑ Simon, George T. (1974). The Big Bands. Collier Books. P. 241.
  4. ↑ "'Contrast' Theme of Name-Band Dance". The Pantagraph. February 7, 1954. p. 21. Retrieved July 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Jazz Workshop At HCC to Be Led By Bill Finegan". The Bridgeport Post. January 20, 1974. p. 19. Retrieved July 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Kay Finegan".
  7. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (November 25, 2006). "All Together Now" (PDF). Billboard. p. 46. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
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