Warren Covington
Warren Covington (August 7, 1921[1] – August 24, 1999) was an American big band trombonist. He was active as a session musician, arranger, and bandleader throughout his career.
Biography[]
Covington, who was born in Philadelphia, played early on with Isham Jones (1939), then with Les Brown in 1945-46 and Gene Krupa later in 1946. Following this he became a staff musician for CBS radio. With Ralph Flanagan in 1949 and again in 1955-56. He played briefly with Tommy Dorsey in 1950. In 1956, he replaced Eddie Grady as leader of the Commanders, a Decca recording and touring band which lasted until the middle of 1957. Covington recorded two albums and one single with this band. After Tommy Dorsey died suddenly in November 1956, the Dorsey band continued under the direction of Jimmy Dorsey. However, the Tommy Dorsey estate soon took back Tommy's arrangements and approached Covington to form a new Tommy Dorsey band, which he led, touring and recording for Decca, into 1961. Among his hits with the Dorsey band was "Tea for Two Cha Cha", which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[1] The track peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1958.[2]
Covington also backed Charles Mingus, Randy Weston, Bobby Hackett, and George Benson on big band recordings, and did a number of film soundtracks.
He died in 1999 in New York.
On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Warren Covington among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[3]
Discography[]
As leader[]
- Shall We Dance? (Decca, 1956)
- Teenage Hop (Decca, 1957)
- Latin Si! (Decca, 1962)
- Dancing Trombones (Decca, 1962)
- Everybody Twist (Decca, 1962)
- Let's Dance Latin (Decca, 1964)
- Golden Trombones Favorites (Decca, 1966)
- Latin Dance Party (Vocalion, 1967)
With Tommy Dorsey
- The Fabulous Arrangements of Tommy Dorsey in Hi-Fi (Brunswick, 1958)
- Tea for Two Chas Chas (Decca, 1958)
- More Tea for Two Cha Chas (Decca, 1959)
- The Swingin Era (Decca, 1959)
- Dance and Romance (Decca, 1960)
- Tricky Trombones (Decca, 1960)
- It Takes Two (Decca, 1960)
- Dance to the Songs Everybody Knows (Decca, 1961)
- Golden Trombones Favorites (Decca, 1966)
As sideman[]
- George Benson, Bad Benson (CTI, 1974)
- Les Brown, The Uncollected Les Brown and His Orchestra 1944–1946 (Hindsight, 1976)
- Chris Connor, Chris Connor Sings the George Gershwin Almanac of Song (Atlantic, 1957)
- Giora Feidman, The Art of the Klezmer (Star, 1979)
- Astrud Gilberto, Beach Samba (Verve, 1967)
- Eartha Kitt, That Bad Eartha (RCA Victor, 1953)
- Eartha Kitt, Thursday's Child (RCA Victor, 1957)
- Gene Krupa, The Gene Krupa Orchestra (Durium, 1974)
- Yusef Lateef, Part of the Search (Atlantic, 1973)
- Betty Madigan, The Jerome Kern Songbook (Coral, 1958)
- Van McCoy, Love Is the Answer (Avco, 1974)
- Houston Person, Harmony (Mercury, 1977)
- Don Sebesky, Giant Box (CTI, 1973)
- George Segal, A Touch of Ragtime Featuring the Music of Scott Joplin (Signature, 1974)
- Phil Silvers, Phil Silvers and Swinging Brass (Columbia, 1957)
- The Spinners, Dancin' and Lovin (Atlantic, 1979)
- Randy Weston, Blue Moses (CTI, 1972)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 166. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
External links[]
- Warren Covington at Allmusic
- Warren Covington recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
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- 1921 births
- 1999 deaths
- American jazz trombonists
- Male trombonists
- American jazz bandleaders
- Musicians from Philadelphia
- 20th-century American musicians
- 20th-century trombonists
- Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
- 20th-century American male musicians
- American male jazz musicians