By John "Jack" Behrens (website)
You can order an autographed copy of Jack’s new book by sending a check for $15 to Jack Behrens, 57 Stebbins Drive, Clinton, NY 13323. Make sure you send a return address. US postal takes approximately three to five days from the date of the order.
His Bandleading was Brief; His Music Continues Today
They called him the “Old Dipsy Doodler” thanks to a song he wrote but he was a versatile talent who played trumpet, trombone and even clarinet and led one of the most popular bands in the country from 1937 to 1941.
Larry Clinton, a Brooklyn-born musician, became a popular songwriter, arranger and later an actor, but paid his dues as a touring big bandleader too.
His songs were memorable. He had 40 hit recordings at a time when Glenn Miller was the big name in the band business. In 1938 and’39 he wrote “Cry Baby Cry,” “Soul” and then a year later he wrote what most people recognize even if they’ve forgotten his name, “Deep Purple.”
He started his first band at 29 and wrote 214 sides while recording for RCA Victor and Bluebird. His “Dipsy Doodle” was his theme but it also became a hit on its own. Other numbers which gained recognition were “Heart and Soul” and his version of Claude Debussy’s “Reverie.”
Larry’s work as an arranger and song writer raised his visibility and enhanced his career. He worked for the Dorsey brothers and stayed with Jimmy when Tommy left the band. He also arranged for such notables as the Casa Loma band, Claude Hopkins, Isham Jones, Bunny Berigan, Louie Armstrong and Les Brown.
While his bandleading only lasted four years, it left an impact with the public.
Its popularity came from very danceable tunes and a major asset, vocalist Bea Wain. In addition to strong vocals, Clinton wrote some fine instrumentals that drew popular support. There was “A Study in Brown,” and “I Double Dare You” and “Summer Souvenirs” among others. The band was quite popular on campus as a prom dance band and also on tour at hotel ballrooms.
Bea Wain recalled for Christopher Popa of Big Band Library.com how she fit with the Clinton band at the time.
”I thought it was a very good dance band. I think the rhythms and tunes were wonderful and I think the people loved to dance with the band, to the band. But the funny thing about that, about my name,” she said. “When I started making records with Larry, they didn’t have room on the label for my name. So they cut it to ‘Bea Wain’ they cut the ‘Beatrice’ out to Bea.” Her view of Larry?
“He was very intelligent but he was . . . a quiet man. I was surprised when he became a bandleader or that he became a bandleader. . . He never told me what to do or how to do it, just handed me the song and said this is what we’re going to play and what key do you want it in?”
Clinton was very adept at taking classics like those written by Debussy and Tchaikovsky and score them for his band. He had his critics for desecrating classical music but his reply wasn’t a defense it was a question: “Would you rather dance to a Tchaikovsky melody or something like ‘Flat Foot Floogie?”
By 1942 the Clinton band, like so many, was decimated by the draft and the band broke up and Larry joined the US Army Air Corps as a lieutenant. He was promoted to captain and served as a flight instructor in China.
After the war, he returned to the business working as musical director for recording companies and then he toured in 1948 and remained active until 1950.
He spent a decade in semi-retirement although he was active in the music publishing and he recorded with studio groups in the newest technology---stereo---for RCA Victor.
An enterprising businessman, Larry used the money he made touring in ventures in Florida and later Arizona. He died in May, 1985.
Do you remember Larry Clinton? Let me know your impressions of Clinton and his band. Write to me at jbehrens@roadrunner.com.
Big Bands and Great Ballrooms: America Is Dancing...Again
Available now!
You’ll enjoy a nostalgic look back at bands and dance halls and get an up close view of today leaders and bands in this new book. Now available via AuthorHouse at 1-888-519-5121 ext. 5253 or www.authorhouse.com
My previous book "The Big Band Days: A Memoir and Source Book":
