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Lead too short|date=June 2011Infobox musical artist | name = Count Basie| image = Count_Basie_in_Rhythm_and_Blues_Revue.jpg| caption = from the 1955 film Rhythm and Blues Revue | image_size = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_name = William James Basie| alias =| Born = birth date|1904|8|21 Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank , New Jersey , United States|U.S. | Died = death date and age|1984|4|26|1904|8|21 Hollywood, Florida|Hollywood , Florida , United States|U.S. | origin =| instrument = Piano , organ (music)|organ | genre = Jazz , swing music|Swing , big band music|big band , piano blues | occupation = Musician , bandleader , music composer|composer | years_active = 1924–1984| label =| associated_acts =| website =| notable_instruments = William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 & ndash; April 26, 1984) was an United States|American Jazz piano|jazz pianist , organist , bandleader , and composer . Basie led his Count Basie Orchestra|jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years. Many notable musicians came to prominence under his direction, including tenor saxophone|tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans , guitarist Freddie Green , trumpet ers Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams (jazz singer)|Joe Williams . Basie's theme songs were " One O'Clock Jump " and " April in Paris (song)|April In Paris ".
Biography
Early life
William James Basie was born to Harvey Lee Basie, and Lilly Ann Childs, who lived on Mechanic Street in Red Bank, New Jersey .Basie Centennial Ballcite book | last=Basie| first=Count |year=1985 |title=Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie | publisher=Paladin Grafton Books | isbn = 0586086382 | page=25 His father worked as a coachman and caretaker for a wealthy judge. After automobiles replaced horses, his father became a groundskeeper and handyman for several families in the area.Count Basie, 1985, p. 26 His mother, a piano player who gave Basie his first piano lessons, took in laundry and baked cakes for sale and paid 25 cents a lesson for piano instruction for him.Count Basie, 1985, p. 33Count Basie and his Friends, myspace.com
Basie was not much of a scholar and instead dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by the carnivals which came to town. He only got as far as junior high school.Count Basie, 1985, p. 29 He would hang out at the Palace Theater in Red Bank and did occasional chores for the management, which got him free admission to the shows. He also learned to operate the spotlights for the vaudeville shows. One day, when the pianist failed to arrive by show time, Basie took his place. Playing by ear, he quickly learned to improvise music appropriate to silent movie s.Count Basie, 1985, p. 32
Though a natural at the piano, Basie preferred drums. However, the obvious talents of another young Red Bank area drummer, Sonny Greer (who was Duke Ellington 's drummer from 1919 to 1951), discouraged Basie and he switched to piano exclusively by age 15. They played together in venues until Greer set out on his professional career. By then Basie was playing with pick-up groups for dances, resorts, and amateur shows, including Harry Richardson's "Kings of Syncopation".Count Basie, 1985, p. 33–34, plate 3 When not playing a gig, he hung out at the local pool hall with other musicians where he picked up on upcoming play dates and gossip. He got some jobs in Asbury Park, New Jersey , playing at the Hong Kong Inn, until a better player took his place.Count Basie, 1985, p. 41
Early career
Around 1924, he went to Harlem , a hotbed of jazz, living down the block from the The Harlem Alhambra|Alhambra Theater . Early after his arrival, he bumped into Sonny Greer , who was by then the drummer for the Washingtonians, Duke Ellington 's early band.Count Basie, 1985, p. 51 Soon, Basie met many of the Harlem musicians who were making the scene, including Willie "the Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson .
Basie toured in several acts between 1925 and 1927, including Katie Krippen and Her Kiddies as part of the Hippity Hop show; on the Benjamin Franklin Keith|Keith , the Columbia Burlesque, and the Theater Owners Bookers Association (T.O.B.A.) vaudeville circuits; and as a soloist and accompanist to blues singers Katie Krippen and Gonzelle White.Count Basie, 1985, p. 55Robinson, J. Bradford. Count Basie. in Kernfeld, Barry. ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd Edition, Vol. 1. London: MacMillan, 2002. p. 155. His touring took him to Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City , St. Louis , New Orleans , and Chicago . Throughout his tours, Basie met many great jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong .Count Basie, 1985, p. 96
Back in Harlem in 1925, Basie got his first steady job at Leroy's, a place known for its piano players and its " cutting contests ." The place catered to "uptown celebrities," and typically the band winged every number without sheet music (using "head" arrangements).Count Basie, 1985, p. 68 He met Fats Waller , who was playing organ at the Lincoln Theater accompanying silent movies, and Waller taught him how to play that instrument (Basie later played organ at the Eblon Theater in Kansas City).cite web|url= http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0821.html |title=The New York Times. On This Day. April 27, 1984. John S. Wilson. Obit: '& #39;Count Basie, 79, Band Leader And Master of Swing, Dead'& #39; |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=1904-08-21 |accessdate=2011-10-22 As he did with Duke Ellington, Willie "the Lion" Smith helped Basie out during the lean times arranging gigs at house-rent parties, introducing him to other top musicians, and teaching him some piano technique.Count Basie, 1985, p. 77
In 1928 Basie was in Tulsa and heard Walter Page and his Famous Oklahoma City Blue Devils|Blue Devils , one of the first big band s, which featured Jimmy Rushing on vocals.Count Basie, 1985, p. 6 A few months later, he was invited to join the band, which played mostly in Texas and Oklahoma . It was at this time that he began to be known as "Count" Basie (see Jazz royalty ).Count Basie, 1985, p. 20
Kansas City years
The following year, Basie became the pianist with the Bennie Moten band based in Kansas City, inspired by Moten's ambition to raise his band to the level of Duke Ellington's or Fletcher Henderson 's.Count Basie, 1985, p. 116 Where the Blue Devils were "snappier" and more "bluesy," the Moten band was classier and more respected, and played in the " Kansas City jazz|Kansas City stomp " style.Count Basie, 1985, p. 120 In addition to playing piano, Basie was co-arranger with Eddie Durham, who actually did the notating.Count Basie, 1985, plate 10 During a stay in Chicago, Basie recorded with the band. He occasionally played four-hand piano and dual pianos with Moten, who also conducted.Count Basie, 1985, p. 122 The band improved with several personnel changes, including the addition of tenor saxophone|tenor saxophonist Ben Webster .
When the band voted Moten out, Basie took over for several months as Count Basie and his Cherry Blossoms until the band folded, when he returned to Moten's newly re-organized band.Count Basie, 1985, p. 146 When Moten died in 1935 after a surgical procedure, the band unsuccessfully attempted to stay together. Then Basie formed a new band, which included many Moten alumni, with the important addition of tenor player Lester Young . They played at the Reno Club and sometimes were broadcast on local radio. Late one night with time to fill, the band started improvising. Basie liked the results and named the piece " One O'Clock Jump ."Dance, 1980, p. 67 According to Basie, "we hit it with the rhythm section and went into the riff s, and the riffs just stuck. We set the thing up front in D-flat, and then we just went on playing in F." It became his signature tune.Count Basie, 1985, p. 162
Hammond and first recordings
At the end of 1936, Basie and his band, now billed as Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm, moved from Kansas City and honed their repertoire at a long engagement at the Grand Terrace Ballroom in Chicago.Count Basie, 1985, p. 171 Right from the start, Basie's band was noted for its rhythm section. Another Basie innovation was the use of two tenor saxophone players; at the time, most bands had just one. When Lester Young complained of Herschel Evans ' vibrato, the two were split apart and placed one on each side of the alto players, and soon Basie had the tenor players engaged in "duels". Many other bands later adapted the split tenor arrangement.Stanley Dance, The World of Count Basie , Da Capo, New York, 1980, ISBN 0-306-80245-7, p. 68
In that city in October 1936, members of the band participated in a recording session which producer John H. Hammond|John Hammond later described as "the only perfect, completely perfect recording session I've ever had anything to do with".1981 interview cited in "The Lester Young Story" (Properbox 16) p14–15 Hammond, according to Basie, had heard Basie's band over short-wave radio, then he went to Kansas City to check them out.Count Basie, 1985, p. 165 The results were Lester Young's earliest recordings. Those four sides were released under the name Jones-Smith Incorporated, because Basie had already signed with Decca Records but had not started recording for them (his first Decca session was January 1937). The sides were "Shoe Shine Boy", "Evening", "Boogie Woogie", and "Oh, Lady Be Good".Count Basie, 1985, p. 181
By now, Basie's sound was characterized by a "jumping" beat and the contrapuntal accents of his own piano. His personnel around 1937 included: Lester Young and Herschel Evans (tenor sax), Freddie Green (guitar), Jo Jones (drums), Walter Page (bass), Earle Warren (alto sax), Buck Clayton and Harry Edison (trumpet), Benny Morton and Dickie Wells (trombone).Leonard Feather, The Encyclopedia of Jazz , Bonanza Books, 1960, p.112 Lester Young, known as "Prez" by the band, came up with nicknames for all the other band members. Basie became known as "Holy Man", "Holy Main", and just plain "Holy".Dance, 1980, p. 104
Basie favored blues , and he showcased some of the most notable blues singers of the era: Billie Holiday , Jimmy Rushing , Big Joe Turner , Helen Humes , and Joe Williams (jazz singer)|Joe Williams . He also hired arrangers who knew how to maximize the band's abilities, such as Eddie Durham and Jimmy Mundy .
New York City and the Swing years
When they arrived in New York, they made the Woodside Hotel their base (where they often rehearsed in the basement). Soon, they were booked at the Roseland Ballroom for the Christmas show. Basie recalled a review, which in his words was something like, "We caught the great Count Basie band which is supposed to be so hot he was going to come in here and set the Roseland on fire. Well, the Roseland is still standing".Count Basie, 1985, p. 184 Compared to the reigning band of Fletcher Henderson , Basie's band lacked polish and presentation.Dance, 1980, p. 107 Hammond advised and encouraged them, and they soon came up with some adjustments, including softer playing, more solos, more standards, and saving their hottest numbers for later in the show to give the audience a chance to warm up.Count Basie, 1985, p. 188 His first official recordings for Decca followed, under contract to agent MCA, including " Pennies from Heaven (song)|Pennies from Heaven " and " Honeysuckle Rose (song)|Honeysuckle Rose ".Count Basie, 1985, p. 186
Hammond introduced Basie to Billie Holiday who was soon singing with the band. (Holiday didn't record with Basie, however, as she had her own record contract and preferred working with small combos).Count Basie, 1985, p. 200 The band's first appearance at the Apollo Theater followed, with vocalists Holiday and Rushing getting the most attention.Count Basie, 1985, p. 190 Eddie Durham came back to help with arranging and composing, but for the most part their numbers were worked out in rehearsal, with Basie, guiding the proceedings, and the results written out little if at all. Once they found what they liked, they usually were able to repeat it using their collective memory.Count Basie, 1985, p. 199
Next, Basie played at the Savoy Ballroom|Savoy , which was noted more for jitterbug ging, while the Roseland was more of a place for fox-trot s and conga s.Count Basie, 1985, p. 202 In early 1938, the Savoy Ballroom|Savoy was the meeting ground for a "battle of the bands" with Chick Webb 's group. Basie had Holiday and Webb countered with Ella Fitzgerald . As Metronome magazine|Metronome magazine proclaimed, "Basie's Brilliant Band Conquers Chick's", then it went on in detail, : "Throughout the fight, which never let down in its intensity during the whole fray, Chick took the aggressive, with the Count playing along easily and, on the whole, more musically scientifically. Undismayed by Chick's forceful drum beating, which sent the audience into shouts of encouragement and appreciation and casual beads of perspiration to drop from Chick's brow onto the brass cymbals, the Count maintained an attitude of poise and self-assurance. He constantly parried Chick's thundering haymakers with tantalizing runs and arpeggios which teased more and more force from his adversary".Count Basie, 1985, p. 208 The publicity over the battle, before and after, gave the Basie band a big boost and they gained wider recognition, as evidenced by Benny Goodman 's recording of '' One O'Clock Jump shortly thereafter.Count Basie, 1985, p. 207
A few months later, Holiday left for Artie Shaw 's band, and was replaced by Helen Humes ; she was also ushered in by John Hammond, and stayed with Basie for four years.Count Basie, 1985, p. 211 Co-arranger and trombone player Eddie Durham left for Glenn Miller 's orchestra and was replaced by Dicky Wells . Basie's 14-man band began playing at the Famous Door, a mid-town nightspot, with a CBS network feed and air conditioning . Their fame took a huge leap.Count Basie, 1985, p. 217–218 Adding to their play book, Basie received arrangements from Jimmy Mundy (who had also worked with Benny Goodman and Earl Hines ) particularly for "Cherokee", "Easy Does It", and "Super Chief".Count Basie, 1985, p. 229 In 1939, Basie and his band made a major cross-country tour, including their first West Coast of the United States|West Coast dates. A few months later, Basie quit MCA and signed with the William Morris Agency, who got them better fees.Count Basie, 1985, p. 247
In 1942, Basie moved to Queens, New York|Queens with Catherine Morgan, after being married to her for a few years. On the West Coast, the band did a spot in Reveille With Beverly , a musical theatre|musical film starring Ann Miller , and also a "Command Performance" for Armed Forces Radio with Hollywood stars Clark Gable , Bette Davis , Carmen Miranda , Jerry Colonna (entertainer)|Jerry Colonna , and singer Dinah Shore .Count Basie, 1985, p. 260 Other minor movie spots followed including Choo Choo Swing , Crazy House , Top Man , and Hit Parade of 1943 .Count Basie, 1985, p. 262 They also started to record with RCA.Count Basie, 1985, p. 274 The war years caused a lot of member turn over, and the band worked many play dates with lower pay. Dance hall bookings were down sharply as swing music|swing began to fade, the effects of the 1942–44 musicians' strike|musicians' strikes of 1942-44 and 1948 began to be felt and the public's growing taste for pop music|singers .
Post-war and later years
Basie added touches of bebop "so long as it made sense", and he required that "it all had to have feeling". Basie's band was sharing Birdland with bebop greats Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie , and Miles Davis . Behind the occasional bebop solos, though, he always kept his strict rhythmic pulse, "so it doesn't matter what they do up front; the audience gets the beat".Dance, 1980, p. 5 Basie also added flute to some numbers, a novelty at the time that became widely copied.Count Basie, 1985, p. 281, 304 Soon, they were touring and recording again. The new band included: Paul Campbell, Tommy Turrentine , Johnny Letman , Idrees Sulieman , and Joe Newman (trumpeter)|Joe Newman (trumpet); Jimmy Wilkins , Benny Powell , Matthew Gee (trombone); Paul Quinichette and Floyd Johnson (tenor sax); Marshall Royal and Ernie Wilkins (alto sax); and Charlie Fowlkes (baritone sax).Count Basie, 1985, p. 293 Down Beat said "(Basie) has managed to assemble an ensemble that can thrill both the listener who remembers 1938 and the youngster who has never before heard a big band like this".Count Basie, 1985, p. 299
In 1954, the band made its first Europe an tour. Jazz was especially strong in France , Netherlands|The Netherlands , and Germany in the 1950s; These countries were the stomping grounds for many expatriate jazz stars who were either resurrecting their careers or sitting out the years of racial divide in the United States. Neal Hefti began to provide arrangements, notably " Lil Darlin' ". By the mid-1950s, Basie's band had become one of the preeminent backing big bands for some of the most prominent jazz vocalists of the time. They also toured with the "Birdland Stars of 1955", whose lineup included Sarah Vaughan , Erroll Garner , Lester Young , George Shearing , and Stan Getz .Count Basie, 1985, p. 315
In 1957, Basie released the live album Count Basie at Newport . " April in Paris (song)|April in Paris " (arrangement by Wild Bill Davis) was a best-selling instrumental and the title song for the hit album.Count Basie, 1985, p. 318 The Basie band made two tours in the British Isles and on the second, they put on a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II , along with Judy Garland , Vera Lynn , and Mario Lanza .Count Basie, 1985, p. 323 He was a guest on American Broadcasting Company|ABC 's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom , a venue also opened to several other black entertainers. In 1959, Basie's band recorded a "greatest hits" double album The Count Basie Story ( Frank Foster (musician)|Frank Foster , arranger) and "Basie and Eckstine, Inc.": album featuring Billy Eckstine, Quincy Jones (as arranger) and the Count Basie Orchestra. It was released by Roulette Records, then later reissued by Capital Records.
Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire , featuring a dance solo to " Sweet Georgia Brown ", followed in January 1960 by Basie performing at one of the five John F. Kennedy Inaugural Balls.Count Basie, 1985, p. 335, 337 That summer, Basie and Duke Ellington combined forces for the recording First Time& #33; The Count Meets the Duke , each providing four numbers from their play books.Count Basie, 1985, p. 339
During the balance of the 1960s, the band kept busy with tours, recordings, television appearances, festivals, Las Vegas metropolitan area|Las Vegas shows, and travel abroad, including cruises. Some time around 1964, Basie adopted his trademark yachting cap.Count Basie, 1985, p. 353
Through steady changes in personnel, Basie led the band into the 1970s. Basie made a few more movie appearances, such as the Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella (1960) and the Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles (1974), playing his arrangement of " April in Paris (song)|April in Paris ".
Basie died of pancreatic cancer in Hollywood, Florida on April 26, 1984 at the age of 79.
Count Basie and His Orchestra
The musicians associated with Count Basie over the years included the following:
c.1937: Joe Keyes , Buck Clayton , Carl Smith (country musician)|Carl Smith , George Hunt (trombonist)|George Hunt , Dan Minor , Caughey Roberts , Herschel Evans , Lester Young , Jack Washington , Claude Williams (musician)|Claude Williams , Walter Page , Jo Jones .
c.1939: Ed Lewis (musician)|Ed Lewis , Buck Clayton , Shad Collins , Harry Edison , Earle Warren , Buddy Tate (musician)|Buddy Tate , Benny Morton , Dicky Wells , Freddie Green .
1940: Al Killian , Vic Dickenson .
1943: Joe Newman (trumpeter)|Joe Newman , Snooky Young , Eli Robinson , Robert Scott (trombonist)|Robert Scott , Louis Taylor , Jimmy Powell, Rudy Rutherford , Rodney Richardson .
The singers
Basie hitched his star to some of the most famous vocalists of the 1950s and 1960s, which helped keep the Big Band sound alive and added greatly to his recording catalog. Jimmy Rushing sang with Basie in the late 1930s. Joe Williams toured with the band and was featured on the 1957 album '' One O'Clock Jump (album)|One O'Clock Jump '', and 1956's Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings , with " Every Day I Have the Blues|Every Day (I Have the Blues) " becoming a huge hit. With Billy Eckstine on the album Basie-Eckstine Inc., in 1959. Ella Fitzgerald made some memorable recordings with Basie, including the 1963 album Ella and Basie! . With the 'New Testament' Basie band in full swing, and arrangements written by a youthful Quincy Jones , this album proved a swinging respite from her Songbook recordings and constant touring she did during this period. She even toured with the Basie Orchestra in the mid-1970s, and Fitzgerald and Basie also met on the 1979 albums A Classy Pair , Digital III at Montreux , and A Perfect Match (Ella Fitzgerald album)|A Perfect Match , the last two also recorded live at Montreux. In addition to Quincy Jones , Basie was using arrangers such as Benny Carter (Kansas City Suite) , Neal Hefti ( E=MC² (Count Basie album)|The Atomic Mr Basie ) , and Sammy Nestico (Basie-Straight Ahead) .
Frank Sinatra recorded for the first time with Basie on 1962's Sinatra-Basie and for a second studio album on 1964's It Might as Well Be Swing , which was arranged by Quincy Jones . Jones also arranged and conducted 1966's live Sinatra at the Sands . In May 1970, Sinatra performed in London 's Royal Festival Hall with the Basie orchestra, in a charity benefit for the NSPCC|National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children . Sinatra later said of this concert "I have a funny feeling that those two nights could have been my finest hour, really. It went so well; it was so thrilling and exciting".Pignon, Charles (2004). The Sinatra Treasures, Virgin Books, ISBN 1852271841
Basie also recorded with Tony Bennett in the early 1960s & mdash; their albums together included the live recording at Las Vegas and Strike Up the Band , a studio album. Basie also toured with Bennett, including a date at Carnegie Hall . Other notable recordings were with Sammy Davis, Jr. , Bing Crosby , and Sarah Vaughan . One of Basie's biggest regrets was never recording with Louis Armstrong , though they shared the same bill several times.Count Basie, 1985, p. 362
Legacy
Count Basie introduced several generations of listeners to the Big Band sound and left an influential catalog. Basie is remembered by many who worked for him as being considerate of musicians and their opinions, modest, relaxed, fun-loving, dryly witty, and always enthusiastic about his music.Dance, 1980, pp. 7–8 As he summed up the key to his understated style, in his autobiography, "I think the band can really swing when it swings easy , when it can just play along like you are cutting butter".Count Basie, 1985, p. 370
Other cultural connections include Jerry Lewis using "Blues in Hoss' Flat" from Basie's Chairman of the Board (record)|Chairman of the Board album, as the basis for his own "Chairman of the Board" routine in the movie The Errand Boy , in which Lewis pantomimed the movements of a corporate executive holding a board meeting. (In the early 1980s, Lewis revived the routine during the live broadcast of one of his Muscular Dystrophy Association telethons). ''Blues in Hoss' Flat'', composed by Basie band member Frank Foster, was also the longtime theme song of San Francisco and New York radio DJ Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins. In addition, Basie is one of the producers of the "world's greatest music" that Brenda Fricker 's "Pigeon Lady" character claims to have heard in Carnegie Hall in 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York . Drummer Neil Peart of the Canada|Canadian rock band Rush (band)|Rush recorded a version of "One O'Clock Jump" with the Buddy Rich|Buddy Rich Big Band , and has used it at the end of his drum solos on the 2002 Vapor Trails Tour and Rush's R30: 30th Anniversary Tour|30th Anniversary Tour .
The Count Basie Theatre and Count Basie Field in his hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey were named in his honor. The street on which he lived, Mechanic Street has the honorary title of Count Basie Way.
On September 26, 2009, Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan , were renamed as Paul Robeson Boulevard and Count Basie Place. The corner is the location of 555 Edgecombe Avenue, also known as the Paul Robeson Home , a National Historic Landmark building where Count Basie and Paul Robeson lived.
Discography
The majority of Basie's recordings were made with his big band, see Count Basie Orchestra#Discography|Count Basie Orchestra Discography .
Basie also made several small group recordings without his band:
Count Basie Sextet (1954, Clef)
Count Basie and the Kansas City 7 (1962, Impulse!)
'' Basie Swingin' Voices Singin' (1966, EMI)
Loose Walk (with Roy Eldridge ) (1972, Pablo)
Basie Jam (1973, Pablo)
The Bosses (with Big Joe Turner ) (1973)
For the First Time (Count Basie album)|For the First Time (1974, Pablo)
Satch and Josh...Again (with Oscar Peterson) (1977, Pablo)
Night Rider (album)|Night Rider (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Count Basie Meets Oscar Peterson – The Timekeepers (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
'' Yessir, That's My Baby (with Oscar Peterson) (1978, Pablo)
Kansas City 8: Get Together (1979, Pablo)
Kansas City 7 (1980, Pablo)
Kansas City 6 (1981, Pablo)
Mostly Blues...and Some Others (1983, Pablo)
Filmography
Sugar Chile Robinson, Billie Holiday, Count Basie and His Sextet (1950) – as himself
Cinderfella (1960) – as himself
Blazing Saddles (1974) – as himself with his orchestra
Awards
Grammy Awards
Count Basie Grammy Award history http:/ / www.grammy.com/ GRAMMY_Awards/ Winners/ Results.aspx Grammy Award search enginedead link
Year
Category
Title
Genre
Results
1982
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
Warm Breeze
Jazz
Winner
1984
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
88 Basie Street
Jazz
Winner
1980
Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band
On The Road
Jazz
Winner
1977
Best Jazz Performance By A Big Band
Prime Time
Jazz
Winner
1976
Best Jazz Performance By A Soloist (Instrumental)
Basie And Zoot
Jazz
Winner
1963
Best Performance By An Orchestra – For Dancing
''This Time By Basie& #33; Hits Of The 50's And 60's
Pop
Winner
1960
Best Performance By A Band For Dancing
Dance With Basie
Pop
Winner
1958
Best Performance By A Dance Band
Basie
Pop
Winner
1958
Best Jazz Performance, Group
Basie
Jazz
Winner
Grammy Hall of Fame
By 2011, four recordings of Count Basie had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame , a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
Count Basie Grammy Hall of Fame Awards cite web
Year recorded
Title
genre
Label
Year inducted
1939
Lester Leaps In
Jazz (Single)
Vocalion
2005
1955
Everyday (I Have the Blues)
Jazz (Single)
Clef
1992
1955
April in Paris
Jazz (Single)
Clef
1985
1937
One O'Clock Jump
Jazz (Single)
Decca
1979
Honors and inductions
On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan . The award was received by his son, Aaron Woodward.
On September 11, 1996 the List of people on stamps of the United States|U.S. Post Office issued a Count Basie 32 cents postage stamp. Basie is a part of the Big Band Leaders issue, which, is in turn, part of the Legends of American Music series.
In 2009, Basie was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame .cite news|newspaper= The Newark Star Ledger
Count Basie award history
Year
Category
Result
Notes
2007
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Inducted
2005
Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame
Inducted
2002
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner
1983
NEA Jazz Masters
Winner
1981
Grammy Trustees Award
Winner
1981
Kennedy Center Honors
Honoree
late 1970s
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Honoree
at 6508 Hollywood Blvd.
1970
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Initiated
Mu Nu Chapter
1958
Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame
Inducted
National Recording Registry
In 2005, Count Basie's song " One O'Clock Jump " (1937) was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|National Recording Registry .cite web|url= http://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/nrpb-2005reg.html |title=2005 National Recording Registry choices |publisher=Loc.gov |date=2011-05-13 |accessdate=2011-10-22 The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
References
Reflist|2
External links
Commons
http://imusic.am/artist/count+basie Count Basie discography at iMusic.am
http://www.fundacionjoseguillermocarrillo.com/sitio/muspopular_count_basie.php International Jose Guillermo Carrillo Foundation
http://www.swingmusic.net/Count_Basie.html Basie biography at swingmusic.net
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/profiles/count_basie.shtml BBC Profile of Count Basie
http://library.thinkquest.org/10320/Basie.htm U.S. Postal Service Biography
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1985/52385c.htm Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom – May 23, 1985
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Count%20Basie.html Basie biography and album list
Kennedy Center Honorees 1980s Persondata| NAME = Basie, Count | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = August 21, 1904 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = April 26, 1984 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Basie, Count Category:1904 births Category:1984 deaths Category:People from Red Bank, New Jersey Category:Count Basie| Category:Swing pianists Category:Swing bandleaders Category:African American actors Category:African American musicians Category:African American pianists Category:American bandleaders Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:American jazz pianists Category:American jazz organists Category:Apex Records artists Category:Big band bandleaders Category:Cancer deaths in Florida Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer Category:Decca Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Vocalion Records artists Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Reprise Records artists
