Les Brown & His Band of Renown
| Les Brown | |
|---|---|
Brown in 1947
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lester Raymond Brown |
| Born |
March 14, 1912 Reinerton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | January 4, 2001 Pacific Palisades, California |
| Genres | Jazz, big band, swing, traditional pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader |
| Instruments | Saxophone, clarinet |
| Years active | 1936–2000 |
| Labels | Decca, Bluebird, Columbia, Capitol |
| Associated acts | Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Bob Hope |
Lester Raymond "Les" Brown (March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) was an American jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for nearly seven decades from 1938–2000.
Brown was born in Reinerton, Pennsylvania. He enrolled in the Conway Military Band School (later part of Ithaca College) in 1926, studying with famous bandleader Patrick Conway for three years before receiving a music scholarship to the New York Military Academy, where he graduated in 1932. Brown attended college at Duke University from 1932–1936. There he led the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils, who performed regularly on Duke's campus and up and down the east coast. Brown took the band on an extensive summer tour in 1936. At the end of the tour, while some of the band members returned to Duke to continue their education, others stayed on with Brown and continued to tour, becoming in 1938 the Band of Renown. In 1942 he and his band concluded work on an RKO picture, "Sweet and Hot"; played at the Palladium Ballroom, Hollywood. A few years later, in 1945, this band brought Doris Day into prominence with their recording of "Sentimental Journey". The song's release coincided with the end of World War II in Europe and became an unofficial homecoming theme for many veterans. The band had nine other number-one hit songs, including "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm".
Les Brown and the Band of Renown performed with Bob Hope on radio, stage and television for almost fifty years. They did 18 USO Tours for American troops around the world, and entertained over three million people. Before the Super Bowls were televised, the Bob Hope Christmas Specials were the highest-rated programs in television history. Tony Bennett was "discovered" by Bob Hope and did his first public performance with Brown and the Band.
The first film that Brown and the band appeared in was Seven Days' Leave starring Victor Mature and Lucille Ball. Rock-A-Billy Baby, a low-budget 1957 film, was the Band of Renown's second and in 1963, they appeared in the Jerry Lewis' comedy The Nutty Professor playing their theme song "Leapfrog".
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