Mitchell Ayres
| Mitchell Ayres | |
|---|---|
Mitchell Ayres
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mitchell Agress |
| Born |
December 24, 1909 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Died | September 5, 1969 (aged 59) Winchester, Nevada |
| Occupation(s) | conductor arranger composer performer |
| Instruments | Violin |
| Years active | 1930s–1969 |
| Notable instruments | |
| violin | |
Mitchell "Mitch" Ayres (December 24, 1909 – September 5, 1969) was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como on radio, records, and television and as the musical conductor for The Hollywood Palace.
Born Mitchell Agress in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he attended Columbia University, majoring in physical education, but began performing professionally at the Brooklyn Academy of Music while still a Columbia student. After graduation, Ayres became a violinist with the Roxy Theater Orchestra; he later moved on to the same position with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Because he wanted to return to New York, Ayres left classical music for popular, accepting a job with Jimmy Carr's Orchestra. Ayres later worked with Abe Lyman and Jack Little, known as Little Jack Little.
In 1937, after working in Little's band for a few years, Ayres and some of the other musicians decided to break away and start their own band. The musicians were extremely business-minded when planning their venture. The band was treated like a company, where each member had an equal number of stock shares in the new band. The orchestra leader was decided by election, and it was Ayres who was voted the head of the orchestra. Calling themselves "Fashions in Music" and selecting the song "You Go to My Head" as their theme, the members worked on arrangements and developing their own style while waiting for their first engagement. It took some time, but the orchestra got its first job at Brooklyn's Hotel St. George. The original contract with the hotel called for the band to play there for four weeks; their stay turned out to be seven months long.
Fashions in Music was then signed to their first recording contract for "Row, Row, Row", which sold 50,000 copies soon after its release. Radio stations began playing the record, and the orchestra was in demand for appearances throughout the country. In 1939, Bluebird Records offered the band an initial one-year contract; the arrangement lasted until 1942. All the while, the orchestra continued to function as a company, with the musician shareholders discussing business matters and voting on them. By 1940, the orchestra had its own show on CBS Radio. Ayres and the band appeared in three 1940s films: Swingtime Johnny, Moonlight and Cactus, and Lady, Let's Dance.
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