Fulton McGrath

Fulton " Fidgy " McGrath ( born December 6, 1907 in Superior ( Wisconsin); † 1 January 1958) was an American jazz pianist and composer.

Life and work

McGrath worked first in the early 1930s at Red Nichols and Smith Ballew, then around 1932 in the band of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and as studio musicians, including Adrian Rollini, Red McKenzie, Steve Washington, Harry Rosenthal, Joe Venuti and Mildred Bailey as well as in radio orchestras. 1935 to 1937 he was a member of Lennie Haytons radio ensemble played at the end of the decade, with Bunny Berigan, Joe Venuti and Chauncey Morehouse. By Activity in the NBC Orchestra in 1943, he moved to the West Coast, where he worked as a musician for the movie studios of Hollywood.

He composed the song Shim Sham Shimmy ( with Jimmy Dorsey ) and 1942 Mandy is Two ( with lyrics by Johnny Mercer ); the title of the last song refers to the second anniversary of Mercer's daughter Mandy. The song was then gecovert inter alia by Lorez Alexandria, Bing Crosby, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Miriam Klein, Bob Scobey and Claude Thornhill. McGrath he was father in law of Victor Feldman.

Hugues Panassie counted McGrath in his book The Real Jazz ( 1942) among others with Frank Fröba, Joe Bushkin and Claude Thornhill to the promising white jazz pianists of his time.