Friday, October 21, 2016

Trailblazers in Black History: Bob Howard


Bob Howard, born Howard Joyner, was an African-American pianist-vocalist on swing records in the 1930s. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Joyner began singing in New York night clubs in the mid-1920s. He began recording in 1931 under his real name for Columbia. 

Under the name Bob Howard, he played New York's Park Central Hotel, Famous Door, Hickory House and other clubs as well as theaters. He was signed to Decca in late 1934 and recorded a series of hot small group swing records between 1935 and 1938. His studio groups included Benny Carter, Buster Bailey, Rex Stewart, Ben Webster, Teddy Wilson, Russell Procope, Cecil Scott, Cozy Cole, Bunny Berigan, Artie Shaw, Babe Russin and others. Howard did not play piano on his Decca's, only sang.

In 1948, Howard hosted the The Bob Howard Show on CBS, making him the first African-American to host a regularly broadcast TV show. 

Additional information is available here.

Source: Wikipedia

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