It was a loose and swinging band, built around distinctively individualistic solos by Lester Young, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, Buck Clayton, Harry Edison, Dickie Wells, Vic Dickenson and, primarily, Mr. Basie himself. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Played for Kennedy and Reagan. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. [34], Peter Straub's short story collection Magic Terror (2000) contains a story called "Pork Pie Hat", a fictionalized account of the life of Lester Young. Lester Young also had a direct influence on the young Charlie Parker, and thus the entire be-bop movement. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Although they were recorded in New York (in 1938, with a reunion in 1944), they are named after the group, the Kansas City Seven, and comprised Buck Clayton, Dicky Wells, Basie, Young, Freddie Green, Rodney Richardson, and Jo Jones. There will be a viewing at Benta's Funeral Home, 630 St. Nicholas Avenue at 141st Street, on Sunday from 1 to 7 P.M. In 2009, Nestico said in an interview "I didn't answer, although I didn't think [Johnson's] concept of music was worth a damn. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Count Basie, Birth Year: 1904, Birth date: August 21, 1904, Birth State: New Jersey, Birth City: Red Bank, Birth Country: United States. The band itself carried on into the next century, with Thad Jones, Frank Foster, and Grover Mitchell each assuming leadership for various intervals. Please try again later. In 1937 Basie took his group, Count Basie and His Barons of Rhythm, to New York to record their first album with Decca Records under their new name, The Count Basie Orchestra. [15] He also worked as an arranger for the 81st Academy Awards, as well as some Grammy Awards. ''He was a wonderful man. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. ', ''The next day he invited me to sit in the pit and start working the pedals. Count Bill Basie . Charles Mingus dedicated an elegy to Young, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", only a few months after his death. He flicked out tightly economical, single-finger passages, directing his musicians with a glance, a lift of an eyebrow or a note hit gently but positively in passing. Instrument (s) Drums. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Learn more about merges. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". The family always owned a piano, and Lilly Ann paid twenty-five cents per lesson to . Unlike many white musicians, who were placed in band outfits such as the ones led by Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw, Young was assigned to the regular army where he was not allowed to play his saxophone. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Some of their notable songs included "One O'Clock Jump"the orchestra's signature tune which Basie composed himself and "Jumpin' at the Woodside.". Astrological Sign: Leo. Finally, Willard Alexander, a booking agent, in an effort to get the band on 52d Street, then the jazz center of New York, made a deal with the Famous Door, a shoebox of a room, 25 feet wide and about 50 feet long, which was having trouble doing business in the summer because it had no air-conditioning. Scale for the musicians at the Reno Club, where beer was a nickel and whisky was 15 cents, was $15 a week for playing from 8 P.M. to 4 A.M., except Saturdays when it was 8 P.M. until 8 A.M. And it was a seven-day week. Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch.''. But the obvious talents of another young Red Bank drummer, Sonny Greer, who was Duke Ellington's drummer from 1919 to 1951, discouraged young Basie and he switched to piano. Don Byron recorded the album Ivey-Divey in gratitude for what he learned from studying Lester Young's work, modeled after a 1946 trio date with Buddy Rich and Nat King Cole. It was a reunion with Holiday, with whom he had lost contact over the years. Sorry! Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra. Jazz critic and record producer John Hammond heard the broadcasts and promptly launched the band on its career. Paul Quinichette modeled his style so closely on Young's that he was sometimes referred to as the "Vice Prez" (sic). In addition to his artistry on the drums, Jones was known for his irascible, combative temperament. He is rumored to have refused to play with the band on Friday, December 13 of that year for superstitious reasons, spurring his dismissal[11] although Young and drummer Jo Jones would later state that his departure had been in the works for months. [18] He was given a military burial later in 2021. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. The following year, she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Basie was born William James Basie (with some sources listing his middle name as "Allen") on August 21, 1904, in Red Bank, New Jersey. The Sun is about vitality and is the core giver of life. Young's playing style influenced many other tenor saxophonists, including Stan Getz, as well as Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Warne Marsh, as well as baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and alto saxophonists Lee Konitz, and Paul Desmond. Thanks for your help! [29], Lester Young is said to have popularized use of the term "cool" to mean something fashionable. Omissions? His playing in the Basie band was characterized by a relaxed style which contrasted sharply with the more forceful approach of Coleman Hawkins, the dominant tenor sax player of the day. "[27] Holiday died four months later on July 17, 1959 at age 44. Basie played the vaudevillian circuit for a time until he got stuck in Kansas City, Missouri in the mid-1920s after his performance group disbanded. "[4][9], After leaving the military, Nestico became a freelance arranger. and the bebop revolution of the mid-1940s all played a role in the death of the big-band era. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. They had two children: Lester W. Young Jr. (born 1947) and Yvette Young (born 1957). When we played pop tunesand, naturally, we had toI wanted those pops to kick! "Sammy Nestico | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links", "How my father pursued the American Dream", "Sammy Nestico, 'the Rolls Royce of composers and arrangers' in big-band jazz, dies at 96", "Pittsburgh Native writer/arranger/bandleader Sammy Nestico has passed, weeks short of his 97th birthday", "Massillon Museum to offer virtual Q&A with filmmaker", "Sammy Nestico, prolific composer and arranger for Count Basie, dies at 96", "Dave's WOW: Beloved American composer and arranger Sammy Nestico dies at 96", "Count Basie arranger Sammy Nestico has died The Syncopated Times", "Sammy Nestico | Album Discography | AllMusic", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sammy_Nestico&oldid=1130442453, United States Army personnel of World War II, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 05:30. [4][7], Beginning in 1982, Nestico began releasing solo albums, with Dark Orchid" as his debut album. The initials "G.I." He got used to seeing me, as though I were part of the show. When is Count Basies birthday? COUNT BASIE, 79, BAND LEADER AND MASTER OF SWING, DEAD, https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/27/arts/count-basie-79-band-leader-and-master-of-swing-dead.html. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. This second-generation big band differed from the early one in that it depended on arrangers for its basic style, a smooth, rolling, highly polished swing style for which Neal Hefti (''Li'l Darlin' ''), Ernie Wilkins and Frank Foster (''Shiny Stockings'') were among the most notable orchestrators. He was 79 years old and lived in Freeport, the Bahamas. Duffy Jackson, a drummer whose swinging exuberance propelled him from child stardom to a prolific career behind Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and many others, died on Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn. Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. His autobiography, The Gift of Music, was published in 2009. You never got tired of that business at the end.'' Anyone can read what you share. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Cholera deaths in Great Britain over the long-term. Family members linked to this person will appear here. His father Harvey was a mellophonist and his mother Lillian was a pianist who gave her son his first lessons. He left the world an almost unparalleled legacy of musical greatness, having recorded or been affiliated with dozens upon dozens of albums during his lifetime. She gave Lester the nickname "Prez" after President Franklin Roosevelt, the "greatest man around" in Billie's mind. In December 1943, Young returned to the Basie fold for a 10-month stint, cut short by his being drafted into the army during World War II. Samuel Louis Nistico (February 6, 1924 January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Stranded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1927, Basie remained there and eventually (in 1935) assumed the leadership of a nine-piece band composed of former members of the Walter Page and Bennie Moten orchestras. Whereas other pianists were noted for technical flash and dazzling dexterity, Basie was known for his use of silence and for reducing his solo passages to the minimum amount of notes required for maximum emotional and rhythmic effect. He also received a distinguished alumni award from Duquesne, and in 1994 was inducted into Duquesne's "Century Club". During his last years, he had difficulty walking and rode out on the stage on a motorized wheelchair which he sometimes drove with joyful abandon. His piano style, which often seemed bare and simple, was an exquisitely realized condensation of the florid ''stride'' style of Fats Waller and James P. Johnson with whom Mr. Basie started. Jonathan David Samuel Jones (October 7, 1911 - September 3, 1985) [1] was an American jazz drummer. In 1952 he was featured on Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, released in 1954 on Norgran. Well, that was the last time I was ever introduced as Bill Basie. Basie is a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame as well as the Blues Hall of Fame. [1] Jones had a major influence on later drummers such as Buddy Rich, Kenny Clarke, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, and Louie Bellson. He worked as an orchestrator and arranger for the film The Color Purple. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. He served one traumatic year in a detention barracks[15] and was dishonorably discharged in late 1945. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Recorded on a home recorder. Though rooted in the riff style of the 1930s swing-era big bands, the Basie orchestra played with the forceful drive and carefree swing of a small combo. Is that all right with you?' The resulting song then became both an elegy to Young, and, implicitly, Mingus as well. The causes of death rooted in complex mental health and substance abuse issues, such as drug overdoses and suicide, comprise a relatively small portion of deaths, but are increasing faster than most other causes. Directing With a Glance Mr. Basie, a short, stocky, taciturn but witty man who liked to wear a yachting cap offstage, presided over the band at the piano with apparent utmost casualness. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. A brother, James, died when William was a young boy. I decided that I would be one of the biggest new names; and I actually had some little fancy business cards printed up to announce it, Count Basie. Young joined Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic troupe in 1946, touring regularly with JATP over the next 12 years. In 1981 OyamO (Charles F. Gordon) published the book The Resurrection of Lady Lester, subtitled "A Poetic Mood Song Based on the Legend of Lester Young", depicting Young's life. Please check back soon for updates. [1] Jones took a brief break for two years when he was in the military, but he remained with Basie until 1948. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Count-Basie, All About Jazz - Biography of Count Basie, Long Island Music Hall of Fame - Biography of William Count Basie, African American Registry - Biography of Count Basie, BlackHistoryNow - Biography of Count Basie, National Endowment for the Arts - Biography of William "Count" Basie, Count Basie - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Mr. Basie's wife, Catherine, died in April 1983. recording ban by the American Federation of Musicians, Lester Young with the Oscar Peterson Trio, The President Plays with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia, "Lester 'Pres' Young in Minneapolis: The Formative Years", "Frankie Trumbauer - Biography & History", "Lester Young - Biography, Albums, & Streaming Radio - AllMusic", "Stories of Standards: Lester Leaps In by Lester Young", "Lester Young With the Oscar Peterson Trio - Lester Young | Songs, Reviews, Credits", "Young, Lester, Jr. (2008/01/31) | Oral History", "Lester Young: 'The Prez' Still Rules At 100", "Seven Music Greats Added to ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lester_Young&oldid=1142318678, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The story of Count Basie is very much the story of the great jazz band that he led for close to 50 years (1935-1984), an orchestra with a distinctive . ' (Count Basie), I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Failed to report flower. In a partnership with Billy May, Nestico was involved in the transcription, arranging, and re-recording of 630 big band songs originally recorded in the 1930s and 1940s. One day he asked me whether I played the organ. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. William James " Count " Basie ( / besi /; August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984) [1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Generation. Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday morning at Doctors' Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. Name: Count Basie Birth Year: 1904 Birth date: August 21, 1904 Birth State: New Jersey Birth City: Red Bank Birth Country: United States Gender: Male Best Known For: One of jazz music's all-time. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Basie studied music with his mother and was later influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, receiving informal tutelage on the organ from the latter. [12], In the late 1960s, Sammy worked as an arranger and orchestrator for Capitol Records. From the Grand Terrace, it moved on to New York and Roseland Ballroom (playing opposite Woody Herman's new, young band) where listeners complained that it was out of tune (not a surprising reaction since many of Mr. Basie's musicians were blowing patched-up horns and saxophones held together by rubber bands). Then I sat beside him and he taught me.'' He is survived by a daughter, Diane Basie of Freeport. [7] Young left the family band in 1927 at the age of 18 because he refused to tour in the Southern United States, where Jim Crow laws were in effect and racial segregation was required in public facilities. During 1950 and 51, economy forced Basie to front an octet, the only period in his career in which he did not lead a big band. The pianist Count Basie died at the age of 79. He began working as an arranger for Count Basie in 1967, and wrote and arranged all the music for Basie's 1968 LP Basie Straight Ahead. '', Soloists were less prominent in this second edition of the Basie band although it included some of the major jazz musicians of the post-50's years, such as Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Al Grey, Eddie (Lockjaw) Davis, Frank Wess, Jimmy Forrest and the blues singer Joe Williams. The band broadcast from the Reno Club on an experimental radio station. [11] He soon left Henderson to play in the Andy Kirk band (for six months) before returning to Basie. Here is all you want to know, and more! On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [4] to Lizetta Young (ne Johnson), and Willis Handy Young, originally from Louisiana. Mr. Basie's musicians had been playing ''head'' arrangements in Kansas City - treatments of the blues or pop tunes that were worked out on the stand. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. With Count Basie The pianist in the combo gave up his seat to Mr. Basie who sat down, tinkled a few introductory notes, looked up at the drummer, nodded at the rest of the group and, when the combo took off, the musicians were playing as brilliantly and cleanly as they had been disheveled only a few moments before. Count Basie, the jazz pianist whose spare, economic keyboard style and supple rhythmic drive made his orchestra one of the most influential groups of the Big Band era, died of cancer yesterday. Jones died of pneumonia in New York City at the age of 73. Peter Jennings (who was a jazz an) introduces a short feature on the career of Count Basie who died earlier in the day of pancreatic cancer. . Page, a bassist, Jimmy Rushing, the blues singer, both of whom would be key members of Mr. Basie's band. Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 - March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. Whos the richest Pianist in the world? I thought he was kidding, shrugged my shoulders and repled, 'O.K.' Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [23] On January 31, 2008, Sady Sullivan conducted an oral history interview with Dr. Lester W. Young Jr.[24] At approximately 1:10:00 he speaks about his father, listening to jazz, learning to play, and how having a famous father did not convey any favours. He was a fine pianist and leader of one of the greatest jazz bands in history. Weve updated the security on the site. [12] The Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the USAF, sponsor an annual competition, the "Sammy Nestico Award" for composers and arrangers of big band music, named in his honor. Try again. Nestico continued to provide arrangements for Basie until Basie's death in 1984, and four of Nestico's collaborations with Basie earned Grammy Awards. When jazz record producer Norman Granz formed his Pablo label in the 1970s, several established jazz artists, including Basie, signed on in order to record unfettered by commercial demands. From around 1951, Young's level of playing declined more precipitously as his drinking increased. The Blue Devils was the first big band I ever had a chance to get close to and really listen to, and it was the greatest thing I had ever heard. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Holiday always insisted their relationship was strictly platonic. He became an accompanist to the blues singers Clara Smith and Maggie Jones and he worked in a 14th Street dance hall. I wanted those three trumpets and two trombones to bite with real guts. Basie suffered from health issues in his later years, and died from cancer in Hollywood, Florida, on April 26, 1984. It continues . After leaving the military, Nestico became a freelance arranger. Jones performed regularly in later years at the West End jazz club at 116th and Broadway in New York City. Fresh out of Kansas City, the Basie band took Manhattan by storm in 1937. He later worked for a few years with a band led by Bennie Moten, who died in 1935. Basie decided to form a medium-sized band in 1950, juggling combinations of all-star . Beginning in Vaudeville. Swing-era bandleader noted for his theme songs One OClock Jump from 1937 and April in Paris from 1932. The greatest overall compatibility with Leo is Aquarius, Gemini. Producer John Hammond heard the band's sound and helped secure further bookings. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Rock Icon KISS Is Saying Goodbye (For Real), Rihanna and 10 Other Great Pregnant Performances, Burt Bacharachs Legacy: 5 Notable Collaborations, 2023 Grammy Awards: Six Winners Who Made History. Young left the Basie band to replace Hawkins in Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. The band flopped at a Pittsburgh hotel that had never booked a jazz band before. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 1956 was a relatively good year for Lester Young, including a tour of Europe with Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet and a successful residency at Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge in Washington, DC, with the Bill Potts Trio. He directed music programs at Los Angeles Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California, Westinghouse Memorial High School, and Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. In August 1944, Young appeared alongside drummer Jo Jones, trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, and fellow tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet in Gjon Mili's short film Jammin' the Blues. Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch. (Count Basie), Of course, there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues. (Count Basie), Im saying: to be continued, until we meet again. See the article in its original context from. Many of the members, like Lester "Prez" Young, drifted into Basie's orbit around the time of Moten's death in 1935. One of jazz music's all-time greats, bandleader-pianist Count Basie was a primary shaper of the big-band sound that characterized mid-20th century popular music. He began his professional career as an accompanist on the vaudeville circuit. When Bennie Moten died in 1935, the band disintegrated and Mr. Basie organized a small band to play at the Reno Club in Kansas City that became the nucleus of the band with which he gained his initial fame. Count was 79 years old at the time of death. A group that included some Basie sidemen was on stage, playing in a ragged, desultory fashion, when Mr. Basie arrived. He made a habit of leaving, working, then going home. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Count Basie (1664)? Mr. Alexander agreed to lend the club $2,500 to install an air-conditioner if it would book the Basie band. A pianist, Count Basie played vaudeville before eventually forming his own big band and helping to define the era of swing with hits like "One O'Clock Jump" and "Blue Skies." [18] In 1956, he recorded two LPs with his 1930s collaborators Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones. based on information from your browser. "Ivey-Divey" was one of Lester Young's common eccentric phrases. One of the band's most popular arrangements, ''April in Paris,'' was written in 1955 by Wild Bill Davis, a jazz organist who had originally developed it for his own small group. Among his band's best-known numbers were ''One O'Clock Jump,'' ''Jumpin' at the Woodside,'' ''Li'l Darlin' '' and ''April in Paris.''. A system error has occurred. "[25], Young made his final studio recordings and live performances in Paris in March 1959 with drummer Kenny Clarke at the tail end of an abbreviated European tour during which he ate next to nothing and drank heavily. Add to your scrapbook. Verify and try again. ''He was the only leader in the business who ever went out of his way to help me,'' Mr. Basie said later. To use this feature, use a newer browser. In January 1956, he recorded two Granz-produced sessions including a reunion with pianist Teddy Wilson, trumpet player Roy Eldridge, trombonist Vic Dickenson, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Jo Jones which were issued as The Jazz Giants '56 and Pres and Teddy albums. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. [30] Another slang term he is rumoured to have popularized was the term "bread" for money. Failed to delete memorial. From then on, it was Count Basie.''. The Black Music Association honored Mr. Basie in 1982 with a gala at Radio City Music Hall. Their famously empathetic classic recordings with Teddy Wilson date from this era. For many of the other participants, the photo shoot was the last time they saw him alive; he was the first musician in the famous photo to pass away. From 2020 to 2021, the age-adjusted death rate (AADR) increased by 0.7%, from 835.4 to 841.6 per 100,000 standard population. [1], Samuel Luigi Nistico was born on February 6, 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Luigi Nistico, an Italian immigrant, and Frances Mangone. That year Norman Granz gave him one and urged him to play it (with far different results at that stage in Young's lifesee below). Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? The top global causes of death, in order of total number of lives lost, are associated with three broad topics: cardiovascular (ischaemic heart disease, stroke), respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections) and neonatal conditions - which include birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, and preterm birth complications. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Billie and Lester met at a Harlem jam session in the early 30s and worked together in the Count Basie band and in nightclubs on New York's 52nd St. At one point Lester moved into the apartment Billie shared with her mother, Sadie Fagan. [1], Known for his hip, introverted style,[2] he invented or popularized much of the hipster jargon which came to be associated with the music. He originally wanted to be a drummer, but he grew up near Sonny Greer, who would become Duke Ellington s legendary drummer in 1919. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Count Basie I found on Findagrave.com. As one critic put it, they ''put wheels on all four bars of the beat,'' creating a smooth rhythmic flow over which Mr. Basie's other instrumentalists rode as though they were on a streamlined cushion. when asking how much a gig was going to pay.[31]. He received awards from North Texas State University in 1978, 1979, and 1980. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Young left the Basie band in late 1940. The Basie orchestra had several hit recordings during the late 1930s and early 40s, among them Jumpin at the Woodside, Every Tub, Lester Leaps In, Super Chief, Taxi War Dance, Miss Thing, Shorty George, and One OClock Jump, the bands biggest hit and theme song. William James Basie is part of G.I.