Artist

Ace Brigode & His Fourteen Virginians

Last updated: 4 hours ago

b. c.1890s, USA, d. 3 February 1960, USA. Ace Brigode’s Virginians varied in size from 10 to 15 musicians and vocalists, including Fred Brohez, Happy Masefield, Gene Fogarty, Johnny Poston, Eddie Allen, Billy Hayes, Teddy King, Abe Lincoln, Don Juille, Dillion Ober, Cliff Gamet, Bud Lincoln, Al Tresize, Frank Skinner, Ray Welch, Ignaz Berber, Charlie Sexton, Bob Kinsley, Max Pitt and others. As their name implied, they were formed in Charleston, West Virginia, in the early 20s, with Brigode leading the band on alto saxophone and clarinet. By the late 20s the Virginians had secured a recording contract with MCA Records, and the band played all the major ballrooms and hotels on coast to coast tours with frequent radio play on programmes such as The White Rose Gasoline Show and Jersey Cereal Show. Further releases on a multitude of labels, including Edison, Harmony, Columbia Records and OKeh Records, continued until the group effectively disbanded at the close of World War II. After his final shows as a band leader in Salt Lake City, Brigode then took a post as publicity and promotions manager for the Chippewa Lake Park hotel in Cleveland. When he died in 1960, there was a revival of his dance band’s theme song, ‘Carry Me Back To Old Virginny’.

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