Virtual Victrola - October 9 Edition - Joe Haymes

Today, the name Joe Haymes (1908 - 1964) is known only to die-hard big band and swing enthusiasts.  His career as a bandleader ended in 1936, just as the Swing Era was gathering steam.  But in the preceding half-decade Joe Haymes more than made his mark on the music world as a first-rate arranger and a hard-working band leader who fronted an ensemble that was continually in search of its first big show business break.

Listening to Haymes' recordings (and he made over 100) one is struck by the quality of the arrangements and the precision of the group's playing.  Certainly Haymes was a capable leader and had no difficulty making high-quality music that could rival Ben Pollack, Casa Loma, the Dorsey Brothers, or any of the top white big band ensembles of the day.

What he couldn't seem to make, though, was money.

Haymes came to prominence in the music world in the late 1920's as an arranger for the Ted Weems orchestra.  Haymes penned the arrangement for Weems' hit record "Piccolo Pete," as well as other Weems best-sellers.  Haymes struck out on his own in 1930, and his orchestra did well enough to win a recording contract with Victor Records in 1932.  Haymes' orchestra also boasted jazz talent like reedmen Johnny Mince and Dick Clark, and trumpeter Pee Wee Irwin.  But Haymes could not get ahead financially with the band.  In the fall of 1933, singer, movie actor, and aspiring band leader Buddy Rogers offered Haymes money in the bank to take over his band, and Haymes accepted.

Shortly thereafter, Haymes decided to give bandleading another try. He brought Pee Wee Irwin back, and hired a new group that included trumpeter and singer Cliff Wetterau (who later sang with Tommy Dorsey under the name Cliff Weston) and star reedmen Toots Mondello and Bud Freeman.  The new Haymes band was back in the studio less than six months after Buddy Rogers had bought off the previous outfit, and the band's arrangements and cohesive playing were a hit with music critics and fellow musicians.

But Haymes was still struggling financially.  The band failed to have a big hit record or to capture a substantial audience with its CBS radio wire.  So in the fall of 1935, when Tommy Dorsey approached Haymes about hiring some of Haymes' sidemen for his new orchestra, Haymes agreed to let Dorsey talk to his band.  Tommy Dorsey took 12 of Haymes' 14 musicians with him, and built the former Haymes band into one of the top bands of the swing era.

Undaunted, Haymes started yet another band, bringing back trumpeter Wetterau and drummer Charlie Bush, and struggling for another year and a half before calling it quits.  Haymes spent the rest of his musical career freelancing as a pianist and working as an arranger up to the time of his death in 1964.

...

Our first Haymes selection is from his very first recording session on May 4, 1932.  "Pray For The Lights To Go Out" is a comical song that takes place in a Southern tent revival meeting, and like other similar tunes from its era it suggests that the excitement of the meetings wasn't always of divine origin.  Drummer Jimmy Underwood does the singing, accompanied by members from the band.  A few years later, western swing star Bob Wills recorded an almost note-for-note copy of this performance.

Download joe_haymes_aho_pray_for_the_lights_to_go_out.mp3

A year later, the Haymes band was in the studio again, cutting for the American Recording Company (ARC). The Haymes band recorded Harold Arlen's big hit "Happy As The Day Is Long," with a vocal chorus by Mike Doty and some exciting ensemble writing after the vocal chorus.  ARC stayed in business during the Depression years partly because they would often simultaneously issue the same performance on numerous record labels, sometimes using pseudonyms to hide the identity of the performer. No pseudonyms were involved with this record, but it was issued on six different record labels!

Download joe_haymes_aho_happy_as_the_day_is_long.mp3

The second Haymes outfit recorded our next number, the light-hearted hit "The Breeze (That's Bringin' My Honey Back To Me)," certainly an example of the kind of lyrical and melodic tap dancing that popular music abandoned decades ago.  This recording dates from about a year after "Happy As The Day Is Long," and trumpeter Cliff Weston (still credited as Cliff Wetterau) provides the vocal.

Download joe_haymes_aho_the_breeze_thats_bringin_my_honey_back_to_me.mp3

Our final number was recorded in April of 1935, when the Haymes band was back in the Victor studios.  This Haymes arrangement of "Honeysuckle Rose" is particularly good and provides ample room for some rousing clarinet, trumpet, and tenor sax solos.  Compared to the Benny Goodman band of the same time period, Haymes' arrangement is much more nimble, and overall the band has a much lighter sound.

Download joe_haymes_aho_honeysuckle_rose.mp3

Comments

[Franz Jantzen]

Hi Mike - I found your essay on Joe Haymes not because of your politics (!) but because of the Haymes orchestra. I have been scouring the earth for versions of "The Love Bug Will Bite You (If You Don't Watch Out)" which Haymes recorded with Pinky Tomlin in March 1937 (he also did a version with Cliff Weston in April 1937). I know far less than you about Haymes, so I'm trying here to piece this together. It sounds like these "Love Bug" recordings were some of his last recordings with his own orchestra - can you confirm? (And he even had a hit with "Love Bug" and Pinky, which was #9 for 3 weeks!) Can you tell me of any other sources for more info on the band? Best - - - Franz Jantzen

[Paul Griffin]

Hi. My dad is Chris Griffin (Benny Goodman trumpet section) and he also played with Joe Haymes. He met my mother, Helen O'Brien when she was singing with Joe Haymes. I wonder whether you might have any recordings with either my mother or my father from that era? You might like to see a web page that I have created about my dad: www.griffin-house.com/chrisgriffin.html
Thanks,

Paul Griffin

[James Wetterau]

Mike:

Thanks for the information about the Joe Haymes band and particularly the mp3 link to a song with Cliff Wetterau singing. I am Cliff Wetterau's stepson. He married my mother after WWII and then adopted me. As far as I know he had no other children. He made a brief attempt to continue to play trumptet professionally during the 1950s when the big band era was really dying. He subsequently died in 1960.

He never talked to me much about his big band days. I wish he had. I did have some Bix Biederbecke 78 records that he had and I did not know the connection if there was any. I unfortunately lost those recordings. So thanks for the info.

[Rerto Jordans]

Good article, I will mention it on my weblog.. Cheers

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