Gray, Glen, 1906-1963

Considered to be the first swing band in the United States, the Casa Loma Orchestra got its start in Detroit as Jean Goldkette and the Orange Blossoms. In 1929, the band played at the exclusive Casa Loma, a new club in Toronto. Later that year, the band adopted the club's name and set up a corporation, becoming the first cooperative band of its kind. After playing at prestigious venues like New York's Roseland Ballroom and the Glen Island Casino, the Casa Loma Orchestra performed on the "Camel Caravan" (1933), the first radio commercial series to feature a swing band. Glen Gray, a saxophonist, began fronting the band in 1937 and remained its leader until the Casa Loma Orchestra disbanded in 1950. In 1956, Gray came out of retirement to record a popular series of phonograph records for Capitol Records, "Sounds of the Great Bands." He died in Plymouth, Mass. in 1963.

From the description of Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra records, 1915-1979. (Northeastern University). WorldCat record id: 49418283