Biography
Before 1920 the saxophone had no presence whatever on jazz recordings, despite the instrument’s later unbreakable bond with the idiom. Benny Krueger effected the change. Unrelated to the razor-fingered screen villain, he served as music director and orchestra leader for Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallée while also composing his own material. He began on clarinet and saxophone, joining the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 and remaining six years.
That ensemble, whose New Orleans personnel included cornetist Nick LaRocca and drummer Tony Sbarbaro, is credited with producing the first jazz discs ever issued. Although producers and A&R executives rarely shape the music’s direction, an RCA Victor manager insisted that a saxophone be added to the band’s palette. Krueger was the label’s selection, imposed on the musicians rather than chosen by them—an addition the group reportedly resisted.
The results proved durable. The 1920 hit “Palesteena” helped fix the saxophone in the public mind as an essential voice in syncopated and improvised music. Krueger himself, however, moved by the mid-1920s into bandleading, recording “Lovin’ Sam” and a version of “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Although his work sat at the edge of jazz, sharing players and repertoire with the genre, its primary target remained the dance-band audience. Sessions followed an intensive schedule designed to match current hits, with alternate takes sometimes released under pseudonyms.
He maintained steady employment as a contractor for radio stations and, by the mid-1930s, became Rudy Vallée’s musical director. His ensemble also accompanied Crosby, leaving space for Krueger’s alto saxophone. As a songwriter he favored the romantic sentimentality that has defined pop music from its outset.
His most frequently recorded composition, “Sunday,” later received an R&B treatment by Louis Jordan, a polished pop rendition by Pat Boone, and a straight jazz interpretation by Lester Young. Another enduring Krueger song is “I Don’t Know Why.”
That ensemble, whose New Orleans personnel included cornetist Nick LaRocca and drummer Tony Sbarbaro, is credited with producing the first jazz discs ever issued. Although producers and A&R executives rarely shape the music’s direction, an RCA Victor manager insisted that a saxophone be added to the band’s palette. Krueger was the label’s selection, imposed on the musicians rather than chosen by them—an addition the group reportedly resisted.
The results proved durable. The 1920 hit “Palesteena” helped fix the saxophone in the public mind as an essential voice in syncopated and improvised music. Krueger himself, however, moved by the mid-1920s into bandleading, recording “Lovin’ Sam” and a version of “Bye Bye Blackbird.” Although his work sat at the edge of jazz, sharing players and repertoire with the genre, its primary target remained the dance-band audience. Sessions followed an intensive schedule designed to match current hits, with alternate takes sometimes released under pseudonyms.
He maintained steady employment as a contractor for radio stations and, by the mid-1930s, became Rudy Vallée’s musical director. His ensemble also accompanied Crosby, leaving space for Krueger’s alto saxophone. As a songwriter he favored the romantic sentimentality that has defined pop music from its outset.
His most frequently recorded composition, “Sunday,” later received an R&B treatment by Louis Jordan, a polished pop rendition by Pat Boone, and a straight jazz interpretation by Lester Young. Another enduring Krueger song is “I Don’t Know Why.”
Singles