Biography
Eddie Farley earned his primary renown as trumpeter and vocalist through the mid-1930s success of “The Music Goes ’Round and Around,” the summit of his joint songwriting and bandleading work with Mike Riley. The pair began their association in the early 1930s, soon after Farley entered the profession. His first trumpet credits came with Bert Lown and his Hotel Biltmore Orchestra, the group he joined in the late 1920s and remained with for several years. Farley retained a lasting preference for the relaxed, congenial style suited to hotel ensembles and continued performing in such venues until his career ended. The precise date of that retirement stays unknown, as does his year of birth, variously given as 1904 or 1905. Jazz calendars issued in 2003 still listed him among the living, implying that, at nearly one hundred years of age, he had simply slipped from the scene’s awareness.
Will Osborne employed Farley as drummer in the early 1930s before the latter formed the Riley partnership. The Farley-Riley enterprise flourished in the New York City region by 1935 on the strength of the hit recording, yet the collaboration dissolved in 1936 when each musician launched an independent band. Farley achieved steady work with his own unit, supplying agreeable vocals and securing engagements at the Midnight Club and Meadowbrooks. In the 1950s the group appeared regularly at the Ivanhoe Club in Irvington, New Jersey, a short drive from his home.
Will Osborne employed Farley as drummer in the early 1930s before the latter formed the Riley partnership. The Farley-Riley enterprise flourished in the New York City region by 1935 on the strength of the hit recording, yet the collaboration dissolved in 1936 when each musician launched an independent band. Farley achieved steady work with his own unit, supplying agreeable vocals and securing engagements at the Midnight Club and Meadowbrooks. In the 1950s the group appeared regularly at the Ivanhoe Club in Irvington, New Jersey, a short drive from his home.
Singles
