Biography
b. USA. During the 1940s Williams performed with numerous dance bands—Sam Fletcher, Johnny Long, Vincent Lopez, Les Elgart, George Paxton and Bobby Sherwood among them—apart from a two-year army stint, serving chiefly as vocalist with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra. In 1949 he assembled his own ensemble in New York City, first billing it Gene Williams And The Junior Thornhill Band and later renaming it the Gene Williams Orchestra. Stan Getz, Harry Wegbreit, Jack Mootz, Don Josephs, Harry Di Vito, Dick Hoch, Sam Marowitz, Charlie O’Cain, Mickey Folus, Joe Reisman, Teddy Napoleon, Russ Saunders and Mel Zelnick were among the musicians recruited, while Williams and Adele Castle handled the vocals and Gil Evans, Hubie Wheeler, Chico O’Farrill and Joe Reisman supplied the arrangements. Mercury Records issued the orchestra’s instrumental “Just Goofin’,” which became a jukebox success.
College bookings supplied the group’s earliest engagements; the members subsequently decided to establish the unit on a steadier basis. Blending bebop pieces with the polished approach carried over from Williams’ Thornhill years, the band obtained steady work by 1952 at such rooms as the Glen Island Casino. Rock ’n’ roll soon curtailed radio exposure for dance orchestras, however, and further progress proved elusive.
College bookings supplied the group’s earliest engagements; the members subsequently decided to establish the unit on a steadier basis. Blending bebop pieces with the polished approach carried over from Williams’ Thornhill years, the band obtained steady work by 1952 at such rooms as the Glen Island Casino. Rock ’n’ roll soon curtailed radio exposure for dance orchestras, however, and further progress proved elusive.
Albums
Singles
