Grady Watts

Grady Watts (June 30, 1908 – January 1986)[1] was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.

Grady Watts
BornJune 30, 1908
Texarkana, Texas, U.S.
DiedJanuary 1986 (aged 78)
Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.
GenresJazz
InstrumentsTrumpet

Early life and education

Watts was born in Texarkana, Texas. He attended the Allen Academy and University of Oklahoma.[2]

Career

Watts played in local jazz bands in Louisiana in the late-1920s.[3] In 1931 he joined the Casa Loma Orchestra, where he became a featured soloist and a composer; he recorded copiously with the ensemble and remained with it until 1942. Among his compositions for the Orchestra were "Rhythm Man", "You Ain't Been Livin' Right", "I Remember", and "Touch and Go".[2] In the mid-1940s he abandoned his full-time career as a performer and took jobs in A&R and as an executive in the chemical engineering industry.[2]

Personal life

Watts was living in Vero Beach, Florida at the time of his death.[1]

References
  1. "Grady Watts". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, 2004.
  2. Warren Vache, The Unsung Songwriters: America's Masters of Melodies. Scarecrow Press, 2000, pp. 526-527.
  3. Grady Watts at Allmusic
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