Ben Pollack & His Orchestra - Sleepy Head

2014-04-20 64

Ben Pollack (1903-1971) was a successful bandleader of the 20s. His orchestras featured many future Jazz stars such as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden and Jimmy McPartland. Pollack played in several bands in Chicago before joining the Friar's Society Orchestra in 1921. In 1926 he started his own band which played at the hotels in Chicago and then relocated to California in 1927, and then to New York where it found a home at the Park Central Hotel. Pollack continued to lead bands into the 1940s and led his own record company called Jewel. He also owned restaurants in Hollywood and Palm Springs where he played from time to time. Late in his life he was severely depressed and took his life in 1971. This great record was waxed in 1934. Vocal by Joe Harris.