Johnny Hamp became a bandleader by opportunity. One night, when he assisted to a concert of the Kentucky Serenaders, the bandleader walked out on the group after an argument and Hamp volunteered to lead the band for the rest of the evening. When the night was over the group asked him to become their new leader. Hamp readily accepted. By 1919 the group had established itself in New York. The Serenaders became one of the more successful jazz groups of the 1920s. In 1931 Hamp changed the name of the group to Johnny Hamp and His Orchestra. This later edition lacked the spark of the Serenaders' earlier work, though it did introduce two fine vocalist, Johnny McAfee and Jayne Whitney. Other Hamp vocalists included Chick Bullock, Jack Campbell, Millicent Hope, and Charles Socci. The band's last recordings were in 1937. It spent its later years as the house band for a Chicago hotel. This outstanding record was made in 1927. The vocal is by Franklyn Baur.
