Bunny Berigan – Louis Armstrong’s Fave Trumpeter – Phantom Dancer

Roland Bernard “Bunny” Berigan is best known for his virtuoso jazz trumpeting. His 1937 classic recording “I Can’t Get Started” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975.

As a child he learned violin and trumpet. In his teenage years he played in local bands as a teenager, including the University of Wisconsin jazz ensemble (although he wasn’t enrolled).

He joined the Hal Kemp Orchestra in 1929 on his second attempt and made his first recorded trumpet solos were with the orchestra.

He also appeared as featured soloist with bands fronted by Rudy Vallee, Tommy Dorsey, Abe Lyman, Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman.^[1]

He joined the staff of CBS radio network musicians in early 1931. Berigan recorded his first vocal, “At Your Command”, with Freddy Rich’s orchestra that year.

From late 1932 – early 1934, Berigan was a member of Paul Whiteman’s orchestra, before playing with Abe Lyman’s band briefly in 1934.

He then freelanced in the New York recording studios and worked at CBS radio in 1934. He recorded as a sideman on hundreds of commercial records, most notably with the Dorsey Brothers and on Glenn Miller’s earliest recording as a leader in 1935, playing on “Solo Hop”.

Berigan joined Benny Goodman’s orchestra, talent scouted by producer John H. Hammond. Hammond later wrote that he helped persuade Gene Krupa to re-join Goodman, with whom he had had an earlier falling-out, by mentioning that Berigan, whom Krupa admired, was already committed to the new ensemble.

With Berigan and Krupa both on board, the Goodman band made the tour that ended at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. The performance often credited with the launch of the swing era. Berigan recorded a number of solos while with Goodman, including “King Porter Stomp”, “Sometimes I’m Happy”, and “Blue Skies”.