Joe Sullivan

Joe Sullivan
Background information
Birth name	Michael Joseph O'Sullivan
Born	November 4, 1906 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 13, 1971 (aged 64) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Genre(s)	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Pianist
Instrument(s)	Piano

Michael Joseph "Joe" O'Sullivan' (November 4, 1906 – October 13, 1971) was an American jazz pianist.

Biography

Sullivan was the ninth child of Irish immigrant parents. He studied classical piano for 12 years and at age 17, he began to play popular music in a club where he was exposed to jazz.^{[citation needed]} He graduated from the Chicago Conservatory and was an important contributor to the Chicago jazz scene of the 1920s. Sullivan's recording career began late in 1927 when he joined McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans. Other musicians included Jimmy McPartland, Frank Teschemacher, Bud Freeman, Jim Lanigan and Gene Krupa. In 1933, he joined Bing Crosby as his accompanist, recording and making many radio broadcasts. After suffering for two years with tuberculosis, he briefly rejoined Bing Crosby in 1938 and the Bob Crosby Orchestra in 1939.

By the 1950s, Sullivan was largely forgotten, playing solo in San Francisco. Marital difficulties and excessive drinking caused Sullivan to become increasingly unreliable and unable to keep a steady job, either as band member or soloist.

Selected Discography

• 1933: Gin Mill Blues (Columbia Records)
• 1935: Little Rock Getaway (Decca)
• 1941: Forevermore (Commodore)
• 1953: Jazz, Vol. 9: Piano (Folkways Records)
• 1953: Hangover Blues (Brunswick)
• 1966: The Asch Recordings, 1939 to 1947 - Vol. 1: Blues, Gospel, and Jazz (Folkways)
• 1973: The Musical Moods of Joe Sullivan: Piano (Folkways)

External links

• Joe Sullivan Bio on Red Hot Jazz
• Sullivan Discography on Folkways

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