Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Johnny Wiggs

 
Artist: Johnny Wiggs
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
Johnny Wiggs

  • Born: July 25, 1899, New Orleans, LA
  • Died: October 09, 1977, New Orleans, LA
  • Active: '20s, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s
  • Genres: Jazz
  • Instrument: Cornet
  • Representative Albums: "Sounds of New Orleans, Vol. 2", "New Orleans All Star Concert, Vol. 1

Biography

Cornetist Johnny Wiggs was born John Wigginton Hyman on July 25, 1899, in New Orleans, LA. He began his music career playing the violin, but he learned the cornet and moved to New York City to try his luck in their local scene. He moved back to Louisiana in the late '20s, working as a public school teacher under his real name while moonlighting as Johnny Wiggs at local jazz clubs. He gained a reputation not only as a good player, but one of the few Jewish cornet players in jazz at the time. He tried to separate his teaching and music careers as much as possible, but by the '40s the lure of the stage was too much and he took up music full-time again. He led several bands and began to record, finding local success as well as a good musical partnership with Eddie Miller for a period. By the '60s he went back to playing part-time again, but he still recorded and found time to work with Maxine Sullivan on her material. He stopped playing in the '70s due to deteriorating health, and in October of 1977 he passed away a relatively unknown figure in the genre, despite his impressive body of work. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Wikipedia: Johnny Wiggs
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

Johnny Wiggs (July 25, 1899 - October 10, 1977) was a jazz musician and band leader.

Born John Wigginton Hyman on in New Orleans, Louisiana, he started his music career on the violin. He soon adopted the cornet and moved to New York for some time before returning to New Orleans. His main stylistic influences were Joe "King" Oliver (who Wiggs insisted did his best work in New Orleans in the years before he moved up North and was recorded) and Bix Beiderbecke.

In the late 1920s he took a job as a teacher in Louisiana and moonlighted in New Orleans jazz clubs at night. He made his first recordings as "John Hyman's Bayou Stompers" in the late 1920s.

In the 1940s he again became a full time musician, leading seveal bands and laying down a good number of tracks. He took on the nickname "Johnny Wiggs" for his musical work as jazz was still looked down on in some circles. He became an important figure in the local traditional jazz revival. In the 1960s he returned to performing part time only, though he remained active until the 1970s. He was a mentor to such younger musicians as George Finola.

Along the way he helped found the New Orleans Jazz Club and was a force behind the jazz revival in the 1940s. Pete Fountain is one his more famous pupils.

Johnny Wiggs died in New Orleans.

External links

Stub icon This biographical article related to music is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Johnny Wiggs".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More