[Dixielandjazz] Alvino Rey Dies

[Stephen Barbone]

Alvino Rey is gone. He had a lot of great musicians in his bands. And
who could forget "Cement Mixer, Putti Putti" as done by his band circa
1946?, Or Deep in the Heart of Texas" with Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Neal
Hefti, Johnny Mandel and Don Lamond in the band, circa 1942?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

February 27, 2004 - NY Times

Alvino Rey, Virtuoso of the Steel Guitar, Dies at 95

By WOLFGANG SAXON

       Alvino Rey, a bandleader of the swing era who made the steel
guitar sing and led many talented young musicians in honing their
signature sounds, died on Tuesday at his home in Salt Lake City. He was
95. His death was confirmed yesterday by his son Jon.

Mr. Rey, who styled himself King of the Guitar in those days, originated
the singing sound of the electrified instrument, controlled with a pedal
and called the pedal steel guitar. He could coax good, solid rhythmic
swing from it as well as pleasantly sweet tones for dancing.

He led his own ensembles for more than 40 years, starting in 1939 in New
York with the Alvino Rey Orchestra, accompanied by the Four King
Sisters. The sisters, who were six altogether, performing in various
combinations, stayed with his ensemble, and Mr. Rey married one of them,
Luise, in 1937.

The band had an early hit in 1942 with "Deep in the Heart of Texas,"
which brought national stardom. Aside from the King Sisters, its lineup
of musicians included Neal Hefti, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Don Lamond and
Johnny Mandel, who was also an arranger.

Over the years Mr. Rey's bands employed a remarkable array of arrangers,
including Ray Conniff, Billy May, Frank Devol and Skeets Herfurt, who
also played clarinet. Other fledgling arrangers were Nelson Riddle and a
very young George Handy.

Alvino Rey was born Alvin McBurney in Oakland, Calif., on July 1, 1908,
his son said, and grew up in Cleveland. His first instrument was a
banjo, a birthday gift. He tinkered with it, attaching electric wiring
to amplify its twang through his radio loudspeaker.

He made his professional debut in 1927 and the next year joined the Phil
Spitalny Orchestra when it played in Cleveland. He switched to the
guitar and, studying it with the virtuoso Roy Smeck, chose the new
electric guitar and its offspring. He changed his name to Alvino Rey in
1929 to help fit in with a Latin music craze.

In 1934 he joined Horace Heidt's Musical Knights and, as their steel
guitarist, became one of the best known — and best paid — sidemen in the
country. He also met Luise King, then one of the band's singing quartet.

He left Heidt in 1940, taking the King Sisters with him. His band broke
records at the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, became the resident
orchestra for the Mutual Broadcasting network and made many recordings.

The 1943 recording ban, imposed by the musicians' union, and World War
II broke up that first group. He served in the Navy until 1946, while
the King Sisters toured with Artie Shaw and headlined at the Copacabana.
He assembled another Alvino Rey Orchestra in 1946 and toured with it
until 1950. Among that band's hits was the novelty item "Cement Mixer."

He played with small groups and also led a band that appeared at
Disneyland into the late 1980's.

Starting in January 1965 Mr. Rey appeared on television with the King
Sisters and dozens of other members of their talented family on "The
King Family Show," which began as a replacement for "The Outer Limits"
and ended up running on ABC for several seasons.

In addition to his son Jon, of Salt Lake City, Mr. Rey is survived by
another son, Robert, of Bountiful, Utah; a daughter, Liza Butler of
Southwest Harbor, Me.; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Mr. Rey's final appearance with a group came in 1994, when he formed a
jazz quartet in Salt Lake City. Luise, then 80, took her last bow in
public with it as the "girl singer." She died three years later, in
1997.