Buddy Morrow

American jazz trombonist and bandleader. Born February 8, 1919 in New Haven, Connecticut. Died September 27, 2010 (91 years of age) in Ormond Beach, Florida. Morrow won a scholarship to Juilliard School in New York City but left before graduation to play professionally. Morrow played with Tommy Dorsey (1938), Paul Whiteman (1939), Tony Pastor (1940), Bob Crosby, Billy Butterfield, and Red McKenzie. In 1951 he formed his own band which got its first huge and lasting hit in 1952 with "Night Train" (written by Jimmy Forrest) of which one million copies were sold. He charted six times between 1951 and 1956 with his orchestra on the U.S. and U.K. charts. His top charted song was "Rose, Rose, I Love You", which hit #8 in 1951. "Night Train" followed it and hit #27 the same year in the U.S. and #14 in the U.K. Three other releases landed in the top 20 in the U.S. He became a bandleader in 1945 covering for Jimmy Dorsey. He formed the Buddy Morrow Orchestra in 1947 until 1968 and worked with Skitch Henderson and Doc Severinsen on the "Tonight Show" band in the 1960s when the show was based in New York City. He conducted the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra for over 30 years and was the director of The Glenn Miller Orchestra after its hey-day. In the early 1970s, he formed a jazz quartet that played in the Las Vegas and Los Angeles areas. He was still performing on stage three days before he died.