Bert Ralton

US saxophonist, born in Winona, Minnesota. Ralton originally came to fame as a member of Art Hickman's Orchestra in San Francisco. When the group travelled to New York to record he stayed there, playing in a trio at the Vernon Club with George Gershwin on piano and Victor King on banjo. He travelled to Havana, Cuba as a member of Max Dolin's band. In 1921 he travelled to London and formed the Savoy Havana Band, and later toured Australia and South Africa. In January 1927, on safari in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Ralton was accidentally shot and seriously injured. To console the other members of his party as they waited for an ambulance he reportedly asked for a ukulele and sang Irving Berlin’s 'Always (I'll Be Loving You)'. He died on January 17, 1927.