Coon-Sanders Nighthawks Orchestra
(From Wikipedia)
Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra was the first
Kansas City jazz band to achieve national recognition, which it acquired through national radio broadcasts. It was founded in 1919, as the Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, by drummer
Carleton Coon and pianist Joe Sanders.
Coon was born in Rochester, Minnesota in 1893 and his family moved to
Lexington, Missouri shortly after his birth. Sanders was born in Kansas in 1896. Sanders was known as "The Old Left Hander" because of his skills at baseball. He gave the game up in the early 1920s to make dance music his career.
The orchestra began broadcasting in 1922 on
clear channel station WDAF, which could be received throughout the United States. They were broadcast in performance at the
Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City. They took the name Nighthawks because they broadcast late at night (11:30pm to 1:00am). By 1924 their fan club had 37,000 members. Fans were encouraged to send in requests for songs by letter, telephone or telegram. That move became so popular that Western Union set up a ticker tape between Sanders' piano and Coon's drums so the telegrams could be acknowledged during the broadcasts. Their song "Nighthawk Blues" includes the lines: "Tune right in on the radio/Grab a telegram and say 'Hello'."
The group left Kansas City for the first time in 1924 for a three-month engagement in a roadhouse in Chicago. The orchestra moved to Chicago the same year, where Jules Stein used the profits from a tour he booked for them to establish the
Music Corporation of America, with the orchestra as its first client. The orchestra moved into the
Blackhawk in Chicago in 1926. The members of the orchestra at that time were Joe Richolson and Bob Pope, trumpets; Rex Downing, trombone; Harold Thiell, Joe Thiell and Floyd Estep, saxophones; Joe Sanders, piano; Russ Stout, banjo and guitar; "Pop" Estep, tuba; Carleton Coon, drums. In the following years, the Nighthawks performed at the Blackhawk every winter, doing
remote broadcasts over radio station
WGN. Their reputation spread coast-to-coast through these broadcasts and the many records they made for Victor. They undertook very successful road tours.
At their peak, each member of the Orchestra owned identical Cord Automobiles, each in a different color with the name of the Orchestra and the owner embossed on the rear. The Orchestra's popularity showed no signs of abating and their contract with MCA had another 15 years to run in the spring of 1932 when Carleton Coon came down with a jaw infection and died, on May 4.
Joe Sanders attempted to keep the organization going; however, without Coon, the public did not support them. In 1935, he formed his own group and played until the early 1940s when he became a part time orchestra leader and studio musician. In his later years he suffered from failing eyesight and other health problems. He died in 1965 after suffering a stroke.
The Kansas City Public Library acquired the scrapbooks and other memorabilia collected and prepared by Joe Sanders and the information is available to researchers.
The Coon Sanders Nighthawks Fans' Bash is held annually on the weekend following Mothers' Day in
Huntington, West Virginia to remember the great contributions to music made by all the members of the Coon Sanders Nighthawks Orchestra and to play and enjoy the great music of the era. This event has been held annually for 39 years. Over the years, such musical notables as Curt Hitch, Bill Rank, Earl Roberts, Doc Ryker, Paul Oconnor, Mike Walbridge, Bob Neighbor, Frank Powers, Bob Lefever, Johnny Haynes, Jimmy and Carrie Mazzy, Moe Klippert, Clyde Austin, Nocky Parker, Fred Woodaman and Spiegle Willcox have attended the event.
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Here's a nice list from my recordings:
After you've gone (1929)
Blazin' (1928)
Brainstorm (1926)
Got a great big date with a little bitty girl (1929) Joe Sanders, vox.
I Can't Realize (you love me) (1925) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Kansas City Kitty (1929) J.L. Sanders, vox
Little Orphan Annie (1928) J.L. Sanders, vox
What a girl! what a night! (1928) Joe Sanders, vox
who wouldn't be jealous of you (1928) J.L. Sanders, vox
Nighthawk blues (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Is she my girlfriend (1928) Joe Sanders, vox
Deep Henderson (1926)
Down Where The Sun Goes Down (1928) Joe Sanders, vox
Dreaming Of Tomorrow (1925) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Everything's Gonna Be All Right (1926) J.L. Sanders, vox
Flamin' Mamie (1925) J.L. Sanders, vox
Hallucinations (1927)
Harlem madness (1929) (From Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer picture "They Learned About Women"), Joe Sanders, vox
High fever (1926)
Hong Kong Dream Girl (1925)
I Ain't Got Nobody (1927) Carleton Coon & Joe Sanders, vox
Indian Cradle Song (1928) C.A. Coon, vox
I Need Lovin' (1926) J.L. Sanders, vox
I've got A Message From The Man On The Moon for You (1937), Barbara Paars, vox (post Coon recording)
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (1937) (post Coon recording)
Lazy Waters (1924) Carleton Coon, vox
Louder and funnier (1927)
Louise, You Tease (1925)
Mine, All Mine (1927) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Moon Deer (1925)
Moonlight and You (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
My Baby Knows How (1926) J.L. Sanders, vox
My Daddy's Dream-Time Lullaby (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
I need lovin' (1926) J.L. Sanders, vox (version 2)
Nighthawk blues (1924) (vers. 2) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Oh! You Have No Idea (1928) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Oriental Love Dreams (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Ready For The River (1928) J.L. Sanders, vox
Red Hot Mama (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, voxRed Hot Mama vers. 2 (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Roodles (1927)
Show Me the Way (1924) Joe Sanders, vox
Sittin' Around (1926) Vocal refrain by C.A. Coon
Sluefoot (1927) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Some Little Bird (1921)
Stay Out Of The South (If you want to miss heaven on earth) (1927) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
Swingaroo (1937) (post Coon recording)
Darktown strutters ball (1929) C.A. Coon, vox
There's No-One Like You (1924) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
The Wail (1927)
Time Out For Love 1937 (post Coon recording)
Too Busy! (1928) Carleton Coon, vox
Wabash Blues (1927) C.A. Coon and J.L. Sanders, vox
We Love Us (1929) Joe. L. Sanders, vox
ONE OF THE MOST SWINGING BANDS OF THE ERA......GREAT RECORDINGS!!........I'VE REALLY ENJOYED PUTTING THIS LIST TOGETHER, AND I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO THEM AS MUCH AS I DO! :)
