Daily Dose Of Jazz…

John G. Blowers Jr. was born April 21, 1911 in Spartanburg, South Carolina and learned to play percussion during his schooldays and began performing with the Bob Pope Band in 1936.

After attending Oglethorpe College, in 1937 he travelled to New York City, where he found employment as a drummer in Greenwich Village. In 1938 he joined Bunny Berigan’s band, and in 1942 he began performing with the up-and-coming Frank Sinatra, who asked Johnny to record with him. They performed and recorded together regularly until the 1950s.

In 1947, he opened Club Blowers in the Queens district. In addition to Sinatra, Blowers performed with Louis Armstrong, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Sidney Bechet, Eddie Fisher, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, and Mel Tormé.

Johnny Blowers, drummer of the swing era, passed away on July 17, 2006.

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