Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Ralph Marterie was born in Acerra near Naples, Italy on December 24 1914 and first played professionally at age 14 in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1940s, he played trumpet for various bands. During World War II he got his first job as a bandleader courtesy of the US Navy. He was then hired by the ABC Radio network and the reputation built from these broadcasts led to a recording contract in 1949 with Mercury Records.

In 1953 Ralph recorded a version of Bill Haley’s Crazy, Man, Crazy, which reached No. 13 on the Billboard jockey chart and No. 11 on Cashbox that year. His recordings of Pretend and Caravan made the Top 10 and the latter sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. His highest success in the U.S. charts was a cover of Skokiaan in 1954. He had other hits with Tricky, Shish-Kebab, Dancing Trumpet, Dry Marterie, and Carla.

Trumpeter and big band leader Ralph Marterie transitioned on October 10, 1978 in Dayton, Ohio.

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