Mitchell Ayres
Encyclopedia
Mitchell Ayres was an orchestra leader, music arranger, composer and performer. He is best known for his many years of work with Perry Como
on radio, records, and television and as the musical conductor for The Hollywood Palace
.
, he attended Columbia University
, majoring in physical education, but began performing professionally at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
while still a Columbia student. After graduation, Ayres became a violinist with the Roxy Theater Orchestra; he later moved on to the same position with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Because he wanted to return to New York, Ayres left classical music for popular, accepting a job with Jimmy Carr's Orchestra. Ayres later worked with Abe Lyman
and Jack Little, known as Little Jack Little
.
" as their theme, the members worked on arrangements and developing their own style while waiting for their first engagement. It took some time, but the orchestra got its first job at Brooklyn's Hotel St. George
. The original contract with the hotel called for the band to play there for four weeks; their stay turned out to be seven months long.
Fashions in Music was then signed to their first recording contract for "Row, Row, Row", which sold 50,000 copies soon after its release. Radio stations began playing the record, and the orchestra was in demand for appearances throughout the country. In 1939, Bluebird Records
offered the band an initial one year contract; the arrangement lasted until 1942. All the while, the orchestra continued to function as a company, with the musician shareholders discussing business matters and voting on them. By 1940, the orchestra had its own show on CBS Radio
. Ayres and the band appeared in three 1940s films: Swingtime Johnny, Moonlight and Cactus, and Lady, Let's Dance.
. He also began working for Columbia Records
as a musical director, working with Benny Goodman
, Frank Sinatra
, Pearl Bailey
, and others signed to the record label, including Dinah Shore
.
Mitchell Ayres' first association with Perry Como came in 1944 when he was asked to conduct for a demo recording of a radio program with Como as its host. The program became The Chesterfield Supper Club
. Ayres and Como shared an enthusiasm for golf
and often played together. In 1948, Como offered Ayres the job as the conductor of his "Supper Club" broadcasts while the two were playing golf. Ayres and his orchestra also began recording with Como; Como's pronunciation and phrasing on the recordings of "Kol Nidrei" and "Eli, Eli" were learned from a member of Ayres' orchestra, who was the son of a rabbi.
When The Chesterfield Supper Club moved to television in late 1948, Ayres and his orchestra were part of the cast. Ayres and his orchestra remained with Como on his CBS
television show, moving to NBC
for both The Perry Como Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall. While both Ayres and Como were working at CBS, Ayres and his orchestra also worked on the TV's Top Tunes program, which was a summer replacement for Como's television show. They were regulars on Como's programs until 1964.
In 1963, after almost 20 years of a regularly scheduled radio or television show, Perry Como was not certain if he would continue making regular television appearances. His uncertainty caused Ayres to accept an offer to become the conductor for a new television show, The Hollywood Palace
, which premiered in January 1964. At the time of his death, Ayres was working for the television program.
street on September 5, 1969. He was in the Las Vegas area working as the musical conductor for Connie Francis
' show at the newly opened Landmark Hotel
. He was survived by his wife, Georgianna, a son, Lawrence, and a daughter, Judith. One week after her husband's death, Georgianna Ayres died of a heart attack. Ayres and his wife are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
.
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
on radio, records, and television and as the musical conductor for The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
.
Early years
Born Mitchell Agress in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, he attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, majoring in physical education, but began performing professionally at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
while still a Columbia student. After graduation, Ayres became a violinist with the Roxy Theater Orchestra; he later moved on to the same position with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Because he wanted to return to New York, Ayres left classical music for popular, accepting a job with Jimmy Carr's Orchestra. Ayres later worked with Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade....
and Jack Little, known as Little Jack Little
Little Jack Little
Jack Little , sometimes credited Little Jack Little, was a British-born American composer, singer, pianist , actor and songwriter whose songs were featured in several movies...
.
Fashions in Music
In 1937, after working in Little's band for a few years, Ayres and some of the other musicians decided to break away and start their own band. The musicians were extremely business-minded when planning their venture. The band was treated like a company, where each member had an equal number of stock shares in the new band. The orchestra leader was decided by election, and it was Ayres who was voted the head of the orchestra. Calling themselves "Fashions in Music" and selecting the song "You Go to My HeadYou Go to My Head
"You Go to My Head" is a 1938 popular song composed by J. Fred Coots with lyrics by Haven Gillespie. The song is a unique conjunction of a sophisticated lyric and complex, lush harmonic structure by two songwriters who were not generally known for such elegance; nevertheless the song is highly...
" as their theme, the members worked on arrangements and developing their own style while waiting for their first engagement. It took some time, but the orchestra got its first job at Brooklyn's Hotel St. George
Hotel St. George
Hotel St. George, once the largest hotel in New York City, was located in the heart of scenic Brooklyn Heights. Today, it is a landmarked building in the first historically landmarked neighborhood in New York. Its various constituent buildings, mostly surviving, were built between 1885 and 1929,...
. The original contract with the hotel called for the band to play there for four weeks; their stay turned out to be seven months long.
Fashions in Music was then signed to their first recording contract for "Row, Row, Row", which sold 50,000 copies soon after its release. Radio stations began playing the record, and the orchestra was in demand for appearances throughout the country. In 1939, Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
offered the band an initial one year contract; the arrangement lasted until 1942. All the while, the orchestra continued to function as a company, with the musician shareholders discussing business matters and voting on them. By 1940, the orchestra had its own show on CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. Ayres and the band appeared in three 1940s films: Swingtime Johnny, Moonlight and Cactus, and Lady, Let's Dance.
Studio work and Como
During World War II, Ayres began conducting for vocal groups such as The Andrews SistersThe Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
. He also began working for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as a musical director, working with Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, and others signed to the record label, including Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
.
Mitchell Ayres' first association with Perry Como came in 1944 when he was asked to conduct for a demo recording of a radio program with Como as its host. The program became The Chesterfield Supper Club
The Chesterfield Supper Club
The Chesterfield Supper Club, an NBC musical variety radio program , was also telecast by NBC from 1948 to 1950.-Radio:The Chesterfield Supper Club began on December 11, 1944, as a 15-minute radio program, airing at 7pm weeknights on the NBC Radio Network. This musical variety show was sponsored by...
. Ayres and Como shared an enthusiasm for golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and often played together. In 1948, Como offered Ayres the job as the conductor of his "Supper Club" broadcasts while the two were playing golf. Ayres and his orchestra also began recording with Como; Como's pronunciation and phrasing on the recordings of "Kol Nidrei" and "Eli, Eli" were learned from a member of Ayres' orchestra, who was the son of a rabbi.
When The Chesterfield Supper Club moved to television in late 1948, Ayres and his orchestra were part of the cast. Ayres and his orchestra remained with Como on his CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television show, moving to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
for both The Perry Como Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall. While both Ayres and Como were working at CBS, Ayres and his orchestra also worked on the TV's Top Tunes program, which was a summer replacement for Como's television show. They were regulars on Como's programs until 1964.
In 1963, after almost 20 years of a regularly scheduled radio or television show, Perry Como was not certain if he would continue making regular television appearances. His uncertainty caused Ayres to accept an offer to become the conductor for a new television show, The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. It began as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months...
, which premiered in January 1964. At the time of his death, Ayres was working for the television program.
Death
Ayres was struck and killed by a car while crossing a WinchesterWinchester, Nevada
Winchester is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States that contains part of the Las Vegas Strip. It is one of a number of CDPs in the unincorporated urbanized area directly south of Las Vegas. The population was 26,958 at the 2000 census. It is governed by the Clark County...
street on September 5, 1969. He was in the Las Vegas area working as the musical conductor for Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
' show at the newly opened Landmark Hotel
The Landmark Hotel and Casino
The Landmark Tower was a hotel/casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Landmark opened on July 1, 1969 and closed on August 8, 1990.The Landmark played host to famous celebrities such as Danny Thomas, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Freddy Fender's first appearance.With just 525 rooms, the...
. He was survived by his wife, Georgianna, a son, Lawrence, and a daughter, Judith. One week after her husband's death, Georgianna Ayres died of a heart attack. Ayres and his wife are buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original location of Forest Lawn, a chain of cemeteries in Southern California. The land was formerly part of Providencia Ranch.-History:...
.
Compositions
Among the songs composed by Ayres are "Scratchin' the Surface", "He's a Wolf", "I'm a Slave to You" and "Madeira".Listen
- Row, Row, Row Mitchell Ayres and "Fashions in Music" 1939 Internet Archive
- Girl of My Dreams Mitchell Ayres Orchestra with Buddy Clark 1949 Internet Archive