Vincent Lopez

Sadly little known and under-appreciated today, Brooklyn-born Lopez was already leading his own band by age 22 and was one of the first well-known band leaders to emerge in the 1920's, thanks to his exposure on the new medium of radio. In his day, he was as widely known as 'Paul Whiteman'; the both of them among the first to keenly utilize radio as a means of self-promotion. Lopez' trademark song was "Nola" (by Felix Arndt) that was invariably accompanied by his familiar "Lopez speaking!" intro, and with it, his popularity continued well into the 1940's. Numerous now-famous musicians passed through his band's ranks, including Artie Shaw, Mike Mosiello, Xavier Cugat, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey and even Glenn Miller. He is credited with giving Betty Hutton her first big break and both were showcased in two Warner Brothers Vitaphone shorts shot in New York in 1938-9, the latter one featuring the 18-year old Hutton doing a wildly enthusiastic jitterbug rendition of "Old Man Mose" that has to be seen to be believed. Lopez and his band took up residence in the Big Apple's Taft Hotel in 1941, remaining there until the early 1960's. Lopez would retire to Florida and died there in 1975.