Wingy Manone

by Scott YanowWingy Manone was an excellent Dixieland trumpeter whose jivey vocals were popular and somewhat reminiscent of his contemporary, Louis Prima. He had lost his right arm in a streetcar accident when he was ten, but Manone (who Joe Venuti once gave one cuff link for a Christmas present) never appeared to be handicapped in public (effectively using an artificial arm). He played trumpet in riverboats starting when he was 17, was with the Crescent City Jazzers (which later became the Arcadian Serenaders) in Alabama, and made his recording debut with the group in the mid-20s. He worked in many territory bands throughout the era before recording as a leader in 1927 in New Orleans. By the following year, Manone was in Chicago and soon relocated to New York, touring with theater companies. His Tar Paper Stomp in 1930 used a riff that later became the basis for In the Mood. In 1934, Manone began recording on a regular basis and after he had a hit with The Isle of Capri in 1935, he became a very popular attraction. Among his sidemen on his 1935-1941 recordings were Matty Matlock, Eddie Miller, Bud Freeman, Jack Teagarden, Joe Marsala, George Brunies, Brad Gowans, and Chu Berry. In 1940, Manone appeared in the Bing Crosby movie Rhythm on the River, he soon wrote his humorous memoirs Trumpet on the Wing (1948), and he would later appear on many of Crosbys radio shows. Wingy Manone lived in Las Vegas from 1954 up until his death and he stayed active until near the end, although he only recorded one full album (for Storyville in 1966) after 1960.