18 Facts About Count Basie

William James "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer.

William Count Basie was born to Lillian and Harvey Lee Count Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Best student in school, Count Basie dreamed of a traveling life, inspired by touring carnivals which came to town.

Greer and Count Basie played together in venues until Greer set out on his professional career.

Around 1920, Count Basie went to Harlem, a hotbed of jazz, where he lived down the block from the Alhambra Theater.

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Soon, Basie met many of the Harlem musicians who were "making the scene, " including Willie "the Lion" Smith and James P Johnson.

Back in Harlem in 1925, Count Basie gained his first steady job at Leroy's, a place known for its piano players and its "cutting contests".

In 1928, Count Basie was in Tulsa and heard Walter Page and his Famous Blue Devils, one of the first big bands, which featured Jimmy Rushing on vocals.

When Young complained of Herschel Evans' vibrato, Count Basie placed them on either side of the alto players, and soon had the tenor players engaged in "duels".

When he made the Vocalion recordings, Count Basie had already signed with Decca Records, but did not have his first recording session with them until January 1937.

When Count Basie took his orchestra to New York in 1937, they made the Woodside Hotel in Harlem their base.

The jukebox era had begun, and Count Basie shared the exposure along with early rock'n'roll and rhythm and blues artists.

The Count Basie band made two tours in the British Isles and on the second, they put on a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II, along with Judy Garland, Vera Lynn, and Mario Lanza.

Later that year, Basie appeared on a television special with Fred Astaire, featuring a dance solo to "Sweet Georgia Brown", followed in January 1961 by Basie performing at one of the five John F Kennedy Inaugural Balls.

Some time in or before 1935, the now single Count Basie returned to New York City, renting a house at 111 West 138th Street, Manhattan, as evidenced by the 1940 census.

In 1958, Count Basie became the first African-American to win a Grammy Award.

On May 23, 1985, William "Count" Basie was presented, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan.

In May 2019, Count Basie was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Memphis, TN, presented by The Blues Foundation.