Richard Henry Jurgens was an American swing music bandleader and composer who enjoyed great popularity in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
18 Facts About Dick Jurgens
1.
2.
Dick Jurgens was born in Sacramento, California, United States, to Dietrich Heinrich Jurgens and Clara Matilda Jurgens.
3.
Dick Jurgens played in an orchestra in high school but was kicked out of the ensemble for playing pop music.
4.
Dick Jurgens's brother Will Jurgens was a member; Will later became Dick's manager during his years of fame.
5.
Dick Jurgens then studied at the University of California at Berkeley and Sacramento Junior College before accepting an engagement with his own orchestra at the St Francis Hotel in San Francisco in 1934.
6.
Dick Jurgens signed a contract with Decca Records, and recorded extensively for the label between 1934 and 1940.
7.
Dick Jurgens held residencies at the Casino Ballroom on Catalina Island, the Elitch Gardens in Denver, the Aragon Ballroom and the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago, and other popular swing venues.
8.
Dick Jurgens recorded for Vocalion Records in 1938 and for Okeh Records starting in 1940.
9.
Dick Jurgens often found that Glenn Miller's versions of his hits performed better on the charts than his own, such as the song "Careless".
10.
Dick Jurgens scored more hits later that year, with "A Million Dreams Ago" and the instrumental "Elmer's Tune", the latter of which Miller would take a vocal version to number one.
11.
Dick Jurgens's biggest hit was 1942's "One Dozen Roses", with Buddy Moreno on vocals; the song hit No 1 in the summer of that year and was recorded or performed by Harry James, Glen Gray, Glenn Miller, and Dinah Shore.
12.
Dick Jurgens joined the Marines from 1942 to 1945, directing theater shows for the troops.
13.
Dick Jurgens had his own radio show in 1948 on CBS, and married in December of that year to Miriam Davidson.
14.
Dick Jurgens kept up his group until 1956, by which time his style of swing had long passed out of popular favor.
15.
Dick Jurgens occasionally played at The Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, and moved to California in 1965, where he again played intermittently.
16.
Dick Jurgens put together a new band late in the 1960s; he played and recorded with the group on a part-time basis through 1976.
17.
Dick Jurgens sold the rights to his ensemble's name to Don Ring in 1986.
18.
Dick Jurgens helped make a song better in February 1941 when he arranged, played and named "Elmer's Tune" after its composer, Elmer Albrecht of Chicago.