1. Jess Stacy may be best remembered for his years with the Benny Goodman band during the late 1930s, particularly his performance at Goodman's 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall.
12 Facts About Jess Stacy
1. 2.
Jess Stacy was born in Bird's Point, Missouri, a small town across the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois, to Frederick Lee Stacy, a railroad engineer, and Sara Stacy, a seamstress.
3.
Jess Stacy received his only formal music training with Clyde Brandt, a professor of piano and violin at Southeast Missouri State Teachers College while sweeping at Clark's Music Store.
4.
Jess Stacy cites his main influences as Louis Armstrong and especially pianist Earl Hines, who played piano for Armstrong and the Carroll Dickerson band.
5.
Jess Stacy won the DownBeat magazine piano poll in 1940.
6.
Jess Stacy announced he was quitting the music business and retired from public performances.
7.
Jess Stacy worked as a salesman, warehouseman, postman, and for Max Factor cosmetics before being rediscovered.
8.
Jess Stacy played for Nelson Riddle on the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby.
9.
Jess Stacy worked at night in clubs and slept during the day while Robinson worked.
10.
Jess Stacy needed more security than Stacy was willing to provide, and Stacy was unwilling to work at a radio station for steady employment.
11.
Jess Stacy died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles on January 1,1995, aged 90.
12.
Jess Stacy was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996.