Browse Items (31 total)
- Subject is exactly "Whatley, John T., 1885-1972
- Whatley, Fess"
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Ad: Fess Whatley in Crawfordsville, Indiana (1934)
Newspaper advertisement for Fess Whatley at the Rustic Gardens in Crawfordsville, Indiana.Lafayette [IN] Journal and Courier, October 27, 1934.
Ad & Article: Fess Whatley Presents Sonny Blount (1934)
Press coverage in the Kingsport [TN] Times anticipating Fess Whatley's presentation of the Sonny Blount Orchestra. On the heels of his own successful 1934 summer tour, Whatley organized and promoted a tour along the same route, featuring the band of…
Ad: Fess Whatley's Saxophone Jazz Demons (1921) (2)
Newspaper advertisement for Fess Whatley's Jazz Demons, remembered as Birmingham, Alabama's first jazz band. Birmingham News, November 20, 1921.
Ad: Fess Whatley's Saxophone Jazz Demons (1921)
Newspaper advertisement for Fess Whatley's Jazz Demons, remembered as Birmingham, Alabama's first jazz band.Birmingham News, November 20, 1921.
Frank Adams on Leaving Fess Whatley's Band and Joining Sun Ra's
In this interview excerpt, Frank Adams describes a conflict with high school bandleader (and legendary disciplinarian) John T. “Fess” Whatley – and an unexpected invitation from Sun Ra, the otherworldly bandleader then known as Sonny…
Frank Adams Compares the Bands of Fess Whatley and Sun Ra
As a high school student in the 1940s, Frank Adams played in both the bands of Fess Whatley, Birmingham's celebrated "Maker of Musicians," and Herman "Sonny" Blount, later famous as Sun Ra. In this interview excerpt, Adams compares the experience of…
John T. "Fess" Whatley
John T. “Fess” Whatley (1885 – 1972), Birmingham’s legendary “Maker of Musicians,” 1968. From 1917 into the 1950s, Whatley’s music program at Industrial / Parker High School produced numerous professional musicians, many of whom performed in the…
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, 1940s
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, c. 1940s.
"Fess" Whatley and Black AFM Delegates, 1937
John T. “Fess” Whatley with other Black delegates to the 42nd annual convention of the American Federations of Musicians, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937. Barred from participating in Birmingham’s white musicians’ union, Whatley co-founded Local 733 for…
Industrial High School Band, 1920s
Bandleader John T. "Fess" Whatley stands at far left in the center row. Many of Whatley's students would go on to professional careers as jazz musicians.
Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931
Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931. Band director John T. “Fess” Whatley at far right.