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Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931
Industrial High School Band, 1930-1931. Band director John T. “Fess” Whatley at far right.
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.
"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…
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, 1940s
Fess Whatley’s Sax-o-Society Orchestra, c. 1940s.
Industrial High School Printing Department Card
Industrial High School Printing Department, undated business card. Best remembered for his profound musical influence, “Fess” Whatley officially worked at Industrial / Parker High School not as bandmaster but as printing instructor. For years, his…
John T. "Fess" Whatley, 1968
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…
Richard Clarke (3)
Birmingham trumpeter Richard Clarke (aka Dick or Dickie Clarke) belonged to a family full of musicians. His own career included work in the bands of Fess Whatley, Baron Lee, Benny Carter, Billie Holiday, and others; in a U. S. Army band; and in…
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…
Newman Terrell with the Birmingham Heritage Band
In addition to the Birmingham Heritage Band, Newman Terrell performed with the Bama State Collegians and the Fess Whatley orchestra. In the 1950s -- with Birmingham musicians Walter Miller and Melvin Caswell -- Terrell relocated to Liberia, Monrovia,…
GLARE Magazine: Select Articles, 1951-1954
Founded in August, 1951, GLARE was a monthly magazine devoted to Black social and cultural life in Birmingham, Alabama. According to an editorial introduction in its inaugural issue, "GLARE pictures the better things of life, the pleasant things, the…
Frank Adams on his Early Life: Family and First Musical Experiences
In the first of more than 100 interviews with Burgin Mathews, Frank Adams shares some of his earliest memories. Topics include the influence of his father, Oscar W. Adams, Sr., and of his maternal grandmother, Ella Eaton; his first public…
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…
Frank Adams on Music Education in Birmingham's Black Schools (2)
Frank Adams describes the musical culture of Birmingham’s segregated Black schools. In the opening portion of this excerpt, Adams reads from a lecture he was preparing for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, exploring the history of jazz and…
Frank Adams on Music Education in Birmingham's Black Schools (1)
In this excerpt, Adams reflects on his early training in music, including his first informal lessons from his older brother Oscar and his experience in the elementary and high school bands of William Wise Handy and John T. “Fess” Whatley.…
Frank Adams on Becoming a Teacher
In 1950, Frank Adams had recently graduated from Howard University and was working as a supplier (subbing for a regular player) in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. When Ellington took his band to Europe that year, Adams returned to Birmingham and began…
John T. Whatley School Song
Lyrics and music for the official school song of John T. Whatley Elementary School, Birmingham, Alabama. Opened c. 1960, Whatley Elementary was named for John T. "Fess" Whatley, Birmingham's celebrated "Maker of Musicians," longtime local bandleader…
Music Memories and Jazz Report (Winter 1963)
Winter 1963 issue of Music Memories and Jazz Report (Vol. 3, No. 6). The issue marked the merger of Patrick Cather's Birmingham-basedMusic Memories Monthlywith the Ventura, California-basedJazz Report, edited by Paul Affledt. Included in this issue,…
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.
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 & 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…