Lena Horne

Charles Fox started his music education at an early age, finding an interest in arranging and composition. As a child he loved the opera and would go to as many shows as possible paying $2 for standing room. A chance encounter with a piano teacher led him to an experience of a lifetime studying with Nadia Boulanger in France for a year. His career shifted when he started working with Skitch Henderson who introduced him to TV and film work. At one time the top three TV shows were all theme song by Charles: Happy Days, Love Boat and Laverne and Shirley!

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lena Horne was a popular singer and actress who was dedicated to the Civil Rights movement beginning in the 1950s. She began her career singing in the chorus line at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, New York back in 1933. This experience introduced her to jazz and many of its top performers including Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. She began singing with Charlie Barnet's band, which lead to a string of recordings. By the early 1940s she was appearing in

Lee Ritenour was exposed to jazz music in Los Angeles as a youth thanks to his parents.  He developed a great knowledge of guitar techniques having watched and or worked with many of his guitar heroes. When he was 16 years old he accompanied jazz singer Lena Horne, which opened up many doors for Lee.  His studio work and later solo career established him as a gifted and versatile musician and set the stage for a long list of successful musical projects, several of which have been praised by fans and peers alike.  His constant drive to explore and develop has also led to his carefu

Donn Trenner was one of the most successful pianists in the big band and Bebop jazz eras. He began his career with the popular Ted Fio Rito Orchestra beginning in 1943. He later played with bands led by Buddy Morrow, Charlie Barnet and Jerry Gray. As the Bop era developed, Donn played alongside innovators including Charlie Parker and Stan Getz, but may be best known to millions of popular music fans as the pianist behind such singers Lena Horne, Anita O’Day, Ann-Margret, and Nancy Wilson. Donn also led the house band for the Steve Allen Show on television beginning in 1960 on NBC.

Gerald “Wig” Wiggins was a world renowned composer, arranger and jazz keyboardist. As an early pioneer in playing jazz on the Hammond B-3 organ, Wig had a strong interest in new and inventive sounds. His creatively can be heard in hundreds of recordings and motion pictures beginning in the 1930s. His most personally fulfilling roles were as a backup to vocalists –and Wig worked with ‘em all. He toured and recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Kay Starr, Nat King Cole, Lou Rawls, Jimmy Witherspoon and Eartha Kitt.