Casa Loma Orchestra - Take It From Me

This band was active from 1927 to 1963. It did not tour after 1950 but continued as a studio group. It began its existence in 1927 as the Orange Blossoms, one of the Detroit-area groups that came out of the Jean Goldkette office. It was a co-operative organization, fronted for the first few years by violinist Hank Biagini, although the eventual leader, saxophonist Glen Gray (1900-1963) was the most prominent member. The band had adopted the Casa Loma name by the time of its first recordings in 1929, shortly after it was supposed to play at Casa Loma in Toronto, which was then operating as a hotel. Ironically they never played the Casa Loma. From 1929 till 1935, this group was one of the top North American dance bands. By 1950, the Casa Loma band had ceased touring, Gray retired to Massachusetts, and the later recordings were done by studio musicians in Hollywood. This however is a 1931 record; according to Rust, the vocalist is Glen Gray, but Pee Wee Hunt is more likely.