Ted Powell & His Orchestra (Aired October 9, 2009)
For a brief period in 1939, Teddy Powell led one of the top big bands in jazz. With an ensemble full of top musicians, Powell had a very successful six-week run at the Famous Door in New York. Powell bragged that he had done in a short time what it taken Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey years to accomplish. But once he took his band on the road, the lack of name recognition resulted in small crowds, money began to be lost and the more notable sidemen left for other lucrative jobs. The fantasy was quickly over! Teddy Powell began playing violin when he was eight, picked up the banjo when he was 14 and led his first band the following year. Powell worked locally with Lou Singer and Ray West (1927) before joining Abe Lyman's Orchestra where he remained until 1934. Powell worked with Lyman on the business side of the music business through 1938, organizing radio bands. In late 1938, Powell put together his own big band and after its initial success and difficulties on the road, the Teddy Powell Orchestra managed to survive as a second-level band for several years.
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