Jingle Bells Boogie Woogie - Will Bradley & His Boogie Woogie Boys ~1943

Wilbur Schwichttenberg, aka Will Bradley (good change...) was born on July 12, 1912 in Newton, New Jersey and raised in Washington, New Jersey. He took his first stab at a professional music career in 1928, finding a spot with Red Nichols and His Five Pennies. During the 1930's, he worked as a studio musician for CBS radio as the resident hot trombonist (except for one year when he got with the Ray Noble Orchestra). 1939 was the year he made his name change, simultaneously starting a band with drummer and vocalist Ray McKinley. The band became well known for their boogie-woogie sound (a couple of which have also been posted on the channel).

Bradley was one of the first musicians to record "Soundies", or three minute shorts made for viewing in a coin operated "Movie Jukebox" which took place in December 1940. In 1942, McKinley separated from Bradley's orchestra to start his own band, requiring Bradley to make some replacements, but much of the rest of the band ended up getting drafted into World War II, causing him to dissolve the band. Bradley kept in music as a studio artist once again, continuing to record soundies and make more records as "Will Bradley and His Boogie Woogie Boys", the band responsible for today's song "Jingle Bells Boogie Woogie", an arrangement cooked up by Emporia "Lefty" Scott. The musicians are as follows: Will Bradley (trombone), Billy Butterfield (trumpet), Bob Haggart (bass), Paul Ricci (clarinet), John Guarnieri (piano), and Billy Gussak (drums). The recording likely happened in November of 1943 and was released the week of December 11 that same year.

Bradley would be the trombonist for Jimmy Dorsey's hit "So Rare". He would sign to NBC Radio's flagship station in New York City, joining up with other big band veterans whose bands didn't quite make it through the great depression or the recording strikes. Eventually, in 1956, Ray McKinley, who had capitalized on the popularity of "The Glenn Miller Story" movie, was chosen by widow Helen Miller to revive the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He came straight to Bradley and asked him to join the band, to which he accepted and Will would remain with the band until 1966 when Helen herself died.