Red Nichols (born May 8, 1905, Ogden, Utah, USA – died June 28, 1965, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.
Jazz legend Red Nichols was perhaps one of the most prolific recording artists in history. In the 1920s alone, the cornetist appeared on over 4,000 recordings, working with almost every important musician of his time. Though his style of playing was influenced by Bix Beiderbecke, Nichols was a better, more polished musician. His contribution to the early days of jazz cannot be overstated. Few artists can even come close to equaling his accomplishments.
Nichols studied music under his father, a music professor at Weber College, and mastered a variety of instruments although he favored the cornet. As a teen he won a music scholarship to Culver Military Academy and played in its band before being expelled for smoking. Returning home to Utah, he worked in various pit orchestras, joining artist in 1922. Later that year he left Stillson for a Midwestern ensemble called the Syncopating Five, a seven-piece group that was later billed as the Royal Palms Orchestra, and toured across country with them.
In 1923 Nichols settled in New York, where he met trombonist artist who became a permanent fixture in Nichols' various groups. Nichols most famously recorded under the name Red Nichols And His Five Pennies, but the same group of musicians also recorded under many different pseudonyms, including the artist, the Charleston Seven, the Arkansas Travelers, artist, The Hottentots (3), The Tennessee Tooters, and The Red Heads. The list of top musicians who worked with Nichols is long. They include Benny Goodman, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, artist, artist, artist, artist, artist, and artist. During the 1920's Nichols also led pit orchestras for two artist Broadway shows, Girl Crazy and Strike Up the Band, and played with a variety of other bandleaders, including artist, artist, Cass Hagan, artist, artist, artist, artist, and artist, as well as with the group the artist.
In the 1930's Nichols formed his own big band, which appeared on both artist's radio program and the Kellogg College Prom in addition to regular broadcasts from Cleveland's Golden Pheasant restaurant. Vocalists were Frances Stevens, artist, and artist. Around 1940 Nichols took advantage of the swing craze and updated his sound, though he still featured a Dixieland base. The new band recorded for Bluebird (3), with artist and artist providing vocals. The orchestra sounded promising when it debuted but soon floundered. By 1941 it featured an entirely new line-up, including a artist sound-alike by the name of Penny Banks. After a few failed dates in Boston, Nichols gave up the band, selling it to artist in 1942.
Nichols briefly found work as a member of the artist before retiring to Hollywood, where he led several small groups throughout the rest of the 1940's and into the 1950's. The highly-fictional 1959 biographical film The Five Pennies, starring artist, brought renewed interest in his career and prompted Nichols to put together a new Five Pennies.
