May 14, 1970(1970-05-14) (aged 56) Sherman Oaks, California
Fina was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and educated at the New York College of Music and was a student of August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini. He started out playing piano in Clyde McCoy's band sometime in the 1930s, but it wasn't until he joined Freddy Martin’s band in 1936 that he gained real fame, when he was featured on Martin’s famous recording of "Tonight We Love".
In 1946, Jack Fina formed his own 16-piece band, with Freddy Martin's blessing and financial backing.[1] His first appearance was at the Claremont Hotel. The vocals were handled by Harry Prime and Gil Lewis. With good air time and good recordings, Fina became a national figure. Following up on the success of "Tonight We Love," Fina again turned to the classics and composed a boogie-woogie variation on Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee." Fina's version, "Bumble Boogie", became a huge hit; Fina performed it as a solo piano specialty in the 1946 Columbia Pictures musical It's Great to Be Young.
Fina appeared at some of the top venues in the country, including the Waldorf-Astoria, the Aragon Ballroom, and the famous illegal gambling casino/night club in Galveston, the Balinese Room. He also appeared in several films, including Melody Time (Bumble Boogie sequence,[2] 1948) and Disc Jockey (1951). A noted songwriter, his credits included Dream Sonata (his theme song), Chango and Piano Portraits.
In the 1950s, he reduced the size of his band and settled in San Francisco. He also operated a talent agency called the Concerto Music & Entertainment Agency with his manager Al King. In the early 1960s he appeared as a single on Dick Sinclair’s television show. In 1962 Fina joined the staff of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Sherman Oaks, California, where he led a small band for eight successful years. The engagement was curtailed by his death at age 56, from a heart attack. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Hollywood Hills.
Referencesedit
^Ken Alden, "Facing the Music," Radio Mirror, August 1946, p. 4.
^Disney A to Z : The updated official Encyclopedia, Dave Smith p. 81.
jack, fina, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2009,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jack Fina news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Jack Fina August 13 1913 May 14 1970 was a bandleader songwriter and pianist Jack FinaFina in 1948 Background informationBorn 1913 08 13 August 13 1913Passaic New JerseyDiedMay 14 1970 1970 05 14 aged 56 Sherman Oaks California Fina was born in Passaic New Jersey and educated at the New York College of Music and was a student of August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini He started out playing piano in Clyde McCoy s band sometime in the 1930s but it wasn t until he joined Freddy Martin s band in 1936 that he gained real fame when he was featured on Martin s famous recording of Tonight We Love In 1946 Jack Fina formed his own 16 piece band with Freddy Martin s blessing and financial backing 1 His first appearance was at the Claremont Hotel The vocals were handled by Harry Prime and Gil Lewis With good air time and good recordings Fina became a national figure Following up on the success of Tonight We Love Fina again turned to the classics and composed a boogie woogie variation on Rimsky Korsakov s Flight of the Bumblebee Fina s version Bumble Boogie became a huge hit Fina performed it as a solo piano specialty in the 1946 Columbia Pictures musical It s Great to Be Young Fina appeared at some of the top venues in the country including the Waldorf Astoria the Aragon Ballroom and the famous illegal gambling casino night club in Galveston the Balinese Room He also appeared in several films including Melody Time Bumble Boogie sequence 2 1948 and Disc Jockey 1951 A noted songwriter his credits included Dream Sonata his theme song Chango and Piano Portraits In the 1950s he reduced the size of his band and settled in San Francisco He also operated a talent agency called the Concerto Music amp Entertainment Agency with his manager Al King In the early 1960s he appeared as a single on Dick Sinclair s television show In 1962 Fina joined the staff of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Sherman Oaks California where he led a small band for eight successful years The engagement was curtailed by his death at age 56 from a heart attack He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery Hollywood Hills References edit Ken Alden Facing the Music Radio Mirror August 1946 p 4 Disney A to Z The updated official Encyclopedia Dave Smith p 81 External links editJack Fina at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack Fina amp oldid 1161496188, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
