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The Harry James OrchestraHarry James was eight years old when he learned to play the trumpet, while sitting in with a circus band. His parents were both circus performers, and by the time Harry was ten, he was performing trumpet solos and a contortionist act with a 65-year-old partner. When his parents retired to Beaumont, Texas, Harry began playing with area orchestras and bands and soon joined the famous Ben Pollack group. Big-Band-great, Benny Goodman, heard Harry James playing on a Pollack recording and hired him immediately. After three successful years with the Goodman Band, Harry James decided to go out on his own. Goodman was so sure of Harry's talent that he provided financial backing, and Harry James and his Music Makers were formed. James heard a singer in Englewood, New Jersey and was sufficiently impressed to offer him a job. Young Frank Sinatra recorded All or Nothing At All with the James Orchestra, and it became a million-record seller. Sinatra later joined the Tommy Dorsey Band. During the successful years that followed, Harry James helped to launch the careers of many young singers, such as Connie Haines, Helen Forrest and Kitty Callen. His steady stream of hit recordings included I'll Get By, I Don't Want to Walk Without You, I Cried for You, I Had the Craziest Dream, and I've Heard That Song Before. In the 1940 Metronome poll, Harry James was voted "best hot trumpeter" and "best all-around trumpeter." On July 5, 1943, Harry James married film star, Betty Grable. He became interested in movies and appeared in Best Foot Forward, Bathing Beauty, Two Girls and a Sailor, Springtime in the Rockies, I'll Get By if I'm Lucky, and many others, and served as technical advisor and played all the trumpet parts in Young Man with a Horn. Since the death of Mr. James in 1983, the band has continued the tradition of mellow arrangements and fine rhythmic playing that first made it famous, and is now under the direction of Harry James' lead trumpet virtuoso, Fred Radke. The Harry James Orchestra plays in the major venues of the United States, including many re-engagements in Las Vegas and Disneyland and tours extensively throughout the world. Fred RadkeFred Radke, trumpeter, conductor, educator, recording artist, composer and arranger was born in Oakland, California, where he began playing trumpet professionally at age fifteen. By the time he was eighteen, he had worked with Marlene Dietrich, Burt Bacharach, and Johnny Mathis. He furthered his education by attending the College of San Mateo, and worked as featured guest trumpet soloist and musical director of The Lancers. His career has included touring as lead trumpeter with the Harry James Orchestra and with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, led by Ray McKinley. Harry James wrote of Mr. Radke, "Fred has gained an outstanding reputation throughout the United States and Canada as a great trumpet soloist, conductor, and educator of music." It has been noted that Fred Radke's style of trumpet playing is so similar to Mr. James that listeners often cannot discern the difference. He was the first choice to lead The Harry James Orchestra because of his unique talents and broad area of expertise. Fred Radke has recorded with Harry James, Gina Funes and his own band. He has appeared on the CBS, NBC, ABC, and CBC television networks and has performed for such heads of state as President Richard Nixon and Olaf, King of Norway. He was lead trumpeter for Leslie Uggams, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Johnnie Ray, Phil Harris, The Modernaires, The Pied Pipers, Earl Grant, The Lennon Sisters, Connie Stevens, Pat Boone, Edie Adams and Rich Little. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra has featured him as a guest soloist. Radke currently resides in Mercer Island, Washington, where he is a full-time member of the music faculty at North Seattle Community College and is musical director for the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle.
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