King Oliver

Birth Name:

Joseph Nathan Oliver

Birth Date:

December 19, 1885

Birth Place:

Aben, Louisiana

Death Date:

April 10, 1938

Place of Death:

Savannah, Georgia

Age:

Cause of Death:

Arteriosclerosis

Cemetery Name:

Woodlawn Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Music

Associates:

A pioneering jazz trumpet and cornet player, songwriter and bandleader Joseph “King” Oliver played an instrumental role in the popularization of jazz outside of New Orleans. Though born in Louisiana, Oliver spent much of his career in Chicago, where he established his legendary King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. Initially, the band included Louis Armstrong, formerly Oliver’s student in New Orleans. Ironically, Armstrong’s success ultimately overshadowed his mentor’s reputation as a jazz pioneer. As both a teacher and a musician, however, Oliver played an important role in the early history of jazz. Upon his death he was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City

A Very Sad Ending …

The end of Joe Oliver’s life was less than happy. His career-long dental problems, likely exacerbated by his habit of sipping sugar water “for energy” during performances, made it increasingly difficult to play the cornet. He lost his life savings in a bank collapse during the Great Depression, and spent the last years of his life touring with bands of increasing obscurity. Things only got worse when Oliver finally landed a long-term contract playing in New York’s Kentucky Club for pretty decent money, but made another bad decision when he passed up the chance to go to the newer Cotton Club because they paid less. Oliver unfortunately failed to take the powerful “Struggle Buggy Radio” broadcasts into account, something that Ellington, and his manager Irving Mills, did not overlook. The result was that Ellington’s fame grew while Oliver’s diminished. Later he was hired by the Savoy Ballroom before Chick Webb took up residence, but was unsatisfied with the pay. He tried to wangle more money out of management, but the end result was that he lost the job. Webb moved in as Oliver finally just gave up and moved back to Savannah, Georgia.

In Savannah Oliver was working in a pool hall trying to make enough money to buy an overcoat so he can get back to New York in the wintertime. But he never makes it. He dies, and there’s no money to bury him. Fortunately Louis Armstrong comes up with enough money to bury him at Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City, and he was pretty much forgotten until the hot jazz resurgence some 50 years after his passing.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Woodlawn Cemetery

4199 Webster Avenue

Bronx, New York, 10470

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx in New York City

Grave Location:

Salvia Plot, Section 195, Range 16

Grave Location Description

Drive to the lower part of the cemetery (C-2 on the official cemetery map) and take Canna Avenue around until it turns into Heliotrope Avenue. Park and walk to the edge of the cemetery. King Oliver is buried in a shared grave and 2nd to the left of one of the large trees across from a red brick building on the other side of the fence.

Grave Location GPS

40.880349723923736, -73.87263773346578

Photos:

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FAQ's

King Oliver was born on December 19, 1885.

King Oliver was born in Aben, Louisiana.

King Oliver died on April 10, 1938.

King Oliver died in Savannah, Georgia.

King Oliver was 52.

The cause of death was Arteriosclerosis.

King Oliver's grave is in Woodlawn Cemetery

Videos Featuring King Oliver:

Shake It And Break It - King Oliver & His Orchestra (1930)

King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Dipper Mouth Blues (1923)

Riverside Blues -- King Oliver 1923

Tin Roof Blues

King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators - Deep Henderson

St James Infirmary : King Oliver and His Orchestra

See More:

Big Bill Broonzy

Arthur Smith

popular name: Arthur Smith

date_of_death: April 3, 2014

age: 93

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Music

best_know_for: Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith was a musician, composer, and record producer, as well as a radio and TV host. He produced the first nationally syndicated country music show on television: The Arthur Smith Show". A talented and respected country music instrumental composer, guitarist, fiddler, and banjo player his first big hit recording was the instrumental "Guitar Boogie", which he wrote and recorded in 1945. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Renamed "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", it became a rock and roll hit by Frank Virtue and the Virtues. Virtue served in the Navy with Smith and counted him as a major influence. Other musicians who have been influenced by Smith include Nashville studio ace Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland, Roy Clark, and Glen Campbell. Smith was also noted for his "Feudin' Banjos" (1955), which was also recorded by Lester Flatt. It was revived as "Dueling Banjos" and used as a theme song in the popular film, Deliverance (1972). Released as a single, it became a hit, played on Top 40, AOR, and country stations alike. It reached the Top Ten and hit #1 in the US and Canada. Just a few of the dozens of awards and accolades he received during his lifetime include: BMI Song of the Year Award 1973, Grammy - Dueling Banjos (1973), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Special Citation of Achievement, The Broadcasters Hall of Fame – North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (1990), South Carolina Hall of Fame (1998), Legends Award – Western Film Festival (2003) and BMI Legendary Songwriter Award (2006). Charlie passed away in 2014 at the age of 93. He was laid to rest at Magnolia Memorial Gardens in Charlotte, North Carolina.

King Oliver