On this day, August 13, 1913, Jack Fina was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Fri Aug 13, 2021, 08:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Jack Fina



Fina in 1948.

Background information
Born: August 13, 1913; Passaic, New Jersey
Died: May 14, 1970 (aged 56); Sherman Oaks, California

Jack Fina (August 13, 1913 – May 14, 1970) was a bandleader, songwriter, and pianist.

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".

After leaving Martin in 1946, Fina formed his own 16-piece band. 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. Because of this, 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 (sequence Bumble Boogie, 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, Fina led a small band at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he remained for a successful eight years. It was also around the same time that he appeared, as a single, on Dick Sinclair’s television show.

Fina died aged 56, from a heart attack during an engagement at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Sherman Oaks, California. He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Hollywood Hills.

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He gave us this. Sometimes I think this is my favorite video on all of YouTube.

Liberace - Bumble Boogie
1,191,179 views Oct 14, 2008

nocovercharge
4.31K subscribers

Here is Liberace performing The Bumble Boogie, otherwise known as The Flight of The Bumblebees taken from his classic hit television series of the 50's.

Here's another version by Liberace. He starts out playing it straight, so to speak, and then he segues into the boogie woogie version.

Liberace Flight of the Bumblebee and The Bumble Boogie
228,016 views May 4, 2016

Biggest Liberace Fan
17.9K subscribers

Liberace Plays the Classic Flight of the Bumblebee and its modern day counterpart The Bumble Boogie from his 1950s TV Show

Here is Lluís Coloma's take. It's a knockout.

LLUÍS COLOMA -"Bumble Boogie"
27,889 views Feb 28, 2011

THESONBARBER
3.44K subscribers

Directo Festival jazz San Javier 2010.

There were rock versions. Coming up...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. B. Bumble and the Stingers, The Surf Coasters, other covers

This material was taken from this thread:

Sun May 16, 2021: On this day, May 16, 1919, Liberace was born.

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http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/

May 16th: On this Day

1962, B Bumble and the Stingers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Nut Rocker.' The instrumental was based on Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker Suite.'

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B. Bumble and the Stingers

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"Bumble Boogie"

Hall then came up with the idea for B. Bumble and the Stingers, taking the same approach to a piece of classical music. Prompted by record producer Kim Fowley, he approached pianist Jack Fina, whose 1946 swing arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" for Freddy Martin and his Orchestra, called "Bumble Boogie" (RCA Victor 20-1829), had reached number 7 on the chart and been used in the 1948 Walt Disney animated film Melody Time. Using Fina's arrangement, Fowley recorded pianist Ernie Freeman on two tracks, one using a grand piano for the rhythm part, while the other featured a "tack piano", a modified upright piano with tacks pressed into the hammers to create a tinny "honky tonk" sound. The other musicians on the session, at Gold Star Studios, were Palmer on drums, Red Callender on bass, and Tommy Tedesco on guitar.

"Bumble Boogie" went to number 21 on the Billboard charts in June 1961. Because the session musicians all had other studio commitments, a teen band from Ada, Oklahoma, who had played no part in the recording, was recruited to handle promotion and public appearances. Their names were given as Fred Richards, Don Orr, and "B. Bumble", a pseudonym for guitarist R. C. Gamble.

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Here's "Bumble Boogie" performed by B. Bumble and the Stingers:

b bumble & the stingers ... bumble boogie
468,094 views Jun 17, 2011

kiddysoulgirl99
14.3K subscribers

Nut Rocker:

B.Bumble & The Stingers - Nut Rocker
1,016,620 views Apr 3, 2009

45RPMsinglesbyMikeEvans
90.1K subscribers

1961 Caravan
1961 Bumble Boogie
1962 Apple Knocker
1962 Nut Rocker

What would Rimsky-Korsakov think if he could hear this? Two thumbs up, is my guess.

Surf Coasters "Bumble Bee Boogie" HB Pier Convention 2014
13,363 views Jan 27, 2015


Dave F
767 subscribers

Surf Coasters "Bumble Bee Boogie" HB Pier Convention 2014

Saskatchewan has talent.

Bumble Boogie FINALS
3,693 views Aug 15, 2007

Danny Fong
21.7K subscribers

Saskatchewan Youth Talent Search Winners Danny Fong and Andrew Kesler play "Jack Fina's" Bumble Boogie with different arrangements written by the two.

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Two years earlier:

Bumble Boogie
9,384 views Feb 3, 2007

Danny Fong
21.7K subscribers

17-year-olds: Danny and Andrew combine forces to play Jack Fina's "Bumble Boogie" on Piano and Guitar. Introduction inspired by Jools Holland. Played at a high school variety night with an hour of practicing together.


Here is a newer version of better quality and performance in general. It is a couple years later at a Youth Talent Search in Saskatchewan and we won and represented our province in Nationals.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. You are lucky today. Here is Jack Fina himself.

Jack Fina on Piano - Bumble Boogie 1958
58,305 views May 22, 2012

AmazingArchive
658 subscribers

The man who arranged this often copied version of Flight of The Bumble Bee for piano - Boogie-Woogie style.

Jack Fina played with the Freddie Martin Band.

Here's another video of him I found tonight. It's only recently posted. YouTube is wonderful.

Jack Fina -- "Bumble Boogie"
1,099 views May 10, 2021

adamgswanson
2.6K subscribers

Pianist Jack Fina, who performed with Freddy Martin's Orchestra, plays his famous composition "Bumble Boogie" in the 1946 movie "It's Great to Be Young." There are relatively few films of the composer himself playing this. It's a slightly slower take than usual but so fun to watch with the mirror on the keyboard!