Ray Anthony

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
For the rapper named Anthony Ray, see Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Ray Anthony
Anthony in 1950
Anthony in 1950
Background information
Birth nameRaymond Antonini
Born (1922-01-20) January 20, 1922 (age 103)
Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresBig band, jazz, swing
Occupation(s)Musician, bandleader
InstrumentTrumpet
Years active1936–1998
LabelsAero Space, Capitol
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1955; div. 1961)​

Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor.[1] He is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Biography

[edit]

Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied the trumpet. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940 to 1941[2] and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II as Miller joined the Army, organizing another famous military band before his 1944 disappearance over the English Channel. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra which became popular in the early 1950s with "The Bunny Hop" (#13 on Billboard, #34 on Cash Box), "Hokey Pokey", and the memorable theme from the radio/television police detective series Dragnet, which reached no. 2 on Billboard and no. 7 in the UK.[3] He had a No. 2 chart hit on Billboard with a recording of the tune "At Last" in 1952, which also reached no. 20 on Cash Box; it was the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S. His 1962 recording "Worried Mind" received considerable radio airplay, reaching no. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[4]

In 1953, Anthony and his orchestra were featured when Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly headlined a summer replacement program for Perry Como's CBS television show.[5]

From 1953 to 1954, Anthony was musical director of the television series TV's Top Tunes, and appeared as himself with his orchestra in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron.[3] In 1955, he married actress Mamie Van Doren. Their son Perry Ray was born on March 18, 1956. Anthony began expanding his acting career.[6] In 1956–57, he starred in a short-lived television variety show, The Ray Anthony Show. He appeared in several films during the late 1950s, including The Five Pennies (in which he portrayed Jimmy Dorsey),[7] and alongside Van Doren in the moves High School Confidential (1958) (as "Bix"), The Beat Generation and Girls Town (both 1959). During the 1959–60 television season, he guest-starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of star David Hedison's espionage series Five Fingers on NBC. Anthony and his band appeared in the movie The Girl Can't Help It (1956).[7] In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film This Could Be The Night,[7] with vocals performed by Julie Wilson.

After Van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing "cruelty",[8] they finally divorced in 1961,[9] and Anthony's brief film career ended at about the same time. However, he continued his musical career and had another hit record with the jazzy drumming theme from the Peter Gunn private detective series featuring Craig Stevens, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart with its popularity enduring for decades. The B-side of this single hit "Peter Gun theme" also contains the Norwegian song "Tango for Two" written by Bjarne Amdahl and Alf Prøysen. Among the Anthony band's pianists was Allen "Puddler" Harris, a native of Franklin Parish, in Louisiana, who had been a member of the original rock singer Ricky Nelson's band, and Kellie Greene, who also played the vibraphone.

Ray Anthony's compositions include "Thunderbird", "The Bunny Hop", "Houseparty Hop", "Trumpet Boogie", "Dream Dancing", "Dream While You Dance", "Dance My Heart", "Let's All Do the Swim", "Big Band Boogie", and "Mr. Anthony's Boogie".[10][11][12][13]

Anthony was considered one of the most modern big band leaders. In the lyrics to "Opus One", which imagine a number of players all performing the song, he is cited along with Les Brown and his Band of Renown:

If Mr. Les Brown can make it renown.
And Ray Anthony could swing it for me.

Anthony became the last living member of Glenn Miller's band when trombonist Nat Peck died in 2015.[14] He turned 100 on January 20, 2022.[15]

Later career

[edit]

In the early 1980s, Anthony formed Big Band '80s, with other members of the band including Buddy Rich, Harry James, Les Brown, and Alvino Rey.[16]

Anthony has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[17] His later works tended to break away from the big-band jazz style of his earlier days, ranging from MOR and lounge music to blues, film and television themes.

Discography

[edit]
Anthony performing in 1947
Year Album
[18] 		Label Peak chart positions Catalog Number
Billboard 200
[19] 		Cash Box
[20]
1950 Dance Time (split album with Jan Garber [one side by each]) Capitol — — H-199
1951 Arthur Murray Favorites: Fox Trots — — H-258
1952 Houseparty Hop 10 — H-292
Campus Rumpus! — — H-362
1953 The Young Man With The Horn — — H-373
The Anthony Choir — — H-442
1954 I Remember Glenn Miller 6 — H-476
Ray Anthony Plays TV's Top Tunes — — H-9118
Arthur Murray Swing Fox Trots — — H-546
1955 Golden Horn 10 — T-563
Swingin' On Campus! — — T-645
Standards By Ray Anthony — — T-663
Big Band Dixieland — — T-678
1956 Dream Dancing 15 21 T-723
Jam Session at the Tower — — T-749
1957 Dancers in Love — — T-786
Star Dancing — — T-831
Young Ideas — — T-866
This Could Be The Night MGM — — E3530 ST
1958 Moments Together Capitol — — T-917
The Dream Girl — — T-969
Dancing Over the Waves — — T-1028
Anthony Plays Steve Allen — — T-1086
1959 Anthony Italiano — — ST-1149
Sounds Spectacular — — ST-1200
More Dream Dancing — — ST-1252
1960 Like Wild! — — ST-1304
Dancing Alone Together: Torch Songs For Lovers — — ST-1420
The New Ray Anthony Show — — ST-1421
1961 That's Show Biz — — ST-1496
Swing-Dance-Dream to 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' — — ST-1576
Dream Dancing Medley — — ST-1608
The Twist — — ST-1668
1962 Worried Mind: The Soul Of Country Western Blues 14 15 ST-1752
I Almost Lost My Mind: The Soul Of Big City Rhythm & Blues — — ST-1783
1964 Smash Hits of '63! — — ST-1917
Charade and Other Top Themes — — ST-2043
My Love, Forgive Me (Amore Scusami) — — ST-2150
Swim, Swim, C'mon and Swim — — ST-2188
1966 Dream Dancing Today — — ST-2457
Hit Songs to Remember — 93 ST-2530
To Each His Own Sears — — SP-429
1967 Today's Trumpet Capitol — — ST-2750
1968 Ray Anthony Now Ranwood — — RLP-8033
1969 Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You) — — RLP-8046
Love Is For The Two Of Us [AKA Great Country Music Hits] — — RLP-8059
1970 I Get The Blues When It Rains [reissue of Ray Anthony Now] — — RLP-8062
1971 Direction '71: My Sweet Lord — — RLP-8078
Dream Dancing in Hawaii Aero Space — — RA-1004
1972 Dream Dancing Around The World — — SR 1007
1975 A Little Bit Country Capitol — — SM-11411
1976 Great Golden Hits Ranwood — — R-8153
1978 Touch Dancing Aero Space — — RA-1008
Swing Goes On Vol. 10 Capitol — — 1 C 054-52 719
Dance Along Sunnyvale — — SVL-1018
1980 Big Band Series/Original Recording Picc-a-dilly — — PIC-3422
1981 Volume II-Big Band Series — — PIC-3545
1987 Best 20 Capitol — — CP32-5391
1988 A Música De Glenn Miller — — 054 791016
1988 & All That Jazz Aero Space — — RACD-1030
1989 Ray Anthony Capitol — — CP28-5908
1993 In The Miller Mood Vol. II Aero Space — — RACD-1037

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cook, Richard (2005). Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia. London: Penguin Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-141-00646-3.
  2. ^ "Bio". Rayanthonyband.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Wynn, Ron "Ray Anthony Biography", Allmusic, retrieved June 17, 2011
  4. ^ "Ray Anthony and His Orchestra songs. Top songs/Chart singles discography". MusicVF.com. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  5. ^ Warren, Jill (July 1953). "What's New from Coast to Coast" (PDF). Radio-TV Mirror. Vol. 40, no. 2. p. 5. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  6. ^ "Mamie van Doren, Ray Anthony Wed", Lewiston Daily Sun, August 30, 1955, p. 11, retrieved June 17, 2011
  7. ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Fifties Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 18/20. ISBN 0-85112-732-0.
  8. ^ "Divorce Sought", Spokane Daily Chronicle, September 9, 1958, p. 8, retrieved June 17, 2011
  9. ^ "Mamie Van Doren Granted Divorce". Hartford Courant. Santa Monica, California. Associated Press. March 23, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved January 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Songs written by Ray Anthony. Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  11. ^ Thunderbird co-written by Ray Anthony. Discogs. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  12. ^ Trumpet Boogie co-written by Ray Anthony. Discogs. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  13. ^ Big Band Boogie co-written by Ray Anthony. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Nat Peck, jazz trombonist - obituary". www.telegraph.co.uk. October 30, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "100. Geburtstag einer Swing-Legende: Ray Anthony in den Menschen des Tages 20.01.2022". schmusa.de (in German). January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  16. ^ Arar, Yardena (September 2023). "Ray Anthony: Bandleader Anthony Foresees Big Bands Supplanting Disco". Merced Sun-Star. Los Angeles. AP. p. 19. Retrieved January 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Ray Anthony - Hollywood Walk of Fame". Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  18. ^ "Ray Anthony Discography". discogs.com.
  19. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). Top LPs, 1955–1996. Record Research. p. 11. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  20. ^ Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 10. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
[edit]