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52-590: Many Haag performers had successful careers elsewhere after working in the Haag Circus. Harry James (1916–1983) grew up in the Mighty Haag Circus; his father, Everett Robert James, was its bandleader . Harry James' mother, Myrtle Maybelle (Stewart), was an acrobat and horseback rider in the Circus. Maybelle and Everett James gave their son Harry the middle name of Haag after the circus owner. The James family departed

104-455: A hyena , ocelot and badger . A Tuckapo ponies act was put on by Capt. J. C. Farley. In 1915 the Circus entrance fee was 35 cents. At the show's peak in 1918, it had 100 workers, to produce a three-ring circus in a 180' by 80' tent. Its 45 vehicles were of all types. Featured acts were the one-legged clown, Roy Fortune; a highwire walker and aerialist ; and the sword swallower Marguerite Davis. In 1915 Haag sold all his railroad cars to

156-400: A broader set of skills than those needed to be a gifted musician playing in someone else's band. The James band ran into financial trouble, and it became increasingly difficult for James to pay salaries and keep the band together. In 1940, James lost his contract with Columbia Records (he returned in 1941), and Frank Sinatra left the band that January. It was not long after this that James made

208-492: A country club or playing Vegas, in which we have many, many types of people, then I'm sure that 'Sleepy Lagoon' would be more popular at that particular time. But I really get bugged about these people talking about commercial tunes, because to me, if you're gonna be commercial, you're gonna stand on your head and make funny noises and do idiotic things. I don't think we've ever recorded or played one tune that I didn't particularly love to play. Otherwise, I wouldn't play it." James

260-433: A pivotal decision: he would adopt a "sweeter" style that added strings to the band, and the band would deliver tunes that were in more of a "pop" vein and less true to its jazz roots. From a commercial standpoint, the decision paid off as James soon enjoyed a string of chart-topping hits that provided commercial success for him and his band. Indeed, a U.S. Treasury report released in 1945 listed Harry James and Betty Grable as

312-480: A short period in 1947, but shortly after he reorganized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his technical proficiency as well as his tone , and was influential on new trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a number of films that usually featured his band. Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia , United States,

364-482: A small tent from a longtime side-show man, Squire Bowman, Haag produced a side show at the local fair grounds. In 1890, at the age of 24, Haag purchased a flat-bottomed boat to anchor in the Red River near Shreveport, Louisiana . He used the flatboat as a performing stage for his show, hiring local performers and calling it "The Big Show". Ed Conklin, a local juggler , was one of first performers. In 1895 he renamed

416-615: A son, Michael (b. 1968), before divorcing in 1970. James owned several Thoroughbred racehorses that won races such as the California Breeders' Champion Stakes (1951) and the San Vicente Stakes (1954). He was also a founding investor in the Atlantic City Race Course . His knowledge of horse racing was demonstrated during a 1958 appearance on The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour entitled " Lucy Wins A Racehorse ". James

468-539: A string section in 1941. Subsequently, known as Harry James and His Music Makers, it produced the hit " You Made Me Love You ", which peaked at no. 5 on Billboard's National Best Selling Retail Records chart for the week ending November 18, 1941. During its 18-week chart run, the single spent ten non-consecutive weeks in the Top Ten, from early November 1941 until late January 1942. He and his band appeared in three Hollywood films: Private Buckaroo and Springtime in

520-420: A tightrope" when trying to balance two opposing views with little room for compromise. The idea can also appear in satirical or acidic contexts. Nicholas Taleb uses the concept in his book The Black Swan : "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports [...]." Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore

572-422: A tightrope. One solution is for the rope core to be made of steel cable, laid in the opposite direction to the outer layers, so that twisting forces balance each other out. Acrobats maintain their balance by positioning their centre of mass directly over their base of support, i.e. shifting most of their weight over their legs, arms, or whatever part of their body they are using to hold them up. When they are on

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624-458: A variety of props in their acts, such as clubs , rings, hats, or canes. Tightwire performers have even used wheelbarrows with passengers, ladders, and animals in their act. The technique to maintain balance is to keep the performer's centre of mass above their support point—usually their feet. Highwire is a form of tightwire walking but performed at much greater height. Although there is no official height when tightwire becomes highwire, generally

676-499: A wire over 20 feet (6 m) high are regarded as a highwire act. Skywalk is a form of highwire which is performed at great heights and length. A skywalk is performed outdoors between tall buildings, gorges, across waterfalls or other natural and man-made structures. If the "lay" of the rope (the orientation of the constituent strands, the "twist" of a rope) is in one direction, the rope can twist on itself as it stretches and relaxes. Underfoot, this could be hazardous to disastrous in

728-596: Is featured in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and in Marvel's Avengers: Endgame . With James's childhood spent as a musician in a traveling circus, he picked up a flamboyant style that utilized such techniques as heavy vibrato, half valve and lip glissandi, valve and lip trills, and valve tremolos. These techniques were popular at the time in what was known as "hot" jazz , epitomized by James's idol Louis Armstrong , but somewhat fell out of favor by

780-500: Is less tipping. In addition, the performer can also correct sway by rotating the pole. This will create an equal and opposite torque on the body. Tightwire-walkers typically perform in very thin and flexible, leather-soled slippers with a full-length suede or leather sole to protect the feet from abrasions and bruises, while still allowing the foot to curve around the wire. Though very infrequent in performance, amateur, hobbyist, or inexperienced funambulists will often walk barefoot so that

832-597: Is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope . It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus . Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining . Tightwire is the skill of maintaining balance while walking along a tensioned wire between two points. It can be done either using a balancing tool (umbrella, fan, balance pole, etc.) or "freehand", using only one's body to maintain balance. Typically, tightwire performances either include dance or object manipulation . Object manipulation acts include

884-416: The 1940s, his playing was often labeled as "schmaltzy" and dismissed by the critics, although radio discs from this period reveal James's continued commitment to jazz. James's jazz releases during this period, while not as numerous, include a variety of modern arrangements from Neal Hefti , Frank Devenport, Johnny Richards and Jimmy Mundy that often inspired his musicians, and as bop surpassed swing by

936-510: The 1950 film Young Man with a Horn , dubbing Kirk Douglas . The album from the movie charted at #1, with James backing big band singer and actress Doris Day . James's recording of " I'm Beginning to See the Light " appears in the motion picture My Dog Skip (2000). His music is also featured in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters . James's recording of " It's Been a Long, Long Time "

988-579: The 1950s with the advent of "cool" jazz . James's rigorous regime of practice as a child resulted in an exceptional technical proficiency in the more classical techniques of range, fingering and tonguing. Growing up in the South, James was also exposed to blues music , which had an additional influence on his style. As James explained, "I was brought up in Texas with the blues – when I was eleven or twelve years old down in what they call 'barbecue row' I used to sit in with

1040-478: The Army. In 1945, James and his orchestra had a summer replacement program for Danny Kaye 's program on CBS . He also led the orchestra for Call for Music , which was broadcast on CBS February 13, 1948 – April 16, 1948, and on NBC April 20, 1948 – June 29, 1948. James recorded many popular records and appeared in many Hollywood movies. He featured in the 1942 musical short Trumpet Serenade . He played trumpet in

1092-438: The Circus in 1931 when Harry was 15. Other notable circus alumni include the following: Laurence Brasfield, of Uncle Cyp and Aunt Sap Brasfield , started in the Haag Circus at age 14. Cornet player Don Essig played in Haag Circus. Starting as Haag performers, Rube Walters and Heinie Emgard became a vaudeville act. Fisher's Performing Elephants continued tours after the Haag Circus ended. Ruby Haag Brown performed for 50 years in

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1144-694: The Great Wortham Shows carnival and moved back to wagons, renaming the show as the Mighty Haag Circus . The wagons toured locally in Louisiana and Texas . In the early 1930s, with good roads and trucks now available, Haag moved his Circus and tents to trucks for transport. The elephants were used to help with stuck trucks. Mighty Haag Circus wintered first in Lecompte, Louisiana and then in Shreveport. With

1196-667: The Haag Circus, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus , the Circus Hall of Fame and Shrine Circus . Ernest Haag was born in Plymouth, Indiana in 1866 to German immigrants Joseph N. Haag (July 8, 1840 - 1904), born in Bavaria (Bayern), and Elizabeth (Schoner) Haag (April 1840 – 1906), also born in Germany (probably also from Bavaria, a major source of immigrants in this period.) Haag

1248-1011: The Mighty Haag Shows toured Mississippi , Tennessee and Kentucky and others in the Southern United States . In 1909 the Circus had outgrown the horse and mule -pulled wagons. Haag moved his Circus to 14 railroad cars , calling his production the Mighty Haag Railroad Shows . Carved wagons, cages for animals , Pawnee Bill calliope wagons , and chariots were all placed in rail cars. The Mighty Haag Railroad Shows toured from 1910 to 1912 in Eastern Canada including: Ontario , Quebec, New Brunswick , Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island , including Charlottetown . It toured US states as far west as Montana . Its animal acts included elephants , bears , ponies , camels , lions , tiger and blue-faced monkeys , along with

1300-556: The Rockies (both 1942), and Two Girls and a Sailor (1944). James toured with the band into the 1980s, and as of July 2018 the Harry James Orchestra, led by Fred Radke, was still very much in business. James' band was the first high-profile orchestra to feature vocalist Frank Sinatra , who signed a one-year, $ 75 a week contract with it in 1939 ($ 1,589 a week in 2022). James wanted to change Sinatra's name to 'Frankie Satin', but

1352-691: The Texas Band Teacher's Association's Annual Eastern Division contest held in Temple, Texas . James’s first job was playing at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and he played regularly with Herman Waldman's band, and at one performance was noticed by nationally popular Ben Pollack . In 1935 he joined Pollack's band, but left at the start of 1937 to join Benny Goodman 's orchestra, where he stayed through 1938. He

1404-410: The ankle is the pivot point . A wire-walker may use a pole for balance or may stretch out his arms perpendicular to his trunk in the manner of a pole. This technique provides several advantages. It distributes mass away from the pivot point, thereby increasing the moment of inertia . This reduces angular acceleration , so a greater torque is required to rotate the performer over the wire. The result

1456-515: The best trumpet instrumentalist for the years 1937, 1938 and 1939, and as favorite soloist for 1942. For his contribution to the motion picture industry James was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6683 Hollywood Boulevard on February 8, 1960. He was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1983. Highwire walker Tightrope walking , also called funambulism ,

1508-494: The circus track as they were performing their stunts, but he was protected by his mother's pet horse, who stood over him until the other horses rushed by. James started taking trumpet lessons from his father at age eight, and by age twelve he was leading the second band in the Christy Brothers Circus, for which his family was then working. James's father placed him on a strict daily practice schedule. At each session he

1560-443: The ground with their feet side by side, the base of support is wide in the lateral direction but narrow in the sagittal (back-to-front) direction. In the case of highwire-walkers, their feet are parallel with each other, one foot positioned in front of the other while on the wire. Therefore, a tightwire walker's sway is side to side, their lateral support having been drastically reduced. In both cases, whether side by side or parallel,

1612-436: The guys that had the broken bottlenecks on their guitars, playing the blues; that's all we knew." After hearing James solo on several numbers at a Benny Goodman one-nighter, Armstrong enthused to his friend and Goodman vibraphonist Lionel Hampton , "That white boy – he plays like a jig!" After James left Benny Goodman's band in 1939 to form his own band, he soon found that leading a commercially viable musical group required

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1664-576: The highest-paid couple in the nation. While James remained commercially successful and personally committed to his music, some critics sought to find fault. In Peter Levinson's 1999 biography, Dan Morgenstern , the respected critic and Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, called the 1941 release of the later Grammy Hall of Fame inducted "You Made Me Love You" "the record that the jazz critics never forgave Harry James for recording." With James continuing to employ his flamboyant style on pop hits through

1716-604: The late 1940s, James was surprisingly open to its influence. After coasting through the mid-1950s, James made a complete reevaluation of where he was heading in his musical career. Count Basie provided the impetus by making a significant comeback with his newly formed "16 Men Swinging" band, and James wanted a band with a decided Basie flavor. James signed with Capitol Records in 1955, and two years later, after releasing new studio versions of many of his previously released songs from Columbia Records, James recorded ten new tracks for an album entitled Wild About Harry! . This album

1768-399: The late 1950s and into the 1960s, contemporary opinion of his work has shifted. Recent reissues such as Capitol's 2012 7-disc set The Capitol Vaults Jazz Series: Gene Krupa and Harry James have prompted new, more favorable analyses. In 2014, Marc Myers of JazzWax commented, "[James's] band of the mid-1940s was more modern than most of the majors, and in 1949 he led one of the finest bands of

1820-552: The music he both played and recorded. In 1972 while in London, he did an interview with the English jazz critic Steve Voce , who asked if the biggest audience was for the commercial numbers he had recorded. James visibly bristled, replying "That would depend on for whom you are playing. If you're playing for a jazz audience, I'm pretty sure that some of the jazz things we do would be a lot more popular than 'Sleepy Lagoon,' and if we're playing at

1872-579: The show as the Mighty Haag Shows . Haag moved the show down the Catawba River to Bayou Teche . From there he moved it down the Atchafalaya River , tying up near Morgan City, Louisiana . At Morgan City Haag moved his show onto carts and later and wagons , and began touring overland. Haag added more carts and wagons to carry the expanded show as he toured Louisiana and Kansas . For a decade

1924-714: The show. She was married for 29 years to Harry Eugene Haag Sr. After Ernest Haag's death on 1 Feb. 1935, the operation of the Circus was passed on to family members. For the summer of 1936, Harry Haag, Ruby Haag and the Fisher family, using primarily horses and trained dogs, opened the Bud Hawkins Circus . In January 1937, the name of the main Haag Circus was changed to the Haag Brothers Circus. The "brothers" were cousins, Henry Haag, son of Ernest, and Roy Haag (23 Nov. 1891-6 Jan. 1947), nephew of Ernest. The Circus' last show

1976-553: The singer refused. Sinatra only worked seven months before leaving to join Tommy Dorsey 's outfit. The James band's featured female vocalist was Helen Forrest , and his later band included drummer Buddy Rich and bassist Thurman Teague . Johnny MacAfee was featured on the sax and vocals, and Corky Corcoran was a youthful sax prodigy. James' orchestra succeeded Glenn Miller 's on a program sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes in 1942, when Miller disbanded his orchestra to enter

2028-429: The son of Everett Robert James, a bandleader in a traveling circus, the Mighty Haag Circus , and Myrtle Maybelle (Stewart), an acrobat and horseback rider. He started performing with the circus at an early age, first as a contortionist at the age of four, then playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six. It was at this age that James was almost trampled by the circus trick horses after he wandered onto

2080-460: The success of the Circus, Haag had a home built for him and his family in Shreveport. In 1920 the Circus moved to winter quarters in Marianna, Florida . Ruby Haag Brown, daughter of the late Charles William Fisher and Ruth Eleanor Gregory, was a performer in the show. She is known for being picked up in the mouth of Alice the elephant, who carried the woman around the ring. Ruby also did aerial acts in

2132-620: The top jazz musician on each instrument. The winners were invited to join an ensemble known as the Metronome All-Stars that was assembled for studio recordings. The studio sessions were held in the years 1939–42, 1946–53, and 1956, and typically resulted in two tracks which allowed each participant a one chorus solo. Harry James was chosen to play trumpet with the Metronome All-Stars in 1939, 1940 and 1941. A similar annual readers' poll conducted by Downbeat magazine selected James as

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2184-476: The top ten, and 70 in the top 100 on the U.S. pop charts, as well as seven charting on the U.S. R&B chart. As of 2016, two recordings of Harry James had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance." Metronome magazine conducted annual readers' polls ranking

2236-420: The wire can be grasped between the big and second toe. This is more often done when using a rope, as the softer and silkier fibres are less taxing on the bare foot than the harder and more abrasive braided wire. The word funambulism , the phrase walking a tightrope , and associated variants also occur in metaphorical contexts not referring to any actual acrobatic acts. For instance, politicians are said to "walk

2288-425: The year." And on James's releases from 1958 to 1961, Myers noted, "The James band during this period has been eclipsed by bands led by Basie , Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton . While each served up its own brand of magnificence, James produced more consistently brilliant tracks than the others... virtually everything James recorded during this period was an uncompromising, swinging gem." James felt strongly about

2340-797: Was a heavy smoker, drinker, and gambler. In 1983 he was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer , but continued to work. He played his last professional job, with the Harry James Orchestra, on June 26, 1983, in Los Angeles, dying just nine days later in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 5, 1983, at age 67. Frank Sinatra gave the eulogy at his funeral, held in Las Vegas. The discography of Harry James includes 30 studio albums, 47 EPs, three soundtrack/stage and screen albums, and numerous live albums and compilation albums, along with contributions as sideman and appearances with other musicians. James released over 200 singles during his career, with nine songs reaching number one, 32 in

2392-475: Was born. Haag purchased real estate in Louisiana, Florida and Oklahoma . He was also selected as a director of the Commercial National Bank of Shreveport. Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for

2444-631: Was given several pages to learn from the Arban's book and was not allowed to pursue any other pastime until he had learned them. In 1924, his family settled in Beaumont, Texas . It was here in the early 1930s that James began playing in local dance bands when he was 15 years of age. While still a student at Dick Dowling Junior High School, he participated as a regular member of Beaumont High School 's Royal Purple Band, and in May 1931 he took first place as trumpet soloist at

2496-564: Was in 1939 in Climax, Georgia . After the Circus officially closed, Harry Haag, and the Silverlake and Fisher families took Alice, the elephant, and a few other acts. They produced an independent show for one year, called United Amusement Company . Haag married the former Alice N. Hubbard (1879- 1951). Their son Harry Eugene was born while they were on tour in Oklahoma , and later their daughter Helen

2548-415: Was married three times, first to singer Louise Tobin on May 4, 1935, with whom he had two sons, Harry Jeffrey James (b. 1941) and Timothy Ray James (b. 1942). They divorced in 1943. Later that year he married actress Betty Grable . They had two daughters, Victoria Elizabeth (b. 1944) and Jessica (b. 1947), before divorcing in 1965. In December 1967 James wed Las Vegas showgirl Joan Boyd. The couple had

2600-586: Was nicknamed "The Hawk" early in his career for his ability to sight-read . A common joke was that if a fly landed on his written music, Harry James would play it. His low range had a warmth associated with the cornet and even the flugelhorn , but this sound was underrecorded in favor of James' brilliant high register. With financial backing from Goodman, James debuted his own big band in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, in January 1939, but it didn't click until adding

2652-420: Was said to have run away from home and farm like at age 12 to join a circus. He traveled to Philadelphia and New York City, where he worked shining shoes and selling newspapers. He first got a job as a musician, playing alto in the short-lived Robinson Two-Car Show . He started a juice business. From Philadelphia he traveled south, converting his juice business into a minstrel show , which failed. After purchasing

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2704-472: Was the first in a series released on Capitol, and continuing later on MGM , representative of the Basie style that James adopted during this period, with some of the arrangements provided by former Basie saxophonist and arranger Ernie Wilkins , whom James hired for his own band. While James never completely regained favor with jazz critics during his lifetime in spite of his return to more jazz-oriented releases in

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