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George Thow,
Trumpet (1956-1961)
George
Thow was born in Cleveland on July 8, 1908. He sang
in the school glee club and played in the school
orchestra. After graduating high school in 1925, he
was awarded a scholarship to Harvard University. At
Harvard, Thow played trumpet in a band led by Johnny
Green and graduated in 1929 with a bachelor of arts
degree in French literature, a rarity for jazz
musicians. After graduation, Thow joined the Isham
Jones Orchestra, which included such future stars as
Jack Jenney, Pee Wee Erwin, Gordon Jenkins, and
Woody Herman. Thow recorded in 1934 with the early,
but unheralded, Benny Goodman Orchestra which
included Jack Teagarden and Teddy Wilson.
Thow
played for a while with Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman
and Artie Shaw, and went to California where he
became a member of the NBC staff orchestra and
played trumpet for a number of movies including a
film called Syncopation. In 1956, Thow joined the
popular Lawrence Welk Orchestra and served as part
of the Welk TV show's production staff. He left the
show in 1961 but stayed on as a production staff
member through 1982. Thow passed away in 1987.
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