ArtistInfo Logo  ArtistInfo

Artist Portrait

Sonny Greer

dr, 1895-1982 US, Long Branch, New Jersey
Singer / Musician of Jazz

Sonny Greer (13 December 1895 – 23 March 1982) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Duke Ellington, whom he met in 1919. He was Ellington's first drummer, playing with his quintet, the Washingtonians, and moving with Ellington into the Cotton Club. As a result of his job as a designer with the Leedy Drum Company of Indiana, Greer was able to build up a huge drum kit worth over a then-considerable $3,000, including chimes, a gong, timpani, and vibes.

     
Instruments
  • Drums
  • Vocals
  • Percussion
Genres
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Pop

Band Members
Discography



Title Artist Year Type
Jamming At Rudi'sDanny Barker, Eubie Blake, Dave Burley, Pops Foster, Tyree Glenn, Sonny Greer, Conrad Janis, John Jeffrey, Kenny Kersey, Freddie Moore, Hot Lips Page, Walter Page, Burney Peacock, Paul Quinichette, Tom Sharpsteen, R. C. H. Smith, Ralph Sutton, Bob Wilber1996Compil.
The Queen And Her KnightsVictoria Spivey With Lonnie Johnson, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim, Sonny Greer1965Album
Rex Stewart And His OrchestraDuke Ellington, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, Jimmy Blanton, Sonny Greer With Rex Stewart And His Orchestra1954Compil.
Jamming At Rudi's, No. 2Hot Lips Page, Tyree Glenn, Sonny Greer, Paul Quinichette, Burney Peacock, Walter Page, Dan Burley, Danny Barker1951Album
Sunny Jungle / Main StreetSonny Greer1946Album
Mood Indigo / The MoocheSonny Greer And The The Duke's Men1945Album
Sonny Greer's Jazz ExpressSonny GreerSingle
Capitol Presents Coleman Hawkins & Sonny GreerColeman Hawkins / Sonny GreerCompil.
Newport Jazz Festival 3 July 1958/ Paris Jazz Festival 3 November 1965Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Tyree Glenn, Hilton Jefferson, Ben Webster, Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford, Sonny Greer, Roy Eldridge, Stuff Smith, Don Byas, Earl Hines, Jimmy Woode, Kenny ClarkeAlbum
ArtistInfo App
ArtistInfo for iOS and ArtistInfo for Mac are presenting musicians, composers and producers that are envolved in the musical work that you are listening to in Apple Music, iTunes, or Spotify. Discover new music via the network among artists. Manage your favorite musicians and albums via iCloud and share recommendations with your friends via email, AirDrop, or Social Media.

App Store Logo     Mac App Store Logo

Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
Universal Link: https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Sonny%20Greer
ArtistInfo Community
Most seen topics within ArtistInfo:

Top 10 Artists    Top 20 Albums
 
What others are currently looking for:

Recent Artists    Recent Albums

ArtistInfo Logo ArtistInfo by Metason © 2015-2020 Metason Logo