The Search For Corky Corcoran
Here are Chris’s regular updates on his search for the elusive but legendary tenor sax Player from Harry James’ band.
July 2011
Earlier this year I was contacted by Sean Ober, son of Jazz Guitarist Don Ober (1922-1979). Sean explained Corky and Don used to play together as kids and shed some new light on Corky’s life before the big time with Harry James’ band. Check out the photo of Corky and Don playing in the street, circa 1938-40. Don had a great career and played with many of the greats including Dave Brubeck and Clark Terry. For more info visit http://www.djdab.com/donober.htm
June 2010
The latest development in my search for Corky is the unearthing of two promotional photos dating from the 1940’s (see picture). These photos were sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes and were sent to fans that wrote to him. Both photos are 5”x 7" and have facsimile signatures.
January 2010
Following the contact I made recently with Corky’s children, I was really pleased to hear from his niece Diana too. It seems that despite being away for long periods working with the Harry James band, his family have many great memories of him. It’s almost like he’s still around, perhaps on another big tour somewhere. I get the impression they are proud of his achievements and want his name to be known to a wider audience.
I recently managed to pick up my own piece of the Corky legend: a 78rpm of the Corky Corcoran and his Orchestra. Side A - ‘What is this thing called love’ and Side B - ‘Minor Blues’. It was released in the mid forties on the Keynote label in the US (see picture). It was with great anticipation that I took the record out of the sleeve and placed it on the turntable. What a sound!
September 2009
The latest news on Corky Corcoran is a new CD release on the Hep Jazz label. Corky stars alongside Count Basie, Arnold Ross, Willie Smith and Lucky Thompson on the Lamplighter All Star Broadcasts from 1945 when Corky would have been 21 years old. Label owner Alastair Robertson approached me to use my photo of Corky for the CD (see right). The CD sounds great and is well worth checking out – as is the whole Hep Jazz range. For more info visit www.hepjazz.com
June 2009
The big news on the search for Corky Corcoran is that I’ve made contact with two of Corky’s children. Deborah who lives in Portland, and Danny who lives in Las Vegas have both been in contact with me. They’ve given me some wonderful, tantalising bits of information including the fact that Corky actually wrote a book about his life. It’s in written manuscript form, but the family have it still and perhaps hope to get it published some day. Also a new photo of Corky has surfaced which is autographed. I have yet to authenticate the signature but the picture's great anyway (see right).
December 2008
After coming across www.jonpolless.com, I dug further into the information contained there and have managed to buy my very own piece of Corky Corcoran memorabilia. I’m now the proud owner of a genuine 40’s press photo of Corky (shown here). There’s a press cutting attached to the back of the photo dated November 1941. It outlines the band’s appearance on radio that month, being broadcast over 118 stations of the musical network in the US. The article also states that Corky is the youngest musician in the country playing with a major band, along with the fact that Harry James himself had to assume legal guardianship of his protégé before he could sign him to a contract!
July 2008
This instalment of my search for Corky Corcoran was due to be devoted to Wikipedia. However, significant developments have come to light which required my immediate attention. Firstly, I received a mysterious email saying that Corky was alive and well, and living in Los Angeles. I have obviously requested further information, but have since had no reply. I have to admit to feeling that this could be a hoax email. The other significant development is my finding the website of someone who actually knew Corky. It gives a decent biography of Corky, together with a couple of great photos. This further disputes the authenticity of the email I received. It is not foolish to assume that someone who was his friend would know whether he is indeed still alive. The biography on the website clearly states that unfortunately Corky died of cancer in 1979 at the age of 55. Those who may be interested can visit: www.jonpolless.com
April 2008
Here’s a basic outline of Corky’s life:
Gene Patrick Corcoran was born on July 28th 1924 in Tacoma, Washington. It appears he was something of a musical star and, at a young age (before his sixteenth birthday), was snapped up by Jimmie Lunceford. Then followed a spell with Sonny Dunham before he joined Harry James’ band at the age of 17. Here he became a featured soloist and appeared on radio and in films. He also made recordings as Corky Corcoran and his Orchestra. It appears he spent the bulk of his career in and out of the Harry James’ band. He died on Oct 3rd 1979 in Tacoma, Washington (the town he was born in) aged only 55. After digging deep in my own record collection, I found I had 2 tracks where Corky was part of the orchestra, both are Harry James tracks on two different compilation albums.
January 2008
I first came across the name Corky Corcoran whilst looking through a book about old LP cover art and there it was, as bold as brass, on an LP issued in the US in the late forties/early fifties along with a list of other famous sax players. This find intrigued me. I resolved to find out everything I could about my namesake. My first finds of major interest were from the internet. Firstly, the picture in this article was listed on an auction site, which was a copy of an autographed photo. Secondly, I located an LP entitled, ‘The Sound of Love by Corky Corcoran (Tenor Sax) with the Seattle Strings’ dated 1957, which was being sold by a record dealer in Basildon called Eddie’s Records. I duly ordered the LP and awaited it’s arrival. Sure enough, a few days later the record arrived with a note from the seller asking if Corky was a relative of mine as he’d be interested to know. Me too, I thought, and the search was on!