Moment in Time (June 2, 2022)
This photograph is of the Don Crawford Orchestra, with Crawford on saxophone, performing for the GHHS L.A.L. sorority sisters and their dates at the L.A.L. Commencement Formal in 1946. Classmates in the front row are identified (from l to r) as: Gene Garner, Ann Gebhardt, Jinny Titus, Al Hunt, Joyce Jones, and Bill Merrick.
Over the years, many students have left Grandview Heights High School and flourished as musicians. Two graduates, one from the class of 1933 and one from 1934, provide good examples. While still a student at GHS, Mary Donna Albanese (class of ’34 and daughter of Nick Albanese, who was known for running the Showboat Restaurant and the Arabian Supper Club in Whitehall) auditioned for a musical position at WAIU radio in Columbus. During this period, sometimes called the Golden Age of Radio, stations across the country were featuring live programming, using local and regional talent for shows ranging from early soap operas to musical shows like the Grand Ole Opry. Albanese was hired by WAIU (WAIU became WHKC in 1936 and then WTVN in 1954) to host a Saturday morning show called Songs by Donna Albanese, with songs performed by her from the popular music genre.
It was at WHKC that Donna met Hank Newman, who had moved from Georgia to Columbus and started working at the radio station. Hank was a member with his two brothers (Slim and Bob Newman) of the popular country and western group the Georgia Crackers, who had an illustrious career in country music and “singing cowboy” movies, including the Durango Kid movie series. Donna changed her focus on the radio show to singing country music, and she and Hank married in 1940, moving briefly to Hollywood. They later opened a well-known Columbus pizza restaurant on Johnstown Road with Slim and his wife, called Hank Newman's Restaurant and Pizza Palace.
The second example is Donley Crawford Hennen, who transferred to GHHS his freshman year from Indianola Junior High. When he graduated in 1933, he tried to play saxophone in established orchestras in Columbus. In his words, he “couldn’t break into the business” so he went to work as the manager of the Ohio National Bank on Grandview Avenue, a position he held for decades. He remained interested in music and decided to form his own “big-band” orchestra. This after-work effort proved very successful, and the Don Crawford Orchestra played on a continuous basis for several decades in numerous Columbus venues, including Valley Dale, the Ionian Room at the Deshler-Wallick Hotel, the Seneca Hotel, and the Columbus Country Club. A 2013 article in the GHHS Alumni Association newsletter indicated that Hennen’s supervisors at Ohio National Bank didn’t want him to use his last name for the name of the orchestra because it might detract from his position as manager of the Grandview bank.
In the 2008 book Columbus:The Musical Crossroads, the authors indicated that Crawford’s band “served as an incubator for many young musicians” in central Ohio. In the early days, he recruited young military musicians from the Fort Hayes Base Band. He hired 17 years old South High graduate Marilyn Smith, who was one of six winners in a nationwide Tommy Dorsey talent contest. Using the stage name of Marilyn Daye, she was the featured vocalist with Crawford’s band until 1950, but also performed solo and with other bands around Columbus. She married Frederick “Spook” Beckman, the popular Columbus disc jockey and TV personality. Mrs. “Spook”, as she was known, continued to perform around Columbus throughout the 1980s.
In addition to playing hotel and club gigs, Crawford’s orchestra played for high school and college dances, fraternity and sorority events, and other celebrations. At an OSU graduation dance, Crawford asked trumpeter William Coyle to sit in with the group. His performance was a success, and “Ziggy” Coyle played with Crawford until establishing his own band. William had adopted the nickname Ziggy from his favorite trumpet player Ziggy Elman, who had played with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey. At the time, Crawford’s lead singer was Margie Alden, who had developed a respected reputation as a prolific vocalist. They ended up marrying, and Ziggy and Margie Coyle have had an immeasurable impact in the music scene, and particularly in the lives of young music students, in the Columbus and surrounding areas.
This photograph, from the Joyce Jones Alibrando collection at the Historical Society, shows GHHS L.A.L. sorority sisters and their dates at the L.A.L. Commencement Formal in 1946. Don Crawford is the saxophonist in the photo. That night the orchestra debuted the hit song, “I Had a Wonderful Time in Columbus” by Kurt Weinberg and Kermit Goell, which became a national hit due to clever promotion efforts.
References:
1) GHHS Alumni Association newsletter, Fall 2013
2) David Meyers, Arnett Howard, James Loeffler, and Candice Watkins, Columbus: The Musical Crossroads, Arcadia Publishing, 2008
3) https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dispatch/name/marilyn-beckman-niles-obituary?id=24372880
4) https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/columbus-oh/mary-donna-newman-10685767