JIMMY JOY

Birth:  Apr. 20, 1902  Death:  Mar. 7, 1962 Musician. Born James Monte Maloney in Dallas, Texas, he was a clarinetist and leader of the popular Jimmy Joy Orchestra. In in 1921, his band started playing at the Joyland Park in Galveston, Texas and park management billed the band as Jimmy Joy. By the 1930s, he was performing weekly on a half hour jazz concert over the San Antonio WOAI radio station and on the big time vaudeville circuit. The band evolved into one of the favorites in the Midwest, performing at the top hotels such as the Muehlbach in Kansas City, the Peabody in Memphis, Baker and Adolphus Hotels in Dallas and the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. He also recorded for Mercury Records, plus made occasional trips to the East Coast and was playing at the Casino Gardens in Santa Monica, California in the early forties. read more...