page_title: John Serry Sr.
section_title: The 1930s: The big band era
hierarchical_section_title: John Serry Sr. / Career / The 1930s: The big band era
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of the Rainbow Room nightclub, Rockefeller Center, New York, USA
context_page_description: John Serry Sr. was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voice of America's cultural diplomacy initiatives during the Golden Age of Radio. He also concertized on the accordion as a member of several orchestras and jazz ensembles for nearly forty years between the 1930s and 1960s.
context_section_description: With the help of Del Monte, in the 1930s Serry began his professional career by making appearances with the Ralph Gomez Tango Orchestra at The Rainbow Room at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center, leading to an extended engagement there in 1935.
  During the big band era in New York City, he performed under Erno Rapee, conductor of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and was the ensemble's first on-stage accordion soloist in 1933. He played with the Hugo Mariani Tango Orchestra at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the 1930s, with Alfred Brito, a Cuban orchestra leader in New York (1936), and Misha Borr, conductor of the Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra. He appeared as a soloist for society functions at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel's Waldorf Towers and at its Starlight Roof with the Lester Lanin Orchestra. In addition, he performed regularly at clubs such as El Morocco, the Rainbow Room, El Chico, and the Riviera in New York City.
  Serry performed with the jazz group Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm during a nationwide tour with live radio broadcasts from the Palmer House hotel in Chicago, Illinois, and the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California, over the NBC network (1937–1938). These big band remote broadcasts used Zenith's Radiogran technology. His performances as a member of the orchestra and soloist are documented in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938 ("This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" and "Thanks for the Memory"), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1939.
  While touring with Shep Fields, he recorded several popular songs of the time for Bluebird, including "With a Smile and a Song", "Whistle While You Work", and "Now It Can Be Told". He was Assistant Dean of Accordion and Harmony at the Biviano Accordion Center in Manhattan between 1939 and 1942, providing instruction on accordion and orchestral jazz.
caption: Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, New York City
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