Donahue was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He put together his first band when he was only 15 years old.[3] Donahue played in the bands of Gene Krupa, Harry James, and Benny Goodman.[1] During World War II, Donahue took over the US Navy band of Artie Shaw. In an All About Jazz article, Marc Myers stated that “Donahue's Navy Band was easily one of the most swinging bands of the war.”[4] After the war, he assembled and led a group that recorded “extensively” for Capitol Records.[5][6] Trumpeters Harry Gozzard and Doc Severinsen, Wayne Herdell, arranger Leo Reisman and vocalists Frances Wayne and Jo Stafford were some of the members included in the new band. It dissolved in 1951 when Donahue re-enlisted in the Navy to serve in the Korean War.[7]
It is mentioned in Donahue’s IMDb bio and also in an UPROXX article that Frank Sinatra Jr. was a vocalist for Donahue.[8] According to a DownBeat article, “he began performing in his mid-teens for the Sam Donahue band.”[9] Sinatra later mentioned that the majority of what he learned about singing was learned through the time he spent with Donahue and the other musicians in the band.[10] Incidentally, Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe while on tour with Donahue. His father Frank Sinatra paid the $240,000 ransom which ultimately led to his son’s release from the kidnappers.[11][12]
His compositions included "Quiet and Roll 'Em" with Gene Krupa, "Convoy" released as V-Disc No. 610B, "LST Party" released as V-Disc No. 573A in January, 1946, with the Navy Dance Band, "Scuttlin'", "Love Scene", "Please Get Us Out", "Root Toot", "Constellation", "Conversation at Lindy's", "Saxa-Boogie", and "Saxophone Sam".
Donahue, left, talking with Stan Kenton at the Aquarium in NYC, 1946. He later worked with Kenton, performing in two album recordings that won Grammy Awards.
I’ll Never Tire of You is a 1941 song written by Richard Kollmar, Cy Walter and Jimmy Dobson. It was recorded in New York City on November 12, 1941, by Donahue and his orchestra as a RCA Victor - Bluebird78 rpmsingle. Andy Blaine was the sole vocalist. The song is featured in The Sam Donahue Collection 1940-48[14][15] on Acrobat Records. Marketing and distribution for the album was handled by Arista Records.[16] An article in Jazz Journal featured that reissue album; which has a majority of Donahue’s songs from the 1940s.[17]Online music databaseAllMusic also highlighted that album on their website.[18][19]Trapeze Music & Entertainment Limited, an independent label and distributor with a loyal customer base in the UK, US and throughout mainland Europe, highlighted a quote in their reviews (borrowed from Jazzviews March 2021) by Derek Ansell, a regular contributor to Jazz Journal, stating, “Although these pieces vary tremendously from track to track the music is all well played and shines a spotlight on a musician who really deserved to be much better known than he was.”[20] In an article in The Syncopated Times, Scott Yanow, who has written for Down Beat, Jazz Times, AllMusic, Cadence, Coda and the Los Angeles Times, stated, regarding the collection of Donahue’s songs, that “it is a pity that it could not have been a three-CD set that included everything” that he recorded during 1940-48. Yanow also voiced his opinion in that article regarding the musical skills of Donahue and his band members, stating that “the musicianship is consistently excellent.”[21] The songs from that album are listed in the Spotify and Apple Music listening databases.[22]
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