[78-L] FW: Needed -- Fine Details on Bradley-McKinley

[David Lewis]

From: uncledavelewis at hotmail.com
To: 78-l at hotmail.com
Subject: Needed -- Fine Details on Bradley-McKinley
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 15:47:08 +0000




A lot of sources say that the Will Bradley-Ray McKinley band broke up when Ray decided to quit in either January of 
February of 1942. And their Columbia contract ends in January as well. My question is: did they really do so? I realize
that some of the men in Bradley-McKinley -- Peanuts Hucko being one -- went into the very short lived band that Ray
started afterward. But did Will Bradley attempt to continue? He is leading a band for Signature in 1944 and still has
Billy Maxted in his retinue at that point.
 
Another question -- and this is easier -- is that imdb has Will Bradley going into the military after the Bradley-McKinley
split. Sure; imdb is not a very reliable source for info about musicians, but they brought it up. I show that Bradley 
participated on some sides with Jimmy Lytell and Savannah Churchill for Beacon later in 1942, was a guest on the 
radio show "Beat the Band" on 11-3-1943 and on Mildred Bailey's radio program 11-10-1944. That seems like an 
awful lot of furlough for a military man. Also, had he been in the service, I doubt that Glenn Miller would have allowed 
him to evade the draft into the AEF band, despite his enmity with Ray McKinley.
 
So did Will Bradley spend the war in the war, or on the homefront?

Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis at hotmail.com