| LC control no. | n 84077393 |
|---|---|
| Descriptive conventions | rda |
| Personal name heading | Greer, Sonny |
| Variant(s) | Greer, William Alexander |
| Associated country | United States |
| Birth date | 1895-12-13 |
| Death date | 1982-03-23 |
| Place of birth | Long Branch (N.J.) |
| Place of death | New York (N.Y.) |
| Affiliation | Washingtonians (Musical group) Duke Ellington Orchestra |
| Profession or occupation | Jazz musicians Percussionists |
| Found in | Spotlight on drums [SR] p1983: container (Sonny Greer, drums) Grove music online, May 27, 2009: Jazz (Greer, Sonny (William Alexander); b. Dec. 13, c1895, Long Branch, N.J.; d. Mar. 23, 1982, New York; American drummer; Greer placed the year of his birth variously in 1895 or the years 1902-4; it is the early date that seems likely) African American National Biography, accessed December 21, 2014, via Oxford African American Studies Center database: (Greer, Sonny; William Alexander Greer Jr.; jazz musician, percussionist; born 13 December 1895 in Long Branch, New Jersey, United States; first professional jobs began in the late 1910s; met Duke Ellington at the Howard Theater; joined the band Washingtonians in New York (1923), which became the nucleus for the Duke Ellington Orchestra; was Ellington's drummer (from the early 1920s until 1951); made an appearance in the film “The Night They Raided Minsky's” (1968) and in that same year was featured in “Sonny”nute film; recorded “Soda Fountain Rag”, an album of duos with him (1975); collected perhaps the largest selection of percussion instruments of any drummer during the Swing Era; best playing derive mainly from the 1920s, late 1930s, and early 1940s, including “East St. Louis Toodle-oo” (1927), “Downtown Uproar” (1937), “Cotton Tail,” (1940); died 23 March 1982 in New York, New York, United States) |
 |  |  |
View this record in: MARCXML | LC Authorities & Vocabularies | VIAF (Virtual International Authority File)
