Territory bands were dance bands that crisscrossed specific regions of the United States from the 1920s through the 1960s.[1] Beginning in the 1920s, the bands typically had 8 to 12 musicians. These bands typically played one-nighters, 6 or 7 nights a week at venues like VFW halls, Elks Lodges, Lions Clubs, hotel ballrooms, and the like. Francis Davis, jazz critic for The Village Voice, likened territory bands to "the Top 40 cover bands of their day, typically relying on stock arrangements of other ensembles' hits." He said, "many historians give much credit to territory bands for popularizing modern ballroom dancing that began during the World War I era with the influence of Vernon and Irene Castle."[2]
Territory bands helped disseminate popular music — which included swing, jazz, sweet dance music, or any combination thereof — bringing it to remote gin mills and dance halls that were otherwise ignored by national booking agents representing genuine recording stars like Ellington and Armstrong. Many developed original repertoires and signature sounds, none more storied than Walter Page's Blue Devils, the Oklahoma City-based outfit that Count Basie joined in 1926.[3]
There were black bands and white bands, and bands of various immigrant ethnicities.[4] There were also all-female bands, such as the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Musician, composer, and scholar Gunther Schuller asserted in one of his books, The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945 (The History of Jazz, Vol. 2) that, "territory bands, by definition, were black. There were, of course, many white bands in the 'territories' but they tended to have the more lucrative and permanent jobs and therefore not required to travel as much as the black bands."[1] Another musician (former territory band musician and historian), Jack Behrens, expressed in a book that Schuller's depiction of divergent work conditions was narrow. "During my playing days in the 1940s and 50s in several white territory bands, we didn't have "lucrative and permanent jobs" unless you count day labor in a dairy bar or clerking at a military surplus store. Worse, there were times we didn't get paid at all and we had little recourse given the cost of legal advice."[5]
For most territory bands — whether black, white, integrated, male, female — the musicians were nearly always paid. Neither the booking agencies nor the musicians got rich, but regular salaries helped maintain pretty decent musicianship.[6]
Most musicians witnessed and experienced a wide variety of Jim Crow practices, from city to city and region to region. One common present-day misconception is that Jim Crow practices were more prevalent in the South. The practices were prevalent everywhere, especially in New York City[7] and the Midwest. The bands that were racially integrated commonly experienced problems, mostly from having to dodge different applications and degrees of Jim Crow among cities and regions. Many bands, especially The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, handled some of the absurdities with a degree of inward, sarcastic humor. When musicians grew wary or even felt vulnerable to injustices of Jim Crow, the band bus, for those who had one, served as a safe haven.
The published history of territory bands is thin. Most of what we know comes from fading memories and second-hand anecdotes. With a lack of discography and the passing of a generation, our knowledge is slipping.
While many territory bands were of high quality, they rarely recorded and were often unfairly considered minor league to the national touring bands. Moreover, they were confined to specific regions or states … even parts of a state.[5] Ambitious and hopeful young musicians saw territory bands as a training ground for, or rite of passage to, the major big bands. The alumni of territory band musicians who matriculated to fame within the industry reads like list of "who's who" in music.
Territory bands typically played more sweet music, though, some in the mid 50s, particularly those with talented musicians, managed to entertain dancers with a jazzier sound. But dancing audiences are what kept the bands employed. In the 1920s, territory bands commonly traveled by car (station wagon), followed by an equipment truck. Later, beginning in the mid 1930s, territory bands commonly traveled in sleeper trailers.
The home 'territories' were loosely defined, but some classifications emerged. Generally, the areas were defined as Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West Coast, Southwest and Northwest. In addition, some state-groupings became common. One such group was usually referred to as MINK — Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. Another group was VSA — Virginia, South Carolina and Alabama.[8]
The Southwest proved especially fertile for territory bands. Texas, with its spread-out geography and relatively large population, offered the greatest opportunity with developed markets for dance music in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Amarillo, and other cities. The homegrown audiences of Texas bands were so plentiful that the bands developed to a high degree in relative isolation from outside influences.[9] One such band was that of Alphonso Trent.
There was a military territory, too — NCO Clubs, Officers' Clubs. These clubs took bands to Greenland, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, as well as the US.
The musicians in the territory dance bands were primarily jazz musicians. Despite the overwhelming view that New Orleans was the cradle of jazz, the itinerant musicians were the ones who first disseminated it.
The dancing public could actually dance and they knew which bands swung and which simply just played well. Audiences responded with great enthusiasm to the black bands in the Midwest. The East Coast black bands were popular in the 1920s; but "Swing" came to that region in the form of Louis Armstrong joining the Fletcher Henderson band when he went to the Big Apple.
Territory bands were not all swing bands. The Midwest settlements of Europeans of various ethnicities brought their community dancing and revelry with them in the form of very popular polka bands (and also old time waltzes, leandlers, and schottisches).[10] They played at all the ballrooms, Elk Clubs, and the like as well. Here's a short exemplary list:
There were traveling bands well before the 1920s & 30s. One of many examples were musicians who did their booking from Redfield, South Dakota. Redfield was a railroad hub in the Northern Plains. All their booking was up and down the rail line.
In 1924, according to Variety, there were more than 900 dance bands, representing steady work for 7,200 musicians. There were 68 Whiteman orchestras across the country, playing music from the Whiteman library, eleven in New York alone. In the mid-20s, bands typically had ten musicians: two altos, one tenor (who often doubled on other woodwinds and sometimes violin), two trumpets, trombone, banjo or guitar, piano, string bass or brass bass, and drums. Sometimes there were two trombones. If the band had only two saxophones, they would be alto and tenor.
The Great Depression, which hit bottom in 1933, was hard on territory bands. The public strained to afford entertainment. It was not uncommon for bands to be stranded for lack of funds. Many broke up during this period.
There are many theories on why swing music and territory bands declined. Here are a few:
Oklahoma City
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Saint Louis
Birmingham, Alabama
Ohio
Memphis
Denver
Kansas City
Miami
Omaha
Milwaukee
Texas
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New York
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Virginia
† Owned by Carl Fox until December 16, 1945, when he sold the Surf in Clear Lake, Iowa, The Prom in St. Paul, Minnesota, and The Terp in Austin, Minnesota, to William Karzas for $1.5 million. At the time, Karzas was owner-operator of the Aragon and Trinidad ballrooms in Chicago. Fox had operated his ballrooms for territory bands, almost exclusively.[13]