From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Oct 17, 2002  1:11 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Cozy Cole
 
COZY COLE

Born William Randolph Cole, 17 October 1909, East Orange, New Jersey
Died 29 January 1981, Columbus, Ohio

Drummer.
Cozy Cole was the lead drummer for many swing bands, including those
of Benny Carter, Willie Bryant, Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong.
He was extensively featured on the soundtrack of a film, "The Strip" (1951),
which starred Mickey Rooney as a drummer with Armstrong's band. In the
early and mid-50s Cole was active in New York where he ran a drum school
in partnership with Gene Krupa. He appeared in a number of films including
"The Glenn Miller Story" (1953) in which he duetted with Krupa. In the late
'50s he became a member of an all-star band co-led by Jack Teagarden
and Earl Fatha Hines which toured Europe.
The only reason for his inclusion in this feature is his double-sided surprise
hit from 1958, "Topsy" (a hit for Benny Goodman in 1938). "Topsy II" went
to # 3 on the Billboard pop charts, while "Topsy I" peaked at # 27. It was
the first instrumental hit to feature an extended drum solo (at least during
the rock 'n' roll era). Inevitably, this was followed by a tune called "Turvy",
also split over two sides, and again it was part 2 that was the biggest-selling
side, climbing to # 36. Both singles were released on the Love label in the
US and on London American in the UK, where "Topsy" spent one week at
# 29.
Throughout the '60s and '70s Cole continued to work in a variety of settings,
until he died of cancer early in 1981. His relevance for R&R is very limited.

More info: http://www.cabcalloway.cc/Cozycole.htm