People, Locations, Episodes

Sat, 12.21.1918

George Treadwell, Musician, and Band Manager born

George Treadwell

*George Treadwell was born on this date in 1918. He was a Black jazz trumpeter, songwriter, and band manager.

George McKinley Treadwell was from New Rochelle, New York. He played in the house band in Harlem in 1941–1942, then worked with Benny Carter in 1942 in Florida. Following stints with Ace Harris’ Sunset Royals and Tiny Bradshaw, Treadwell worked with Cootie Williams (1943–1946) and J.C. Heard (1946–1947). He accompanied Etta Jones and Sarah Vaughan, whom he married in 1947.

He also recorded with Dicky Wells and Ethel Waters in 1946. Treadwell quit playing late in the 1940s to work as Vaughan’s manager and continued in this capacity after their divorce in 1957. He also managed the Drifters and Ruth Brown and did A&R work in the 1950s. Treadwell met Fayrene Johnson in Los Angeles, and they married in 1957. On May 14, 1967, George Treadwell died suddenly, leaving his wife to buy out his partners and manage The Drifters.

To Become a musician or Singer
To become a sound and video producer

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Black is what the prisons are, The stagnant vortex of the hours Swept into totality, Creeping in the perjured heart, Bitter in the vulgar rhyme, Bitter on the walls; Black is where the devils... THE AFRICAN AFFAIR by Bruce M. Wright.
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