Vern Yocum
Encyclopedia
Vern Yocum is best known as copyist and librarian
for Frank Sinatra
, Nat King Cole
, and Nelson Riddle
. Many of the top artists of the mid-20th century relied on Vern Yocum’s Music Service, which was walking distance from the Capitol Records
Tower. His client list included: Frankie Laine
, Billy Eckstine
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Rosemary Clooney
, Mel Tormé
, Peggy Lee
, Steve Lawrence
& Eydie Gorme
, Keely Smith
, Sammy Davis Jr., Trini Lopez
, Nancy Wilson
, Leslie Uggams
, Roy Clark
, and Julie Andrews
.
vocalist with The Pied Pipers
) grew up singing and playing instruments in Pennsylvania Dutch Country
until they were seduced by jazz
. Vern left home two weeks before high school graduation to go on the road with Floyd Mills and the Marylanders and would subsequently play with many big bands, including Tal Henry, Bob Chester, Tony Cabot, Casa Nova, Red Nichols
, Chico Marx
, Tommy Dorsey, and Boyd Raeburn
. During World War II
he remained busy building big bands in the United States Navy
. In the late 1940s Vern began to rely more and more on doing music preparation on the West Coast, which was something that he had done to earn money while in bands directed by Tommy Dorsey and Boyd Raeburn. By 1950 he had completely transitioned into this field after managing and playing with The Bob Keane (Keene) Band.
Yocum contributed significantly to the cause of many working musicians when he, Cecil Reed, and eleven other top musicians openly rebelled against American Federation of Musicians
President James Petrillo
in a representation dispute during the mid-1950s. They hosted the first meeting of what was to later become the Musician's Guild of America in his office. Later he served on the negotiation team and successfully contracted changes which are still in force today. His collection resides at the University of Arizona
.
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
for Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, and Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
. Many of the top artists of the mid-20th century relied on Vern Yocum’s Music Service, which was walking distance from the Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
Tower. His client list included: Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
, Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence
Steve Lawrence is an American singer and actor, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie"...
& Eydie Gorme
Eydie Gormé
Eydie Gormé is an American singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. She has earned numerous awards, including the Grammy and the Emmy...
, Keely Smith
Keely Smith
Keely Smith is an American jazz and popular music singer who enjoyed popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. She collaborated with, among others, Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
, Sammy Davis Jr., Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez
Trini Lopez is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Career:Lopez was born in Dallas, Texas, on Ashland Street in the Little Mexico neighborhood. He began his entertainment career in Dallas playing at the Vegas Club, a nightclub owned by Jack Ruby...
, Nancy Wilson
Nancy Wilson (singer)
Nancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams
Leslie Uggams is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her work in Hallelujah, Baby! She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.-Singing:...
, Roy Clark
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre...
, and Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
.
Biography
Vern and his brother Clark (guitarist with Mal Halet and Tommy DorseyTommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
vocalist with The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers
The Pied Pipers were a popular singing group in the late 1930s and 1940s. Originally they consisted of eight members who had belonged to three separate groups: Jo Stafford from The Stafford Sisters, and seven male singers: John Huddleston, Hal Hopper, Chuck Lowry, Bud Hervey, George Tait, Woody...
) grew up singing and playing instruments in Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Pennsylvania Dutch Country refers to an area of southeastern Pennsylvania, United States that by the American Revolution had a high percentage of Pennsylvania Dutch inhabitants. Religiously, there was a large portion of Lutherans. There were also German Reformed, Moravian, Amish, Mennonite and...
until they were seduced by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. Vern left home two weeks before high school graduation to go on the road with Floyd Mills and the Marylanders and would subsequently play with many big bands, including Tal Henry, Bob Chester, Tony Cabot, Casa Nova, Red Nichols
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
, Chico Marx
Chico Marx
Leonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
, Tommy Dorsey, and Boyd Raeburn
Boyd Raeburn
Albert Boyd Raeburn was an American jazz bandleader and bass saxophonist.Boyd Raeburn was born in Faith, South Dakota, and became one of the greatest and least-known of jazz bandleaders during the 1940s...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he remained busy building big bands in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. In the late 1940s Vern began to rely more and more on doing music preparation on the West Coast, which was something that he had done to earn money while in bands directed by Tommy Dorsey and Boyd Raeburn. By 1950 he had completely transitioned into this field after managing and playing with The Bob Keane (Keene) Band.
Yocum contributed significantly to the cause of many working musicians when he, Cecil Reed, and eleven other top musicians openly rebelled against American Federation of Musicians
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
President James Petrillo
James Petrillo
James Caesar Petrillo was the prominent leader of the American Federation of Musicians, a trade union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada.-Biography:Petrillo was born in Chicago, Illinois...
in a representation dispute during the mid-1950s. They hosted the first meeting of what was to later become the Musician's Guild of America in his office. Later he served on the negotiation team and successfully contracted changes which are still in force today. His collection resides at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
.