Eugene Coy

Eugene Coy
Born
Eugene Butler Coy

(1898-07-03)July 3, 1898
Cleburne, Texas, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 1962(1962-08-08) (aged 64)
Fresno, California, U.S.
GenreJazz
Occupations
  • Musician
  • bandleader
Instruments
Years active1927–1950s
Formerly of
  • Happy Black Aces
  • Gene Coy and His Harlem Swing
  • Gene Coy and His Killer Dillers

Eugene Butler "Gene" Coy (July 3, 1898, in Cleburne, Texas – August 8, 1962) was an American jazz drummer and pianist who led a territory band from the 1920s to 1950s.

Career

Coy began his career in 1927, leading the Happy Black Aces, a territory dance band in Amarillo, with his wife, Ann Coy, as the pianist. From roughly 1929 to 1933, the band included trumpeter Carl "Tatti" Smith (1931–4),: 1136  saxophonists Ben Webster and Dick Wilson, and bassist Junior Raglin, who was with them from 1938 until 1941, when he left to replace Jimmy Blanton in Duke Ellington's orchestra. The band traveled extensively throughout the southwest (though were confined to lesser venues as a black group) and as far as Mexico and Canada. In the early 1940s, the band relocated to San Francisco and toured the West Coast, now billed as "Gene Coy and his Harlem Swing".

Other members of Coy's band, at various times, have included, Oscar Cobb; Allen, Eddie, and Clyde Durham; Andre Duryea; "Bat" Johnson; Tyree Johnson; Charlie Lewis; Ted Manning; Alton Moore; Henry Powell; Otto Sampson; Lester Taylor; Red Thompson; Eddie Walker; and Isaiah Young; as well as trombonist Dan Minor (1931): 780  and saxophonist Maxwell Davis (1939–41).: 271 

Although they remained popular into the 1950s, Coy and his band did not record until around 1948–49.

Coy died of a heart attack in front of his house on August 8, 1962, in Fresno, California. He was buried at the nearby Belmont Memorial Park.

References

  1. 1 2 Gene Coy and His Killer Dillers (June 30, 1948). "Killer Diller" (Vinyl). Savoy 5555; S35-137. Archived from the original on April 26, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2026 – via JazzDisco.org.
  2. ↑ "U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940". Fold3. Ancestry.com. March 16, 1942. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Rye, Howard (1994). Kernfeld, Barry Dean (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 271, 780, 1136. ISBN 978-0-312-11357-5. LCCN 94012667. OCLC 1036756107. Retrieved November 8, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  4. 1 2 3 Oliphant, Dave (November 21, 2006). "Eugene Coy: A Pioneer Jazz Drummer and Pianist". Handbook of Texas Online. Austin: Texas State Historical Association. Archived from the original on July 19, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Coy, Gene". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (3rd ed.). London: Muze UK Ltd. p. 1270. ISBN 978-1-56159-237-1. LCCN 98037439. OCLC 1033555776. Retrieved November 7, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ McCarthy, Albert J. (1983). Big Band Jazz. London: Peerage Books. pp. 106, 242. ISBN 978-0-907408-70-3. LCCN 74179290. OCLC 3294850. Retrieved November 7, 2026 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ Durham, Topsy (October 30, 2024). "Eddie Durham: Jazz Pioneer, Innovator, and Virtuoso". The Syncopated Times. Archived from the original on July 12, 2026. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Gene Coy Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Eugene Coy, Former Band Leader, Dies". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, California. August 9, 1962. p. 13.