Randy Brooks

Randolph E. Brooks (March 15, 1919 – March 21, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader. Brooks began on trumpet at age six, and by eleven was touring with Rudy Vallee. He then worked with Claude Thornhill, Bob Allen, Bernie Cummins, Art Jarrett, and Les Brown before founding his own band in 1944. John Benson Brooks (no relation) contributed arrangements to the ensemble, and Stan Getz played in it in 1946. Among his hits for Decca Records were "Tenderly", "Harlem Nocturne" and "The Man With The Horn", but his swing-based style and large ensemble were out of step with the times, and his success eroded toward the end of the decade. He married Ina Ray Hutton and moved to Los Angeles, where he suffered a stroke and was unable to continue as a musician. He died of smoke inhalation in a fire at his Sanford, Maine, apartment. He is buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Sanford, Maine, beside his parents.