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"One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru"
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"That's How Much I Love You"
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THE INFORMATION ABOUT ORVAL HARDIMON AND HIS VARIOUS "KINGS"
GROUPS WAS RESEARCHED AND COMPILED BY MARV GOLDBERG
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"One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru"
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"That's How Much I Love You"
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THE INFORMATION ABOUT ORVAL HARDIMON AND HIS VARIOUS "KINGS"
GROUPS WAS RESEARCHED AND COMPILED BY MARV GOLDBERG
Marv's guess is that his real name was Orval Hardimon and just to keep it easy, he called himself "Orville Hardiman." His nickname is sometimes spelled "Baggy" and sometimes "Baggie."An obituary listing in the Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune gave his dates as 5/25/13 - 3/31/99 (he was 85). They gave his name as Orval C. "Baggie" Hardimon.
CHRONOLOGICAL:
10/24/42 Four Kings - a Chicago white group.07/xx/42 Four Kings And A Queen - per the item on 02/13/43, the group had been called the Four Kings And A Queen. The Queen was Virginia Wooden. Presumably the other members were: Orville "Baggy" Hardiman (guitar), Jake McKinney (tipple), Henry Clark (bass), Danny Turner (piano and alto sax). [Those were the members listed on 2/13/43.] By August 1942, Virginia had left and they called themselves the Four Kings Of Jive.
10/03/42 Four Kings Of Jive - just finished at Chin's Cocktail Lounge in Cleveland on 9/13/42.
12/05/42 Four Kings Of Jive - at Tony's Merry-Go-Bar-Round in Philadelphia.
02/13/43 Four Kings Of Jive - at the Hotel Majestic Musical Bar in Philadelphia. "Formerly billed as the Four Kings And A Queen, lads have lately revised their lines with the dropping of the fem decor and replacing the spots where army had first call." Members were: Orville "Baggy" Hardiman (guitar), Jake McKinney (tipple), Henry Clark (bass), Danny Turner (piano and alto sax).
03/13/43 Four Kings Of Jive - at Betty's Cafe, in Camden, New Jersey.
03/27/43 Four Kings Of Jive - at the Apollo Theater the week of 4/9/43.
05/01/43 Four Kings Of Jive - going to the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood.
05/29/43 Four Kings Of Jive - Charles "Slim" Lee is the new bassist, replacing army-bound Hank Clark.
08/14/43 Four Kings - changed their name from the Four Kings Of Jive, probably because they changed from Jolly Joyce Agency to Eddie Suez Agency. Opened at Dick McClain's Alpine Music Bar.
09/11/43 Four Kings Of Jive - at the Pelican, Bethlehem, Pa. The reversion to the older name may have been because a press release had been sent out earlier. (The prior article has them becoming the Four Kings.)
10/16/43 Four Kings - at Frank Palumbo's in Philadelphia.
10/16/43 Four Kings - with Baggy Hardiman managed by Eddie Suez Theatrical Agency in Phila. They handle cocktail units and small bands.
11/13/43 Four Kings And A Queen - revived at The Cove in Philadelphia. Virginia Wooden, the original Queen, had returned. Pianist/vocalist Billy Austin joined. The group had been on the Mutual Network. It looks like they started at The Cove as the Four Kings Of Jive, then became the Four Kings, and finally the Four Kings And A Queen.
NOTE: At the same time this Four Kings And A Queen were in Philadelphia, there was another group, probably white, with the same name across the state in Pittsburgh.
11/20/43 Four Kings And A Queen - Jake McKinney drafted.
12/18/43 Four Kings And A Queen - open at the Music Bar in Cleveland on 12/8.
02/05/44 Four Kings And A Queen - at Shangri-La in Philadelphia.
03/11/44 Five Kings - Hank Clark, group's bassist, gets married. Group is described as "Philadelphia cocktail combo".
03/18/44 Four Kings And A Queen - threatened by the drafting of Baggy Hardiman by the end of the month. Booking agent Eddie Suez plans to have the group continue on.
04/08/44 Five Kings - signed by Comet Records. Appearing at the Alpine Musical Bar in Philadelphia. Note that they kept going after Hardiman and McKinney were drafted. The recordings had to have been made prior to April, since Hardiman had been drafted as of the end of March.
05/20/44 Five Kings - "Orville Hardiman, leader of the Five Kings, Philadelphia unit, scored as a potential apprentice seaman."
07/01/44 Five Kings - at the Haddington Club, Philadelphia.
10/21/44 Five Kings - at Cat And Fiddle Inn, Waterford, NJ.
05/26/45 Five Kings Of Jive - Baggy Hardiman's unit to Chin's Cocktail Lounge in Cleveland. They'd just added Earl Barnes (tenor sax), formerly with Snookum Russell.
06/09/45 Five Kings - at the Ohio State Automatic Electric Phonograph Owners Assocation (jukebox operators). Others appearing were Spike Jones, Phil Brito, Mickey Kats, Kay Ballad, and many others.
10/13/45 Five Kings Of Rhythm - open at Maggie's in Philadelphia.
12/29/45 Five Kings - at Casablanca, in Brooklyn.
02/02/46 Five Kings - Iceland Restaurant in NYC (still there on 3/23). "Inked to a National recording paper" (indicates that they were signed by National Records, but if so, never any releases).
03/02/46 Five Kings - review of show at Iceland Restaurant in New York. "Five Kings, voice and instrument (piano, bass, guitar) are in a tough spot following the skaters [The Four Whirlwinds, whom the crowd loved]. Voices and routine are not strong enough to hold a spot. Negro lads blend pipes well enough but are too taken up trying to sell personalities so work suffers. Kids dressed in tails, look good, but need some biff-bang rhythm tunes. Numbers like 'Symphony' are not for them." The show also had comic Alan King (who told jokes too rapidly for the audience to follow), the Four Whirlwinds (skaters), Eileen Deneen (mezzo-soprano), Ted Taft & Debutantes (dance act), and Art Waner Orchestra.
07/20/46 Five Kings - listed as an act that will appear at the Paradise Cafe in Atlantic City over the summer (also Buck & Bubbles, Billy Daniels, Evelyn White, and the Sabby Lewis Ork.)
09/21/46 Five Kings - at the Haddington Club in Philadelphia. Will sign with Joe Glaser and have a session with RCA Victor (which never seems to have happened).
11/23/46 Five Kings - Will be at Ciro's in Philadelphia, along with the King Cole Trio.
12/07/46 Five Kings - at the Blue Mirror, Camden, NJ.
12/14/46 Five Kings - at the Cove (Philadelphia) around Christmastime.
04/05/47 Five Kings - at the Club Del Rio in Philadelphia. They're recording behind Savannah Churchill "as the Sentimentalists" for Manor.
08/02/47 Savannah Churchill & Five Kings - Manor 1066 is mentioned (I'm Too Shy/Sincerely Yours).
04/10/48 Five Kings - Pianist Charles Ridgely joins.
06/12/48 Five Kings - Baggy Hardiman and a reorganized unit - open at Jack Farrell's in Chester, Pa.
07/17/48 Five Kings - alternating with Louis Armstrong at Jack Diamond's Martinique Cafe in Wildwood, NJ. They'd be there until 7/31, when the Red Caps and the Ravens came in.
09/11/48 Five Kings - Baggy Hardiman reports that Stanley Gaines (bassist) replaced Hank Clark, who returned home to Saginaw, Michigan.
09/11/48 Five Kings - Mercury purchases 8 sides from somewhere (probably Algene Records) by Baggy Hardiman and the Five Kings.
09/18/48 Baggy Hardiman And His Kings - Algene Records has purchased four sides from Baggy Hardiman and His Kings, vocal-instrumental combo who backed some of Savannah Churchill's manor waxings unbilled. My guess is that these recordings were sold to Mercury. Songs were purchased by Mercury from an unnamed source around this time. Seven of them turn up on Mercury's books. Two were released. Nothing ever came out on Algene.
10/23/48 Orval (Baggy) Hardiman (note spelling) - marries Theresa Shelton in Elkton, Maryland (on September 29).
12/09/50 Orville Baggie Hardiman and His Four Kings - last with Mercury Records, back in Philadelphia - at Spider Kelly's.
08/21/51 Orville Hardiman - "Orville (Baggy) Hardiman, who had his own Five Kings unit for many years and once provided the instrumental backing for Savannah Churchill on wax, left Philadelphia with his guitar to join the Lynn Hope combo at the Ebony Club, Cleveland."
Above Right Photo shows Baggie receiving an award for having played at the the Grissom Air Force Base Officers' Club (Peru, Indiana) longer than any other musician. He'd been there around three years at the time this photo was taken in November 1971.
People associated with the Kings:
(there are probably many others)
Orville "Baggie" Hardiman (guitar)
Hank Clark (bassist)
Charles "Slim" Lee (bassist)
Virginia Wooden - (original "Queen")
Jake McKinney (tipple)
Danny Turner (piano and alto sax)
Billy Austin (piano)
Charles Ridgely (piano)
Stanley Gaines (bassist)
Jeannie Clark (later "Queen")
Joann Jones (lead on "Great Day")
Leroy Lovett (piano)(PHOTO is from 12/2/71 Jet Magazine,
Baggie is at left. Note the spelling of his
name on sign.)
GENERAL:
I (Marv) would say that Hardiman was a resident of Philadelphia, but that at some point he moved to Kokomo, Indiana (for all I know, he might have been born there). In 1987, there was an incredibly amateurish movie about terrorists, called "Terror Squad." It starred Chuck Connors and, because it was mostly filmed in Kokomo, it used many residents of the city as extras. Baggie Hardiman actually appears in the credits, although his character isn't named. This would explain why the only obituary for him was in a Kokomo newspaper.DISCOGRPHY: [Special Thanks to Ferdie Gonzalez]
Four Kings & A Queen
Comet 1301-A All I Need Is A Lucky Break [ca. 5/44]
Comet 1301-B Shoo Shoo BabyComet 1302-A King's Boogie (I) [44]
Comet 1302-B Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake CityComet 1304-A One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru [45]
Comet 1304-B Ration BluesComet 1304-A One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru [45]
Comet 1302-A King's BoogieFive Kings
Manor 1062-A Meet Me At No Special Place [3/47]
Manor 1062-B That's How Much I Love YouSavannah Churchill & Five Kings
Manor 1061-A I Can't Get Up The Nerve To Kiss You [3/47]
Manor 1061-B Let's Call A Spade A SpadeManor 1066-A Sincerely Yours [4/47]
Manor 1066-B I'm Too ShyFour Kings & A Queen
King 4199 Hands Across The Table [12/47]
King 4199 How Could We Ever Have Been StrangersOrville "Baggie" Hardiman & His Kings
Mercury 8108 Diane [11/48]
Mercury 8108 Great Day (v: Joann Jones)Mercury unreleased
I've Got A Feeling For You
Judy
Seems Like A Dream
Boogie
I Can't Get You Off My Mind
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Above: Photo of The Four Kings Of Jive from the 1940's. Baggie is third from left.
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Above: Photo of The Five Kings from the 1940's. Baggie is in the front middle.
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Above: Label images of Comet 1304A and Manor 1062-B. The personnel on Comet were Orval Hardiman, Henry Clark, Jeannie Clark, Jake McKinney, and Danny Turner. Note the label shows Orval "Baggie" Hardimon.Listen to this week's selections:
[Audio restoration by Dave Saviet.][To download audio files, right-click on link and then select "Save (Link) Target As..."]
A. Stream RealAudio...
1. One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru - Four Kings And A Queen - Comet 1304A - 1945
2. That's How Much I Love You - The Five Kings - Manor 1062-B - 1947
BOTH played in sequenceB. Download RealAudio...
1. One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru - Four Kings And A Queen - Comet 1304A - 1945
2. That's How Much I Love You - The Five Kings - Manor 1062-B - 1947C. Stream/Download Media Player...
1. One Of Those Dreams That Fell Thru - Four Kings And A Queen - Comet 1304A - 1945
2. That's How Much I Love You - The Five Kings - Manor 1062-B - 1947
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