Sam Donahue

Sam Donahue was a well-respected tenor saxophonist from the swing era who, in a couple of cases, almost became famous, although he ended up fairly obscure. Donahue put together his first band in 1933 when he was just 15, an outfit that he led for five years. His first big-name job was with Gene Krupa (1938-1940) and he had occasional opportunities to solo on the drummer's records. After short stints with Benny Goodman and Harry James, Donahue led his own big band which recorded 20 titles for Okeh, Bluebird, and Hit during 1940-1942. Other than singers Francis Wayne and Irene D...