Thomas A. Dorsey

DORSEY, Thomas Andrew. b. Villa Rica, Georgia, 1 July 1899; d. Chicago, 23 January 1993. Born into a Baptist preacher's family that moved to Atlanta when he was five, Dorsey studied music there and came under the influence of local blues pianists. He moved to Chicago in 1915, where he studied at the Chicago College of Composition and Arranging, and played in nightclubs as ‘Georgia Tom’ or ‘Barrelhouse Tom’, accompanying blues singers such as Tampa Red, Ma Rainey, and Bessie Smith. Because of his skill as composer, arranger, and pianist, he was in great demand. He also formed his own band, Wildcat's Jazz Band. After suffering from a severe illness in 1926, and experiencing a conversion in...