Occasional Contributor
The first time I met Peanuts Hucko in person was in a hotel lobby in Glasgow in November 1976. My wife-at-the-time, the internationally-renowned singer, Eve Boswell, was about two-thirds through a 40-concert series, starring with the Million Airs Concert Orchestra, in a recreation of Captain and later Major Glenn Miller's peerless AAF/AEF Orchestra, in most of the major cities in England, Scotland and Wales. Peanuts had been contracted to co-star with Eve for the final 15 concerts, starting with the one in Glasgow.
Eve and I walked up to the desk, and this short-statured man, who was signing the register, looked up as we approached. I immediately recognised him, and almost shouted out: "Peanuts !" He seemed non-plussed for a moment, but proper introductions soon settled things down.
From that moment on we spent a lot of time together for about a month, because Eve, Peanuts and I travelled in the car of Tony Wild,with his co-promoter, Doug le Vicki, making up the fifth occupant.
The concerts were fantastically successful, with the two highlights at the Royal Albert Hall in London on December 15th and the Corn Exchange in Bedford on December 21st 1976.
For the record, Miff King directed the marvellous Million Airs Orchestra, but the real genius behind it was Bryan Pendleton, who took all the Glenn Miller scores off note for note for each of the 40-odd instruments by hand and ears !
During the tour Eve, Peanuts and I started talking of him coming to South Africa for a performance tour, and it finally came to fruition in 1982.
Peanuts Hucko and Henry Holloway in 1982 upon Peanuts' arrival
at Johannesburg Airport for his South African tour.
It was so successful that Peanuts (this time with his wife, Louise Tobin) came to South Africa again in 1984. If at all possible, that second tour was even more successful than the first one.
I organised various big band and small-group concerts and the venues were packed on each occasion. Of course, Eve and Louise sang on a number of these concerts.
I worked like a slave to promote these tours, and it must be remembered that I still did my 51 part Glenn Miller series on radio in 1984, which took exhaustive research. At the end of that 1984 tour, Peanuts said to me (and I remember it vividly): "Henry, no one has ever promoted me better than you did". Coming from Peanuts, that was high praise indeed !!
Oh, I almost forgot: In 1981, Peanuts and Louise took me and my then 11-year-old daughter, Samantha, to Disneyland. Needless to say, Sam enjoyed every moment of it immensely. The humorous highlight for me was when Peanuts took me to the bandstand, where Freddy Martin and his band were playing. They were just "taking five", and Peanuts said to me: "Come with me and just watch". He walked up to Freddy, approaching him from the rear. He tapped Freddy on the shoulder, and said: "Do you play requests ?" Freddy swung around in anger, but before he could say anything, he saw that it was Peanuts, and they both broke up laughing !!!
Something else will stay with me as long as I live. In one of our largest auditoriums in Johannesburg, we held a concert featuring a big band chosen from the top men available, directed by George Hayden, with Peanuts and Eve starring. When it came to my turn to introduce Peanuts, I said: "Ladies and gentlemen, if I had to tell you this evening that our special guest here tonight played with Benny Goodman, what would you say?" The full-house crowd roared. I then said: "Or if I told you that he played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars?" Again they roared. Then I said: "Or if I told you that he was Captain and later Major Glenn Miller's star clarinet soloist?" The roar was even greater. Finally I said: "But, I am delighted to tell you that our special guest tonight was all that, and even led his own groups for many years. Mr. Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko !!" Well, the roof almost came down from the roar !! And Peanuts did NOT let them down......
Just ONE thing got to him: Johannesburg is 6,000 feet above sea-level, and his reed squeeked !!! He said to me: "It's just like Denver, Colorado". But he soon sorted it out.
I can tell many many stories about Peanuts Hucko, but my space has run out. We stayed in touch until his death in 2003, always most cordially.
Peanuts Hucko, Randy Sandke, Al Grey, John Bunch
Jack Lesberg, Jake Hanna, Louise Tobin
Henry Holloway
Caledon, Cape Province, South Africa
0027-28-2122315
Henry's Web Sites:
1. Henry Holloway
2. Listen to Henry's biweekly radio show Swing Sing and All That Jazz on Fine Music Radio and Tuxedo Junction
Email Henry
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