George Tunnell
{{short description|American singer}}
File:George Bon Bon Tunnell.jpg
George "Bon Bon" Tunnell (June 29, 1912{{Cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/artist/82937|title=Bon Bon |website=Secondhandsongs.com|access-date=August 16, 2021}} – May 20, 1975){{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-bon-bon-tunnell-mn0001826622/biography|title=George "Bon Bon" Tunnell | Biography & History|website=AllMusic|access-date=August 16, 2021}} was an American jazz vocalist.
Biography
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States,{{Cite web|url=https://swingandbeyond.com/2020/02/14/vol-vistu-gaily-star-1939-jan-savitt-with-george-bon-bon-tunnell/|title="Vol Vistu Gaily Star" (1939) Jan Savitt with George "Bon Bon" Tunnell|first=Mike|last=Zirpolo|website=Swingandbeyond.com|date=15 February 2020|access-date=August 16, 2021}} Tunnell was one of the first African American vocalists to perform with a white band, that of Jan Savitt and his band,{{Cite web | url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633210/m1/#track/2 |title = Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #3|website=Digital.library.unt.edu|year = 1972}} The Top Hatters.
In the early 1930s, he fronted a vocal quartet, the Three Keys,{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=289}} which had a hit with "Fit as a Fiddle".
Tunnell then joined Jan Savitt's Band and recorded a number of tracks with them including "Moonlight Masquerade", "The Gypsy in My Soul", "A Kiss for Consolation", plus two best-selling numbers, "Hi-Yo Silver" and "Make Believe Island".
In 1941, Tunnell left Savitt and began recording solo tracks including "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", "Blow, Gabriel Blow" and "Most Emphatically, Yes!"
He then joined Spirits of Rhythm jazz ensemble briefly before spending time fronting the Tommy Reynolds Band during the 1950s.
When Tunnell's career slowed, he returned to live in Pennsylvania.
He died in May 1975, in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, at the age of 62.
References
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Bibliography
- Jazz Records 1897-1942 4th Revised and Enlarged Edition, by Brian Rust, Arlington House Publishers, New Rochelle, New York, 1978, {{ISBN|9780902391048}}
External links
- [http://www.explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=13&chapter=3&page=2 Explorepahistory.com]
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Category:Traditional pop music singers
Category:Singers from Philadelphia
Category:Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania
Category:American male jazz musicians
Category:20th-century African-American male singers