Jay Wilbur

{{about|the British bandleader|the computer game designer|id Software}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Jay Wilbur

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| birth_name = Wilbur Blinco

| birth_date = 1898

| birth_place = Bournemouth, Hampshire, England

| death_date = 1968

| death_place = Cape Town, South Africa

| genre = Jazz
Swing music
Big band
British dance band

| occupation = Dance bandleader

| instrument =

| years_active =

| label = Rex, Dominion Records, Crown, Imperial, Eclipse

| associated_acts = Helen Clare, Bob and Alf Pearson, Leslie Holmes, Vera Lynn, Sam Costa, Sam Browne, Pat O'Malley

}}

James Edward Wilbur (1898–1968) was a British bandleader and prolifically recorded musician identified with and influential in the era of Big Band and British dance band music.{{cite news

|url = http://www.solarvan.co.uk/arthurdulay/jaywilbur.pdf

|last = McCanna

|first = Barry

|title = Jay Wilbur

|newspaper = Dance Band Personalities

|year = 2005

|access-date = 2011-04-04

}} See also the [http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Jay+Wilbur&view=detail&id=F731BDD2D4FFE8822518276AB52F08E8F0E422AC&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR London Band photograph] (accessed 2011-04-04).

Wilbur was born Wilbur Blinco in 1898 in Leamington Spa.{{cite book |last=Cliffe |first=Peter |year=1990 |title=Fascinating Rhythm |publisher=Egon Publishers Limited |isbn=9780905858494 }} He became recording director for Dominion Records{{cite journal |author=Arthur Badrock |title=Dominion Records: a catalogue and history |journal=Talking Machine Review |year=1976 }} in 1928, but left Dominion shortly before its demise, and became recording manager for the Crystalate Manufacturing Company.{{cite book |last=Schleman |first=Hilton R. |year=1978 |authorlink=Hilton Schleman|title=Rhythm on Record |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=212}} With his own name and under many pseudonyms,{{cite book |last=Brocken |first=Michael |year=2013 |title=Other Voices: Hidden Histories of Liverpool's Popular Music Scenes 19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0iwVspsJJ6oC&dq=%22Jay+Wilbur%22&pg=PT203 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |isbn=9781409493969 |access-date=December 26, 2013}} his recordings appeared on a variety of labels, including Imperial, Eclipse, Rex and Crown.

He broadcast for the BBC in the 1930s, often featuring guest artists such as Fats Waller.{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Stephen |year=2006 |title=Fats Waller on the Air: The Radio Broadcasts and Discography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3LJvYjBXak4C&dq=%22Jay+Wilbur%22&pg=PA59 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810856561 |pages=58–59 |access-date=December 26, 2013}} In 1941, he appeared as himself in the film Hi Gang!.{{cite book |last=Reid |first=John Howard |year=2006 |title=More Movie Musicals: Volume 18 of Hollywood classics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vc6imzGc41IC&dq=%22Jay+Wilbur%22&pg=PA68 |publisher=Lulu |pages=67–68 |isbn=9781411673427 |access-date=December 26, 2013}} His dance band recordings often featured a young Vera Lynn on vocals, and he later accompanied Lynn on her solo releases.{{cite web |title=Vera Lynn Accompanied By Jay Wilbur And His Band – The First Lullaby / Room Five-Hundred-And-Four (1941, Shellac) |url=https://www.discogs.com/Vera-Lynn-Accompanied-By-Jay-Wilbur-And-His-Band-The-First-Lullaby-Room-Five-Hundred-And-Four/release/15709661 |website=Discogs |access-date=24 March 2021 |language=en}}

Jay Wilbur and His Band performed extensively for Allied military service members during World War II. He is known for recording established tunes while rendering them in foxtrot style.For example, a 1934 rendition of "Just Awearyin' for You" w. Frank Lebby Stanton m. Carrie Jacobs-Bond: {{YouTube|9yOcViKRUKE|Jay Wilbur and His Band, "Just Awearyin' for You"}} 1934 foxtrot rendition (accessed 2011-04-04).

Wilbur died in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1968.{{cite book |last=Rust |first=Brian A. L. |year=1974 |title=The Dance Bands |publisher=Arlington House |isbn=9780870002724 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dancebands00rust }}