The California Ramblers

{{Short description|American jazz group}}

File:California Ramblers, photo by Apeda.jpg

The California Ramblers were an American jazz group that performed for hundreds of recordings throughout the 1920s and beyond. The band included such jazz stars as Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini, each who would go on to front big bands in later decades.

The band was formed in 1921 by banjoist Ray Kitchenman.{{cite book| first1= Peter| last1= Gammond| year= 1991| title= The Oxford Companion to Popular Music| publisher= Oxford University Press| location= Oxford| page= [https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00gamm/page/97 97]| isbn= 0-19-311323-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00gamm/page/97}} Its members were from Ohio but chose the name California Ramblers. The band was instantly successful and were one of the most prolific recording groups in the 1920s.{{cite web |url=http://www.parabrisas.com/d_californiaramblers.php |title=Solid! -- the California Ramblers |accessdate=2007-03-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207222650/http://www.parabrisas.com/d_californiaramblers.php |archivedate=2007-02-07 }}

They recorded for nearly every independent label in the U.S., Canada, and the UK, using over 100 unique aliases, including The Golden Gate Orchestra, Varsity Eight, Stokers of Hades, and The Goofus Posterboards.{{Cite web|url=http://www.parabrisas.com/d_californiaramblers_n.php|title=List of pseudonyms|website=Parabrisas.com}}

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