Dizzy Gillespie
From Wiki 5A
Dizzy was born in Cheraw, South Carolina on October, 21, 1917. Dizzy wasn’t his real name, it was John Birks Gillespie. Dizzy’s parents were James and Lottie Gillespie. Dizzy was the youngest of ten kids. Dizzy was already playing piano at age four then he self-taught himself trombone. Before the age of 12 he switched to the trumpet. He played in a school band when he was in elementary school.
After high school he got a music scholarship to Laurinburg Institute, in North Carolina. He stayed in it for two years until his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, his music career took off. He started to play in local bands learning off of his idol Roy “Little Jazz” Eldridge. Philadelphia is where he got the name “Dizzy” for his comical stage acts.
In 1937, Dizzy met his future wife, Lorraine. She was a chorus dancer at the Apollo Theater. They were married in 1940, and stayed together until his death. Although they had no kids they both loved each other very much.
Dizzy worked with a lot of bands in his life time like, Chick Webb, Fatha Hines, and Charlie Parker. Dizzy wrote many smash hits like, “Groovin’ High”, “Manteca”, and “A Night in Tunisia”.
After Dizzy died on, January 6, 1993, he was an inspiration to everyone to have a good heart and preserver through anything, and everything. He did the unimaginable and indescribable so he truly is an inspiration.
Additional Information
Dizzy Gillespie was a famous jazz musician. He was also a composer and the band leader for the Hepsations. Dizzy wrote or cowrote the songs “A Night in Tunisia”, “Salt Peanuts”, “Woody in You,” and “Groovin’ High.”
Dizzy was born on October 21, 1917, in Cheraw, South Carolina. But he wasn’t always named Dizzy Gillespie. His name at birth was John Birks Gillespie. He was the youngest of nine children and his parents were James and Lottie Gillespie. Dizzy’s father was a bricklayer by day and a jazz musician by night.
Dizzy Gillespie thought of the creation “bebop” which became very popular. He also had a gig with Teddy Hill Orchestra beginning in 1937. Dizzy married Lorriane Willis who was a dancer. Some of the awards Dizzy got were the New Star Award in 1944, the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, and the Duke Award also in 1989.
When Dizzy Gillespie was 17 years old he went to join the rest of his family in Philadelphia. Dizzy was to poor to buy a case for his trumpet so he carried his trumpet around Philadelphia in a paper bag. When he played on stage he wore wire-rimmed glasses, a black beret, and a goatee. At the beginning of Dizzy’s career he got paid $45 a week to play in a local band which was a good amount of money in 1936.
Mr. Gillespie died on January 6, 1993, in Englewood, New Jersey at the Englewood Hospital. He died of pancreatic cancer caused by diabetes. Dizzy now has an autobiography called To Be or Not To Bop which was published in 1979. Dizzy Gillespie will always be known as a wonderful jazz musician and song writer.
New Information
Gillespie was a famous jazz musician. He composed his own music and was a band leader. He got many awards like the New Star Award from Esquire magazine and the Life Time Achievement Award from the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences. He had interesting shapes of trumpets. One of the trumpets he played had the bell pointed upward at a 45º angel! This isn’t normal for trumpets. Dizzy was born October 21, 1917, in Cheraw, South Carolina. He was the ninth child and the youngest of seven children to survive infancy. His father was a brick layer by day and a musician at night. So dizzy was around interments his whole life. His mother stayed home and watched the kids, she was a dancer too. His father died when Dizzy was just 10 years old. That put the family in poverty. Now his mom had to do many jobs just to support the family. Not letting his age stop him, Dizzy in 1989 gave 300 performances in 27 countries, appeared in 100 U.S. cites in 31 states and the District of Columbia. He even made four albums that year. After fifty years he found a new style of jazz, it was called Bebop. Dizzy’s interesting sound of his trumpet was the best part. Here are some interesting facts about Dizzy’s life. Dizzy had no children. His real name is John Briks Gillespie. He changed his name so people could remember it. Dizzy Gillespie was one of the greatest musicians ever. He did so many great things in his lifetime. Go Dizzy!
