Jim Cullum Collection, 1886-2010, bulk 1961-2011

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Summary

Creators:
Cullum, Jim
Abstract:
Jim Cullum formed the Happy Jazz Band with his son, Jim Cullum, Jr., in San Antonio, Texas in 1962. Devoted to jazz between the World Wars, the Happy Jazz Band was perhaps the foremost exponent of traditional New Orleans style jazz ("Dixieland") in the Southwest. After his father passed away, Jim Cullum, Jr. continued the band as the Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The Jim Cullum collection consists of tape recordings of the Happy Jazz Band and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band and covers over thirty years of the bands' performances. The collection also contains recordings of performances by noteworthy performers including Jack Teagarden and Bobby Hackett, as well as lesser known jazz musicians from Texas, such as cornetist Garner Clark.
Extent:
61 box(es) This collection contains open reel tapes, audiocassettes, videocassettes, eight-track tapes, phonograph records, compact discs, music scores and financial records.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Jim Cullum Collection, ARS-0036. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Background

Scope and content:

The Jim Cullum Collection consists of audio and video recordings of traditional jazz revivalism in Texas. Jim Cullum, Sr., played clarinet professionally with Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini in the 1930s and 40s. In San Antonio, Texas in 1962, Cullum formed the Happy Jazz Band, a seven-piece traditional jazz ensemble, with his son, Jim Cullum, Jr., on cornet. After the senior Cullum's passing in 1973, the band continued as the Jim Cullum Jazz Band under the leadership of Jim Cullum, Jr., who died in 2019.

Among the thousand-plus tapes in the collection, Jim Cullum Jr. prioritized certain reels for digital transfer, highlighting undersung regional players such as cornetist (and family friend) Garner Clark and pianists Peck Kelley and Son Harrell. These transferred tapes are listed below. Other lesser-known groups represented in the collection include the Bourbon Street Bums, the Dixie Ramblers, the Rubber City Retreads, the Crawford-Ferguson Night Owls, and Johnny Wigs and The Bayou Stompers. Also present are Jack Teagarden, Bobby Hackett, Baby Dodds, Turk Murphy, and Knocky Parker.

A substantial portion of the collection belongs to performances by the Happy Jazz Band, including tape masters, music scores, live recordings, and radio broadcasts on WOAI and WWL (many of which are remote broadcasts from The Landing, a San Antonio club that began hosting the Happy Jazz Band's residency at the band's founding). There are also interviews, including the Cullums on Voice of America in 1969, commercial releases (almost all Happy Jazz and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band), and dubbed copies of commercial releases.

Jim Sheridan was an American jazz pianist and arranger who played with and arranged for the Jim Cullum Jazz Band (1979-2003 and 2011-2019).

Acquisition information:
The Jim Cullum Collection was donated to the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound by Jim Cullum, Jr. in 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2017. Additional material including music scores, financial records, and correspondence were donated by Blanquita Sullivan in 2022.
Processing information:

This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Arrangement:

Numbering done by donor prior to accession. Many duplicated numbers, and some missing numbers (some items known to be missing before donation was received). Some duplicated numbers acknowledged in contents listing and ammended with ".1" Contents list notes that 1079-1083 are not to be distributed; however, these appear to be among those missing. This list has not been confirmed with absolute certainty.

Reels: no 109, two 100, no 179, no 219, no 356, 370, no 385, no 476, no 487, no 639, two 635, no 653, two 654, two 565, two 657, no 695, no 698, two 709, no 781, no 794, no 1036, two 1098

Tapes: no 918, two 922-937, no 954, no 970, two 938, two 953, two 955, no 997, two 974, two 977, two 981, two 1004

Physical location:
Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound Stanford University Libraries Stanford, California 94305-3076
Physical description:
Audio: 3-5" Reels - 41 7" Reels - 686 10.5" Reels - 109 Ampex 456 1/2" Reels - 6 Ampex 456 2" Reels - 5 Audiocassettes - 200 DAT - 1 Eight Tracks - 3 Compact Discs - 8 7" vinyl discs - 10 12" vinyl discs - 4 10" instantaneous discs - 7 12" instantaneous discs - 7 Video: VHS - 33 U-Matic - 1 DVD - 1
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.

Terms of access:

Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.

Preferred citation:

Jim Cullum Collection, ARS-0036. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Location of this collection:
Braun Music Center, 541 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-3076, US
Contact:
(650) 723-9312
soundarchive@stanford.edu
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