The Resume

(May 30, 1909-June 13, 1986)
Jazz clarinetist and bandleader
Led one of the most successful Big Bands of the 1930s
Nickname was 'The King of Swing.'

Why he might be annoying:

He had a reputation as a thoughtless taskmaster who seldom remembered the names of his own musicians.
If a musician didn't perform up to his high standards, he gave them an intense, withering stare that became known as 'The Ray.'
He also had a reputation for cheapness, sometimes filching his musicians' food and cigarettes.
When he started as a bandleader, he altered his speaking voice in an effort to sound black.

Why he might not be annoying:

As a teenager, he supported his impoverished family by playing in local bands.
His band's performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935 was regarded as the beginning of the Swing era in jazz.
He was one of the first jazz musicians to play Carnegie Hall, on January 16, 1938.
He played alongside black musicians such as Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, and Charlie Christian.
He also hired black arrangers such as Fletcher Henderson and Edgar Sampson.
He turned down movie deals when producers insisted that he not perform with black musicians.
He was one of the few jazz musicians to successfully cross over into classical music.

Credit: IbnBorca of Elkabar

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• American Music Award of Merit (Ranked: 1980)
• Appeared on PBS' American Masters
• Buddy! Dude! Man! Guy!
• Call Me Calvin's Least Annoying (Ranked: 3)
• Carnegie Hall Concerts
• Ed Sullivan Show Guests
• Golden Girls References
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 1986)
• I am from Chicago
• I am from Pound Ridge, NY
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [D-G]
• I Covered 'Frankie and Johnny'
• I Did Not Graduate High School [F-I]
• I Died in 1986 (Ranked: 77)
• I Died on Friday the 13th (Ranked: 1986)
• I Have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[F-I]
• I Performed at 'From Spirituals to Swing'
• I Recorded ‘Autumn Leaves’
• I Sing About New York
• Jazz Artists
• Kennedy Center Honorees (Ranked: 1982)
• My Band, My Name
• My Music was Lost in the 2008 Universal Studios Fire
• My Name is Good or Bad
• My Song is on Sony's 'Soundtrack for a Century'
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1998)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1975)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1982)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1987)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1989)
• National Radio Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1988)
• Person to Person - Guests [A-K]
• Profiles 5251-5500 (Ranked: 5387)
• Stage Door Canteen [1943]
• Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity
• Top 100 Old Time Radio Moments of the 20th Century (Ranked: 49)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 19860613)
• What's My Line - Mystery Guests [1950-1967]
• What's My Line - Mystery Guests [1968-1975]

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 9 Votes: 11.11% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 111 Votes: 54.95% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 76.92% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 19 Votes: 5.26% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 24 Votes: 70.83% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 67 Votes: 53.73% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 73 Votes: 73.97% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 19 Votes: 52.63% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 23 Votes: 56.52% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 24 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 38.89% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 26.92% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 95 Votes: 36.84% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 58 Votes: 34.48% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 88 Votes: 46.59% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 153 Votes: 41.83% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 248 Votes: 42.34% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 413 Votes: 43.10% Annoying
In 2003, Out of 833 Votes: 42.98% Annoying
In 2002, Out of 815 Votes: 36.93% Annoying