The Resume

(February 2, 1924-July 22, 1982)
Born in Boston, Massachusetts
Birth name was Edward Hammond Boatner, Jr.
Bop jazz saxophonist
Recorded the albums 'Jazz at the Hi-Hat' (1954), 'Sonny Stitt Plays' (1956), '37 Minutes and 48 Seconds with Sonny Stitt' (1956), 'Sonny Side Up' (with Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie, 1957), 'Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio' (1959), 'Boss Tenors' (with Gene Ammons, 1961), 'Boss Tenors in Orbit' (with Gene Ammons, 1962), 'Stitt Plays Bird' (1963), 'Stitt Goes Latin' (1963), 'What's New?!!!' (1966), 'Soul Electricity!' (1968), 'Turn It On!' (1971), 'Mellow' (1975), 'I Remember Bird' (1977), and 'In Style' (1982)
Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (1989)

Why he might be annoying:

He spent a year in prison on narcotics charges (1948-49).
He quit heroin only to become an alcoholic.
He joined Miles Davis' band but was soon fired over his excessive drinking (1960).
Especially early in his career, he was criticized as a Charlie Parker clone.
He was nicknamed 'the lone wolf' because he usually toured without a rhythm section, picking up sidemen in the cities he played.

Why he might not be annoying:

He won the New Star award in the Esquire jazz poll (1947).
He developed a distinctive style of his own when he switched from alto to tenor sax.
He engaged in a series of memorable 'battle of the saxes' with Gene Ammons.
He quit drinking in the mid-1970s after suffering several seizures.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Born on Groundhog's Day [February 2] (Ranked: 1924)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 85]
• I Abused Heroin
• I Covered 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'
• I Died in 1982 (Ranked: 58)
• I was Adopted or Orphaned
• Jazz Artists
• Joy of Sax(ophone)
• Profiles 53251-53500 (Ranked: 53385)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying