The Resume

(May 16, 1913-October 29, 1987)
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Birth name was Woodrow Charles Herman
Clarinetist, saxophonist, singer and bandleader
Led several big bands dubbed 'the Herd'
Musicians in his bands included Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Shelley Manne, Gene Ammons, Neal Hefti, Red Norvo, Bill Chase and Alan Greenspan (yes, that Alan Greenspan)
Recorded the singles 'Wintertime Blues' (1936), 'Woodchopper's Ball' (1939), 'Blue Flame' (1941), 'Blues in the Night' (1942), 'Amen' (1942), 'Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me' (1944), 'Laura' (1945), 'Caldonia' (1945), 'A Kiss Goodnight' (1945), 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!' (1946), 'Surrender' (1946) and 'Sabre Dance' (1948)
Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (1981)
Won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy (1987)

Why he might be annoying:

He was a singer and tap dancer in vaudeville at age six.
He inherited his first big band when bandleader Isham Jones decided to retire from the road and live off his songwriting royalties.
He ticked off jazz purists when he added rock and pop numbers to his repertoire in the 60s.
He ended up touring far longer than he wanted to thanks to an incompetent manager who had failed to withhold payroll taxes from Herman's sidemen, leaving him with a massive debt to the IRS.
Shortly before his death, his house was seized by the IRS and sold at auction.

Why he might not be annoying:

Count Basie said Herman's Herd was the only band to ever upstage his when they shared a bill.
Igor Stravinsky composed 'The Ebony Concerto' for his band.
He broke up his first Herd to spend more time with his wife Charlotte and support her when she entered Alcoholics Anonymous (1946).
He and his band backed Frank Sinatra on his 'comeback' tour (1973) after Sinatra's brief retirement.
He was known for hiring and encouraging the best young musicians, with one biographer writing, 'He graduated more great musicians than Juilliard.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 56]
• Ed Sullivan Show Guests
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 1987)
• I Am Vaudeville [A-L]
• I Covered a Creedence Clearwater Revival Song
• I Covered Gilbert O'Sullivan's 'Alone Again Naturally'
• I Covered MacArthur Park
• I Covered The Doors' 'Light My Fire'
• I Died in 1987 (Ranked: 74)
• I Died in Debt
• I Have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[F-I]
• I'm Buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery [Calif]
• Jazz Artists
• Joy of Sax(ophone)
• My Music was Lost in the 2008 Universal Studios Fire
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1984)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2000)
• Profiles 36251-36500 (Ranked: 36346)
• Super Bowl Half Time Entertainers (Ranked: 1973)
• Tap Dancers
• Tree Names

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 114 Votes: 53.51% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 18 Votes: 5.56% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying