About
Jazz and swing music drummer who played with the Chick Webb band, which featured the then-unknown Ella Fitzgerald.
Before Fame
He worked as a newspaper boy. His first professional drumming gig happened when he was eleven years old.
Trivia
He rejected the suggestion that he should retire in 1938 when his health was rapidly failing because he knew his band needed to work after the Great Depression had wreaked havoc on the group.
Family Life
He was married to Martha Loretta Ferguson.
Associated With
He has been credited for influencing music created by Duke Ellington.
