Andy Tipaldi

Canadian banjo player, arranger and band leader. Born in New York City, New York 1894 Died Montreal, Canada May 1969. He was brother of violinist John Tipaldi. He and his brother arrived in Montréal around 1917, with an orchestra of White musicians, to play at the Jardin de Danse. In 1921, the two brothers joined the Melody Kings. John Tipaldi wrote the ensemble’s arrangements. In 1923, the Tipaldi brothers took over the management of the ensemble, which they renamed the Melody Kings Dance Orchestra. Andy Tipaldi played with the Ritz-Carlton orchestra and with Billy Munro’s orchestra before disbanding the Melody Kings in 1928. Tipaldi lost much of the money he had made in real-estate speculation in the stock market crash of November 1929.