Stan Wrightsman

American jazz pianist. Born : June 15, 1910 in Gotebo, Oklahoma. Died : December 17, 1975 in Palm Springs, California. His father was a musician and his first gigs were with his dad's band. In 1930, he moved to New Orleans and played with bandleader Ray Miller. He played with various bands and moved to Chicago in 1935-1936 to play with Ben Pollack, before becoming ill and moving back to California in 1937. Inspired in large part by an association with Spike Jones, Wrightsman ventured into the realm of musical parody; in 1941, he played and recorded with the Jones band that evolved into the City Slickers. Wrightsman left when the band moved too far afield of jazz. During the '40s, he played mainstream jazz and pop with -- among others -- Artie Shaw, Wingy Manone, Eddie Miller, Rudy Vallée, Nappy Lamare, Bob Crosby (1950-1951), Matty Matlock, Pete Fountain, the Rampart Street Paraders, Ray Bauduc, Wild Bill Davison, and Bob Scobey. He played on the soundtracks to the Red Nichols biopic "The Five Pennies" and the Jack Webb film "Pete Kelly's Blues". Wrightsman played with Fountain a great deal during the '60s and continued working in TV and film. He moved to Las Vegas in the late '60s, where he backed Wayne Newton and Flip Wilson, among others.