Glenn Hardman

American Organ and keyboard player and vocalist. He began as a radio station staff pianist. Born June 27, 1910 Pleasant Hills, PN Died January 1, 1996 (aged 85) Redding, CA. Glenn worked for a number of radio stations before and after the road- and hotel-career he shared with his wife, vocalist Alice O'Connell. Later, he performed in low profile in small venues around the Los Angeles area until his retirement in 1983. Hardman was a well-schooled musician, born with perfect pitch into a family of musicians and dancers. His aptitude for the piano first appeared when he was 5 (he could already pick out tunes he'd heard at picture shows and in vaudeville). His career began in the late 1920s as a staff pianist for local Pittsbugh radio stations, KDKA among them. By 1930, he had his own daily program "A Study in Black and White" on WJAY in Toledo. Early 1930s he and his show had become a feature of Toledo's major station WSPD. He would often sub for the great Art Tatum, whenever Tatum was unable to make his scheduled radio performance. WSPD was his break into big-time radio and over time, Hardman became musical director for 13 other radio stations. For many years, he had his own early-morning program, with the billing "The Sunshine Man." Hardman's first records were made for Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana, July 11, 1933, and released on their Champion subsidiary. Hardman made 2 piano solos and 5 vocals accompanied by his own piano. He was billed on one of the discs as "The Sunshine Man." In the mid-1930s, he teamed up with Alice O'Connell, a young lady with whom he had previously performed auditions. Glenn and Alice were married May 16, 1936. As a team, Hardman and O'Connell played hotels, nightclubs, and theatres throughout the East. During this time they became a John Hammond "discovery." Hammond brought them to Chicago for some recordings in 1939. Hammond had assembled a pick-up group featuring Lester Young, Lee Castle, Freddie Green and Jo Jones, It was at this session Hardman met them for the first time. The record "Upright Organ Blues", from those highly-regarded sessions still gets reissued from time to time: The Hardman/O'Connell professional duet continued until 1943, when Alice decided to have a baby. Glenn became musical director of KTUL in Tulsa, where he would soon discover a promising young vocalist named Clara Ann Fowler, who later became known as Patti Page. In 1953 the Hardmans left Oklahoma for California and took up residence in the Los Angeles area. Glenn never got into the tightly-controlled recording scene. Instead, he played hotels and cocktail lounges until his retirement.