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    The Sunnybrook Ballroom
    The Sunnybrook Ballroom
    The Sunnybrook Ballroom
    Ebook186 pages59 minutes

    The Sunnybrook Ballroom

    By Thomas Sephakis

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    About this ebook

    As one of the last major ballrooms located in this great nation, the Sunnybrook Ballroom is a historical and intricate part of Pennsylvania's past. Since 1926, the Sunnybrook Ballroom has been an established landmark in its community and is recognized nationwide. Opening its doors in 1931, the grand ballroom was built as an addition to the swim club and dance pavilion. For years, Sunnybrook has served as a viable piece of Americana and has seen many big-name performers upon its stage, including Glenn Miller, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Lawrence Welk, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Checker, and even Bill Haley and the Comets. Using vintage photographs, The Sunnybrook Ballroom traces the history of this cherished haven for big band fans, rock and rollers, and music lovers alike.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439634790
    The Sunnybrook Ballroom
    Author

    Thomas Sephakis

    Thomas Sephakis is a local businessman and author who serves as the chairman for the SunnyBrook Foundation. Having penned several works of fiction and a few screenplays, he works today with the foundation to help preserve and renovate the Sunnybrook Ballroom.

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      Book preview

      The Sunnybrook Ballroom - Thomas Sephakis

      memories.

      INTRODUCTION

      The Sunnybrook Ballroom is a vivid and well-known landmark of the big band era. Even today, its huge facade beckons to its memorable history. A local monument to the past, Sunnybrook sits in a small valley just outside of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

      Sunnybrook Ballroom is one of the few remaining dance halls of the pre–World War II era still in existence. The facility began as a swimming club in 1926 when the owners built an ultramodern pool and picnic pavilion. The circular pool was the heart of this posh and sometimes private club. Often only the well-to-do swam in the refreshing waters of Sunnybrook.

      After the Depression, in 1931, the owners constructed a huge ballroom on the picnic grounds. The addition was opened on Memorial Day, less than 10 weeks after construction started. During the big band era of the 1930s and 1940s, the ballroom rose to prominence as one of the country’s great dance floors. The imported hardwood dance floor was considered one of the finest in the nation and still is today. Sunnybrook Ballroom soon became a haven for the big bands. As they toured from coast to coast, these big bands would often schedule Sunnybrook as a stop on their way from New York across the country.

      From 1931 to 1933, some of the early names who played at the ballroom included Kay Kyser, Isham Jones, Horace Heidt, Jan Garber, Wayne King, Guy Lombardo, Ozzie Nelson, and the Prince of Heigh-de-ho Cab Calloway. Later Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Lionel Hampton would be added to this list as more orchestras paid Sunnybrook a visit.

      In 1934, Hal Kemp also made his debut at Sunnybrook. Years later he would be featured in a Life magazine article while he was on tour at Sunnybrook in 1937, bringing national attention to the ballroom. Within just a few short years of opening, Sunnybrook hosted a cavalcade of stars. And this was all before the so-called big band era. The following years brought even more big names to Sunnybrook. Within four years of opening, Sunnybrook was permanently added to the register of tour stops for all the major bands. In June 1935, Benny Goodman played the first of his 13 appearances at Sunnybrook. In fact it was at Sunnybrook that Goodman introduced his new vocalist Martha Tilton before she became a household name.

      While the local house band, that of Leroy Wilson, continued to play the opening acts and shows in between, Sunnybrook thrived in the swing era. In 1935, before their classic falling out, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra appeared twice. In the early 1940s, Tommy Dorsey introduced his new vocalist Frank Sinatra, who also appeared several times at the famed ballroom. Over the years, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey would play at Sunnybrook more than 35 times combined.

      Beginning in 1937, more big names soon appeared at Sunnybrook, playing to massive sold-out crowds—Sammy Kaye, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, Larry Clinton, Harry James, Charlie Barnet, Will Bradley, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Charlie Spivak, Vaughn Monroe, Tony Pastor, and Claude Thornhill.

      Over time, the owners built up a personal acquaintance and friendship with many of the bandleaders, who would tell their agents to include Sunnybrook on their itinerary. People from all over the Philadelphia area, and even parts of New Jersey and Delaware, would venture to Sunnybrook to see their favorite bands in person onstage.

      The early 1940s were noteworthy years at Sunnybrook. The sheer size of the ballroom and its capacity helped Sunnybrook attract the best bands of the day. Tommy Dorsey often drew the best attendance, with standing-room-only crowds of more than 6,000 on several different occasions. However, the attendance record of over 7,300 people was set in February 1942 by Glenn Miller before disbanding his orchestra to go into the U.S. Army Air Force. Later, after Miller’s death, the Glenn Miller Orchestra led by Tex Beneke played there 17 more times.

      The list of bands that played at the ballroom read like a who’s who of the big bands. Those famous names included Will Osborne, Will Bradley, Sonny Dunham, Harry James, Les Brown, Claude Thornhill, Eddy Duchin, Glenn Miller, Tommy Tucker, Louis Prima, Rudy Vallie, Tommy Reynolds, Bob Chester, Charlie Barnet, Alvino Rey, Tony Pastor, Casa Loma, Vaughn Monroe, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Dick Rogers, Ray McKinley, Benny Goodman, Russ Morgan, Sauter and Finnegan, Bunny Berigan, the McGuire Sisters, and Frank Sinatra.

      But the fanfare was short-lived as Sunnybrook closed in July 1942, for the duration of World War II. The ballroom was feeling the effects of gasoline rationing and the military draft, which hindered its business. Also, as the war effort grew, many of the bandleaders and their musicians were either in the service themselves or playing in USO shows entertaining troops around the world.

      After the troops came home, Sunnybrook was in the full swing of things once again. The ballroom officially reopened on September 8, 1945, with Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra. Before the year was over a number of old favorites, including Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Charlie Spivak, Charlie Barnet, and Tommy Dorsey, were back, along with newcomers such as Randy Brooks, Buddy Morrow, Stan Kenton, Bobby Sherwood, Ralph Flanagan, Ray Anthony, Les Elgart, Hal McIntyre, and Lawrence Welk.

      Over the years, Sunnybrook also took part in radio broadcasts. Both before and after the war there were regular remote radio pickups from Sunnybrook over station WRCV in Philadelphia and also on nationwide broadcasts over the CBS or NBC networks. On several occasions, Sammy Kaye provided the show for these radio broadcasts at Sunnybrook.

      As the 1950s changed the venue of musical performances, the big bands soon gave way to rock and rollers. Soon names such as Billy May, Ralph Marterie, Buddy Rich, Neal Hefti, Maynard Ferguson, Si Zentner, and local favorite Arlen Saylor gave way to performers such as Bill Haley and the Comets, Ozzie Nelson, Chubby Checker, and others such as

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