John Rhea "Yank" Lawson (May 3, 1911 – February 18, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and swing music. With his appealing tone and strong melodic ideas, Lawson was a popular attraction on the Dixieland scene for decades.
Lawson was born in Trenton, Missouri. He started playing music on saxophones and piano before settling on the trumpet as a teenager. Lawson played in the University of Missouri Dance Band, was soon offered a job with Slatz Randall’s group (with whom he made his recording debut on “Mom” in 1932), and dropped out of college. He also had a stint with Wingy Manone before being hired to join Ben Pollack in late 1933.
When Lawson joined Pollack, the 22-year-old became part of a very promising band that already included such long-time associates as clarinetist Matty Matlock, tenor-saxophonist Eddie Miller, guitarist-singer Nappy Lamare, and drummer Ray Bauduc. Other members included Benny Goodman’s brother Harry Goodman on bass, lead trumpeter Charlie Spivak, and trombonist-singer Joe Harris.
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| Ben Pollack |
This group had plenty of potential and should have quickly become one of the top jazz big bands of the time, competing with the Casa Loma Orchestra, the Dorsey Brothers, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, but there was one major problem. Ben Pollack was in love with Doris Robbins and was convinced that the singer could become a famous Hollywood actress. He neglected the band and emphasized dance music over jazz; the only instrumental recorded among ten selections in 1934 was a rhumba.
The musicians staged a mutiny later in the year, resulting in the orchestra breaking up. After searching for a new leader (their first choice, Jack Teagarden, was unavailable due to signing a five-year contract with Paul Whiteman), they settled on Bob Crosby, Bing’s younger brother, a genial personality who was a decent singer. The nucleus of the band stayed together but since Harry Goodman had joined his brother’s band, a new bassist was needed. Bob Haggart was hired. Lawson was featured on many records, both with the big band and Bob Crosby's Bobcats during 1935-1938. He was with Tommy Dorsey during 1938-1939 and had plenty of solo space with Dorsey's Clambake Seven., then returned to Bob Crosby’s band.
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| Benny Goodman |
Due to World War II, Bob Crosby broke up his orchestra after 1942 and joined the Marines. Suddenly Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart were at liberty but neither was unemployed for long. Lawson had a short stint with Benny Goodman and then became a studio musician in New York, working on radio and (by the 1950s) television while continuing to play jazz.
Lawson and Haggart came back together for some Bob Crosby reunions and then in 1951 they formed the Lawson/Haggart Jazz Band. The sextet, which originally also included trombonist Lou McGarity, clarinetist Bill Stegmeyer, pianist Lou Stein, and drummer Cliff Leeman, gave the co-leaders an opportunity to escape from the studios and be heard more prominently.
During the next four years they recorded such albums for Decca as Play Jelly Roll’s Jazz, Play King Oliver’s Jazz, College Fight Songs, Blues On The River, Ragtime Jamboree, Windy City Jazz, South Of The Mason-Dixon Line, and Louis’ Hot 5’s and 7’s. The albums are now a bit hard-to-find and have long deserved to be reissued.
Beyond their group, Lawson and Haggart stayed active in both the studios and the Dixieland scene throughout the 1950s and ’60s. Lawson was particularly proud of playing lead trumpet in the style of King Oliver on part of Louis Armstrong’s four-album retrospective Satchmo. He and Haggart often performed on the Steve Allen Show and on Allen’s projects.
Yank, who recorded with everyone from Teresa Brewer to Clancy Hayes, released an album called The Carpetbaggers Play Dixieland With A Twist, and some records of his own (which often included Haggart), was a regular at Eddie Condon’s club during 1966-68.
