Randolph E. “Randy” Brooks (15 Mar 1919 - 21 Mar 1967) was an excellent American swing based trumpeter and band leader, known as "The Golden Trumpet." In 1947, Brooks' version of "Tenderly," became the most requested song in the country.
Brooks got his start at the age of 8, playing in a cornet trio with his parents in the Sanford Salvation Army band. When he was 12, Brooks won a competition for young trumpet players, beating out over 2,000 other entrants. Two years later, at the age of 14, he gained national fame with his appearances on Rudy Vallee's national radio program, where he was asked to be a permanent member of the band. However, he was too young to sit in with the regular brass section, so each week he would perform a classical trumpet solo to rave reviews. After graduating from Sanford High in 1937, Brooks went to New York City to seek his fortune in the music business. After a few years of playing in other bandleader's orchestras such as Hal Kemp and les Brown, Brooks started his own band in 1944. In 1946, his band began a successful run at New York's famed Roseland Ballroom.
In 1947, Brooks' band had been named "one of the best bands in the nation" by Downbeat Magazine, a music business publication. Brooks' Decca recordings were gaining nationwide fame. Besides "Tenderly," which sold over a million copies, Brooks also recorded
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songs such as: "Don't Let Me Dream,""Moonmist,""Harlem Noctrum," and "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)".
songs such as: "Don't Let Me Dream,""Moonmist,""Harlem Noctrum," and "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)".Brooks married fellow bandleader Ina Ray Hutton and moved to Los Angeles where tragedy struck.In 1950, as he was at the height of his popularity, Brooks suffered a cerebral stroke which left him partially paralyzed and unable to perform. He briefly returned following rehabilitation, but suffered a second stroke in 1958, and retired in 1961.
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He died March 21, 1967 in a fire at his Springvale apartment at the age of 48. Today he is largely forgotten and unfortunately his generally rewarding recordings are mostly out of-print. Randy Brooks deserved much better.
(Edited from AllMusic and mainly from a bio by Paul Auger @ findagrave)