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Tommy Christian And His Orchestra

American dance band, active from 1924 to 1935 and briefly again in the late 1930s. Led by saxophonist Tommy Christian (1902-1951), the band enjoyed great success, beginning with an extended stay at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City in November 1925. It frequently recorded for Columbia's budget label [l=Harmony (4)] and others between November 1926 and 1930. In 1929, the band was featured in a movie, "Howdy Broadway," and a movie short, "Pep & Personality." Band members included Bill McMurray and Lewis Corbett, trumpets; Billy Fitzgerald, trombone; Murray Beeson and Irish Callen, saxes; Jimmy Cooper, banjo; Ralph Gerard, bass; Carrol Metcalf, drums; and Charles Wullen, piano, arranger, and manager. Drummer and singer Art Barnett, famous for his "Grand Opera" parody, joined the band in 1927.