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Frank Carlson

US jazz drummer from the swing-era. Born : May 05, 1914 in New York City, New York. Died : May 19, 1996. Coming from a background in the big band and swing jazz of the '30s, Frank Carlson became a busy studio-session drummer who played on a huge stack of hit records, including sides by [a=Doris Day], [a=Bing Crosby], and [a=Elvis Presley]. His cache with hipsters comes mostly from getting the studio call to back up the brilliant actor, hell-raiser, and occasional recording artist [a=Robert Mitchum], while Carlson's most prominent jazz job was holding down the drum throne in the [a=Woody Herman] band from 1937-1942. He later was Fred Astaire's choice for playing on his movie soundtracks in the 40's.