Gray, Glen

Gray, Glen (b. Glen Gray Knoblaugh) (“Spike”) (1906–63) bandleader; born in Roanoke, Ill. He played saxophone in the Orange Blossom Band in Toronto in 1928. In New York City in 1929 the band became the Casa Loma Orchestra with Gray as leader. The band's singer Kenny Sargent was a top romantic vocalist of the 1930s and 1940s and guitarist-arranger Gene Gifford's arrangements helped usher in the swing era. In 1956 Gray initiated a series of all-star albums, recreating the sounds of big bands.