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Creator
Condon, Eddie, 1905-1973
Call number
JPB 18-07
Physical description
3.71 linear feet (13 containers)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Eddie Condon papers, JPB 18-07. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Eddie Condon papers document the multi-faceted career and life of the guitarist, bandleader, and impresario through photographs, letters, writings, professional files, and art. Dating from the late 1800s to 2010, the collection mainly documents Condon's life from 1935 to 1973. Papers dating from after Condon's death were compiled by Phyllis and Maggie Condon.

Biographical/historical information

Eddie Condon (1905-1973) was a jazz guitarist, bandleader, promoter, club owner, and writer active from the early 1920s to 1972. Born in Indiana and raised near Chicago, Condon was a professional musician by his mid-teens, beginning on ukulele and banjo before permanently switching to guitar. He was never a soloist, choosing instead to concentrate on rhythm guitar to support his fellow musicians.

After performing with dance bands throughout the Midwest, he met and performed with members of the Austin High Gang, young musicians in Chicago who were inspired by the trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. Two of those musicians, saxophonist Bud Freeman and trumpeter Jimmy McPartland, became Condon's lifelong collaborators. In 1927, Condon organized the first recording sessions for the Austin High players, under the name of the McKenzie–Condon Chicagoans. He went on to promote and arrange important recordings for other groups, such as the Chicago Rhythm Kings and the Jungle Kings in 1928. That year, Condon moved to New York, where he recorded as a leader for the first time, and performed and/or recorded with Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Miff Mole. Other notable collaborators from his early years in New York were Red McKenzie and the Mound City Blue Blowers.

In the late 1930s, Condon led a band with clarinetist Joe Marsala, and he became a frequent fixture at Nick's Tavern, a well-known jazz club in Greenwich Village. His collaborators from the late-thirties onward included trumpeters Bobby Hackett, Max Kaminsky, Muggsy Spanier, and Wild Bill Davison; Bud Freeman; pianist Art Hodes; clarinetists Pee Wee Russell and Edmond Hall; trombonist Jack Teagarden; and drummer George Wettling. The signature style of Condon's bands was a blend of New Orleans hot jazz and 1930s swing, an accessible combination that proved popular during the revival of traditional jazz in the 1940s.

Condon was noted for assembling racially integrated groups, including the first such band performing at a club on 52nd street, the Hickory House, featuring trumpeter Red Allen, in 1936. He did the same at a series of concerts and nation-wide radio broadcasts he presented at Town Hall in New York City from 1944 to 1945, as well as at Carnegie Hall.

In 1945, Condon founded his own club, Eddie Condon's, which had two locations before closing in 1967 (a third club by that name was open from 1975 to 1985, with the blessings of Condon's widow). In addition to spearheading radio broadcasts, concerts, and recordings, Condon also hosted a television series, "Eddie Condon's Floor Show," in 1948 and 1949. In the 1950s, his all-star groups recorded several notable albums for producer George Avakian on the Columbia label (in 1939, Condon was one of the first musicians Avakian recorded).

Condon took his bands on tour frequently from the 1950s onward, including visits to Britain, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and he continued to tour until 1972.

Condon was a highly-regarded writer about jazz and other topics. He wrote a column, "Pro and Condon," for The New York Journal American from 1954 to 1955, and his prose also appeared in magazines such as Woman's Day, Flair, and Cosmopolitan. He also published three books: We Called It Music (1948), an autobiography; Eddie Condon's Treasury of Jazz (1956), a collection of his articles; and Eddie Condon's Scrapbook of Jazz (1973), a memoir featuring photographs from Condon's personal collection, co-written with Hank O'Neal.

Condon married Phyllis Smith, in 1942, and they had two children, Maggie and Liza. Among his friends were vocalist Bing Crosby, lyricists Johnny Mercer and John De Vries, and the novelist John Steinbeck. He died in 1973 in New York City.

Scope and arrangement

The Eddie Condon papers document the multi-faceted career and life of the guitarist, bandleader, and impresario through photographs, letters, writings, professional files, and art. Dating from the late 1800s to 2010, the collection mainly documents Condon's life from 1935 to 1973. Papers dating from after Condon's death were compiled by Phyllis and Maggie Condon.

Series I: Photographs comprises the heart of the collection. Many are the work of the noted jazz photographer Charles Peterson. This rich collection of imagery depicts Condon and the musical colleagues with whom he performed regularly, such as Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, and George Wettling. In addition, there are photos of such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and many others, mostly in performance. Many of these photographs show Condon's nightclubs, as well as Nick's Tavern and, later, Condon and his bands at Town Hall or on tour. The photographs also reveal Condon's home and family life with his wife and children, and informal images with friends such as Johnny Mercer and Bing Crosby.

Series II: Letters contains items mostly to or from Condon, and includes missives from John Steinbeck, Bing Crosby, and Gene Krupa. Condon's letters discuss musicians, touring life, and his family. Also present are letters from friends or fans to Phyllis and Maggie Condon, most dating from after Eddie Condon's death. One letter to Maggie Condon includes a transcribed 1945 letter from Louis Armstrong to a fan.

Series III: Writings consists of Condon's column "Pro and Condon," and essays published in newspapers, magazines, or his books; some manuscripts may be unpublished. Condon wrote about popular music, the nightclub scene in New York City, and events in his career. Writings by Phyllis Condon, the producer George Avakian, and Richard Gehman are present as well.

Series IV: Professional Files illustrates the many aspects of Condon's career through programs, phonebooks, publicity literature, itineraries, clippings, awards, and memorabilia from Condon's clubs. They also include a file of scripts and proposals regarding television programs on which he appeared.

Series V: Funeral Files includes photos and clippings from Condon's memorial service, as well as letters of condolence to his family.

Series VI: Art contains sketches of Condon by cartoonists such as Ham Fisher, James Montgomery Flagg, and Paul Smith, as well as drawings by Condon's friend, the lyricist John De Vries.

The Eddie Condon papers are arranged in six series:

  • Series I: Photographs

    The photographs offer a rich and detailed view of Condon's work and the musicians and friends he performed with regularly for decades. To a lesser extent, they also show his family life.

    Musicians recurring throughout the photographs include Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman, Wild Bill Davison, George Wettling, Joe Bushkin, Joe Marsala, Bobby Hackett, Brad Gowans, Miff Mole, Max Kaminsky, and Cutty Cutshall. Other musicians who appear with lesser frequency include Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Hot Lips Page, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Sidney Bechet, Henry "Red" Allen, Lee Wiley, Edmond Hall, and Jack Teagarden.

    The photographs are in two divisions: those taken by Charles Peterson, and those taken by other photographers.

    Charles Peterson's son, Don, gave this collection of his father's prints to Condon's daughter, Maggie, in 2010. Most feature Condon in performance or informal settings. They document a 1939 jam session at the studio of Burris Jenkins, a cartoonist for Hearst Newspapers; Nick's Tavern and Condon's first club, both in Greenwich Village; and recording sessions for Commodore Records, as well as the Commodore Record Shop. Also present are photos from jam sessions held at the Park Lane Hotel.

    Some of Peterson's most famous images were shot at the Jenkins jam session; these feature Condon, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Ivie Anderson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Rex Stewart, Johnny Hodges, Cozy Cole, and other musicians. A list of the Peterson photographs, with notes by Don Peterson, is in box 2, folder 1.

    The other photographs in this series are mostly uncredited, but include work by William Gottlieb, Lisette Model, Martha Holmes, and Tony Rollo. They are in five divisions: Musicians and Friends; Eddie Condon's (club); the television program Eddie Condon's Floor Show; Portraits of Condon; and Family.

    Photographs of Musicians and Friends include pianist James P. Johnson performing with Condon; Condon with the lyricist Johnny Mercer; images of Condon and friends performing at Nick's Tavern; and a 1956 Columbia Records recording session with producer George Avakian. Also present in this set (in folders dated 1912 to the late 1960s) are images of Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, John Steinbeck, violinist Joseph Szigeti, artist Misha Reznikoff, and conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. See notes in the container list for more detailed descriptions of these photographs.

    The photographs of Condon's clubs are arranged in sections for each of its two locations during Condon's life: 47 West Third Street and 330 West 56th Street, in addition to one set of prints for which the location is undetermined. These were mainly produced by an uncredited club photographer and feature both musicians and patrons. Those taken at the Third Street location feature Sidney Bechet and Art Hodes, among other musicians, and document the actor Kirk Douglas's visit to the club during the production of the film Young Man With A Horn (1950).

    The photographs from the set of Eddie Condon's Floor Show include Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet.

    Portraits of Condon date from his teens to late in his life. They include both formal publicity shots and informal performance images.

    The family photographs are in two sections: one of Condon with his immediate family (wife Phyllis and daughters Maggie and Eliza), and his extended family, some of which dates to the late 19th century. Some photographs of Phyllis Condon date from after her husband's death, and include informal shots of her visit to the jazz party held on the lawn of the White House in 1978.

  • Series II: Letters
    1937-1983, 2008

    These letters are primarily to or from Condon, but also include letters to Phyllis Condon, and a few letters between other parties. There is no ongoing correspondence present.

    Condon's outgoing letters are primarily to his wife and children; they include handwritten notes left for his wife in his home. Condon's letters were often written while on tour and usually concern family matters, though there is also discussion of musicians and touring life. Also present are notes to Johnny Mercer and others, including Henry Steig (a writer, and the brother of William Steig) and Richard Nixon (following Condon's performance at the White House).

    The incoming letters to Condon include two from John Steinbeck, a fan and friend of Condon. Both letters are reproductions of the originals. One is written to the entire Condon family, and one to Condon alone. They discuss Steinbeck's thoughts on music and jazz musicians, and his reactions to Condon's book We Called It Music. Other letters to Condon are from Bing Crosby (the godfather of Condon's children), Gene Krupa, and pianist Squirrel Ashcraft.

    Letters to Phyllis Condon date up to 1983. They are from Bing Crosby and film director Jack O'Connell, among others.

    Letters between others include one dated 2008 to Maggie Condon from a fan named Robert H. Nutt, in which a transcribed 1945 letter from Louis Armstrong is enclosed. Also present are letters from producer Hank O'Neal to record companies regarding Eddie Condon recordings.

  • Series III: Writings
    1942-1973, 1998

    Condon's writings, in the form of typed manuscripts and clippings, comprise the majority of this series. They include his "Pro and Condon" columns for The New York Journal American, which discussed the music and nightclub scene in New York City; and articles or essays written for publication in magazines, or in his books. Some may be unpublished. Topics include the state of jazz; recordings; John Steinbeck; musicians such as Red Norvo and Pee Wee Russell; a review of a book by Mezz Mezzrow; Elvis Presley; and Condon's experience performing with symphony orchestras. Some essays appeared in various newspapers and exist only as clippings. Several unfinished or fragmentary manuscripts are present as well.

    The series also holds writings by George Avakian, Phyllis Condon, and Richard Gehman, who edited Eddie Condon's Treasury of Jazz. Avakian's writing includes typed program notes and essays, including an account of the production of Chicago Jazz for Decca Records (1940), which featured Condon. The Phyllis Condon essays describe the life of their family, as well as the Condon club. Gehman's single essay is a memoir of Condon, written in the late 1960s.

  • Series IV: Professional Files
    1935-1975

    This series documents Condon's professional life through programs, publicity literature, itineraries, clippings, awards, and memorabilia from Condon's clubs. In addition, there are files regarding television programs on which Condon appeared; two of Condon's phone books, which provide a deep look at his personal and professional network; published sheet music for two songs, one co-written by Condon; and a partial script for an unproduced stage adaptation of Dorothy Baker's novel Young Man With A Horn.

    The files for Condon's clubs hold menus, cards describing upcoming events, matchbooks, and stationary. The programs date from the mid-1930s to the end of Condon's life, and document appearances at Town Hall in New York and on tour around the world. Publicity material dates mainly from 1946. The television programs file contains scripts or proposals for Eddie Condon's Floorshow, as well as for unproduced programs. The clippings contain articles about Condon, his club, or his family.

  • Series V: Funeral Files
    1958, 1973

    Contains photographs of the funeral (featuring Gene Krupa, Earl Hines, Marian McPartland, and Buck Clayton), the guest register, letters of condolence to the Condon family, Condon's will, and obituaries.

  • Series VI: Art
    1903, 1944-1973

    The art consists mainly of informal sketches of Condon by artists or cartoonists, some of whom were friends of the Condons. These include Ham Fisher, James Montgomery Flagg, Paul Smith, and Otto Soglow. Also present are ink drawings by lyricist John De Vries, a reproduction of Al Hirschfeld's caricature of Condon, and reproductions of abstract paintings by drummer George Wettling.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The collection was created by Eddie Condon, and contributed to by his wife, Phyllis, and daughter, Maggie.

Source of acquisition

Donated by Maggie Condon in 2018.

Processing information

Processed by Matthew Snyder, 2018.

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor