Talk:Cozy Cole

Cozy Cole, born William Randolph Cole, October 17, 1909, East Orange, NJ. First recordings 1930 with Jelly Roll Morton. Sideman in big bands of Wilbur Sweatman, Blanche Calloway, Cab Calloway (c.1939-41). Recorded with Billie Holiday in a group led by Teddy Wilson. Although not a bop drummer, Cole was a participant in one of the most influential and important early bebop recording sessions, the 1945-46 Musicraft recording sessions led by Dizzy Gillespie (Cole's former Cab Calloway bandmate)and Charlie Parker. Succeeded Sid Catlett in Louis Armstrong's small group.

    As a recording artist, as both sideman and leader, Cole's ubiquity during the late 1930s and 1940s was analogous to that of Billy Higgins in the 1960s and 70s.
    Cozy Cole's 1958 hit record of Topsy II heightened recognition of his name and facilitated his popularity as the leader of a small combo that frequently played New York's Metropole and other clubs.
    Cozy Cole was cited as an influence by such leading modern jazz drummers as Max Roach and Art Blakey, and by Philly Joe Jones, who studied formally, albeit briefly, with Cole, as Jones recalls in the chapter devoted to him in Art Taylor's Italic text Notes and Tones.

When I encountered the article all this info was pasted at the bottom and poorly formated. David Bergan 21:15, 22 June 2006 (UTC)Reply

According to the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, it was 'Topsy II' that reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The B Side, 'Topsy I', is listed as the 2nd hit and reached #27.

These two were followed by a 3rd hit 'Turvy II', which reached #36, also on the Love label. All three hits reached their peak positions in 1958. Those are the Top 40 appearances for Cozy Cole.

GaryZ45RPM (talk) 15:06, 28 July 2012 (UTC)Reply