Explore Bix Beiderbecke's biography, personal life, family and cause of death. For the full story, Bix: Man & Legend is a remarkably detailed book. Was someone out to get Bix? 73, citing Oakdale Memorial Gardens, Davenport, Scott County, Iowa, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave . Enter a valid email address and a feedback message. About Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone, with such clarity of sound that one contemporary famously described it like "shooting bullets at a bell". And yet nowhere does Spencer—an actual medical authority—suggest that Beiderbecke's symptoms were inconsistent with alcoholism. Nevertheless, in the winter 2013 issue of the Journal of Jazz Studies, he published the article "Was Bix Beiderbecke Poisoned by the Federal Government?" We have a volunteer within ten miles of your requested photo location. Bix at 1600 Broadway. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Bix Beiderbecke I found on Findagrave.com. Failed to delete memorial. [1] I do think this is important context for understanding Bix Beiderbecke's health and early death. Bix’s hand-written letters to home begin in his pre-teens and end with a scribbled, unfinished note on July 30, 1931, a week before his death on Aug. 6. Creating a fictionalised version of that meeting, Robert Forrest's play explores the heart and mind of Bix Beiderbecke and his … 1G, 43-30 46th Street, in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, on August 6, 1931. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. He also played the piano, but he had more success playing the cornet with a very personal style. Make sure that the file is a photo. He played cornet and piano and was a composer. His mother was an organ player for her neighborhood’s Presbyterian Church, and she taught her son how to play the piano when he was only two years old. This account has been disabled. Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet player. They then sold it to customers despite the fact that the poison was not always completely gone. It is said that violent alcohol consumption played a factor in his death. He was born to parents Bismark Herman and Agatha Jane Hilton Beiderbecke. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). For help using the website visit our help page or contact support@findagrave.com. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. The week had been stiflingly hot, making sleep difficult. We were unable to submit your feedback at this time. In it, he refers to a breakdown that preceded Beiderbecke's stint in rehab, writing: It seems all too obvious that Beiderbecke's near fatal attack resulted not from prolonged use of alcohol, but rather sudden and acute poisoning caused by substances of far greater toxicity. Oops, we were unable to send the email. It was possible because he was not imbibing the high-quality liquor available to us today. Sandke, of course, is a wonderful horn player in the Beiderbecke style. To add a flower, click the “Leave a Flower” button. Try again later. 1975 BBC television documentary featuring interview with Richard Sudhalter and Tom Cash. Verify and try again. based on information from your browser. Sorry! As a boy, Bix Beiderbecke had a few piano lessons, but he was self-taught on cornet and developed an unorthodox technique by playing along with recordings. Reams of biographical prose, criticism, hearsay, and speculation have been written about Bix in the years since his death in 1931. Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer.. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical approach and purity of tone. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to feedback@findagrave.com and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Also an additional 2 volunteers within fifty miles. People purchased drinks at their own risk. Blom's own book doesn't say who accused the government of murder, but it strikes me as hyperbole. Failed to report flower. After Beiderbecke had arrived and been examined, the doctor wrote to inform his mother that her son suffered from a loss of appetite, diarrhea, heart palpitations, dizziness, neuritis in the feet, an enlarged liver, balancing problems, and a tremor in his fingers. The British jazz critic Stuart Nicholson caught my attention the other day when he provocatively suggested that Bix Beiderbecke may have been murdered. From their time of birth, no two people could have seemed less likely to cross paths than Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong. Try again later. Once the made-for-drinking alcohol ran out, bootleggers began "renaturing" the industrial stuff, a process that attempted to remove the poison. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Beiderbecke had a breakdown, made a comeback, and then in September 1929 was reluctantly sent back to Davenport to recover. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Failed to remove flower. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Bix Beiderbecke, Soundtrack: Magic in the Moonlight. Richard Bix Beiderbecke, 73, of Jacksonville, Illinois passed away peacefully Sunday afternoon, Sept. 5, 2004 at Passavant Hospital in Jacksonville after a … Biography - A Short Wiki. Denatured alcohol—not alcohol addiction—is what killed Beiderbecke, Nicholson writes. Bix Beiderbecke was one of the great jazz musicians of the 1920’s; he was also a child of the Jazz Age who drank himself to an early grave with illegal Prohibition liquor.. His hard drinking and beautiful tone on the cornet made him a legend among musicians during his life. Datasets available include LCSH, BIBFRAME, LC Name Authorities, LC Classification, MARC codes, PREMIS vocabularies, ISO language codes, and … or don't show this again—I am good at figuring things out. Girlfriend: Vera Cox (dated in high school) High School: Davenport High School, Davenport, IA High School: Lake Forest Academy, Chicago, IL (expelled May 1922) Big … An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? I think it's clear that Beiderbecke was an addict. Year should not be greater than current year. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. We have 2 volunteers within ten miles of your requested photo location. Please select a county or city to continue. Unfortunately, Beiderbecke made a few sad records in 1930 before his death at age 28. Please try again later. It must have been something else, something more. This is the crucial premise of Sandke's—and Nicholson's—argument. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Beiderbecke's health problems could not have been caused simply by drinking a lot. Beiderbecke died in his apartment, No. GREAT NEWS! He also played the piano, but he had more success playing the cornet with a very personal style. Bix Beiderbecke is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community.Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. A system error has occurred. Drag images here or select from your computer for Bix Beiderbecke memorial. It was widely believed, for many years, that Beiderbecke's real name was Leon Bismark Beiderbecke. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Thanks for your help! Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong met on several occasions but only ever played together once - in a private, after-hours session. Denaturing alcohol was dangerous for the government to do under these circumstances, and it may have been bad policy and even constituted a public health crisis, but it was hardly a secret. ", "Alcohol," Spencer writes, "was the 'poison' in Beiderbecke's system.". Beiderbecke was twenty-eight when he died and by nearly all accounts he was an alcoholic. Bix Beiderbecke was the first talented white jazz cornet player. Bootleggers distributed that alcohol, and they did so despite the government's repeated warnings that it was poisoned. The sparse facts and myriad stories attendant to his 28-year span all but ensured his legendary status. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Dr. Spencer quotes a letter from Beiderbecke to his friend Frank Trumbauer in which Bix complains of how "the poison in my system has settled in my knees and legs. Following Sandke's lead, he reminds his readers that during Prohibition, the government poisoned, or "denatured," any alcohol manufactured for industrial use in order to prevent it from being consumed as a beverage. Coming from radically different backgrounds, both musicians drew upon their influences to make music that revolutionized jazz, creating two separate legacies interwoven among each other in the peak of jazz popularity. I wondered. There have been no female biographers of Bix Beiderbecke and even my book is … This is how they made their money, by taking advantage of people like Bix who needed the drink. Whether such a condition contributed to his musical talent is never really elaborated on, however, it is known that it led to his untimely demise at such a young age … 5 Musicians killed by alcohol Alcoholism is a disease that affects over 140 million people worldwide. BIX BEIDERBECKE RESOURCES A BIXOGRAPHY Bix in 1924 in Cincinnati, Ohio. If you have questions, please contact support@findagrave.com. Illustration by Gary Price. Add to your scrapbook. After this he played in the Charlie Straight orchestra in 1925, with Jean Goldkette in 1926-27 and in the … He also wrote a few piano pieces. Hart explained that the Museum and the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society are separate operations with separate but interlocking boards. Bix Beiderbecke, in full Leon Bismark Beiderbecke, (born March 10, 1903, Davenport, Iowa, U.S.—died August 6, 1931, Long Island, New York), American jazz cornetist who was an outstanding improviser and composer of the 1920s and whose style is characterized by lyricism and purity of tone. It is now known that this — like so many other myths about Beiderbecke — is untrue. We have a volunteer within fifty miles of your requested photo location. In a footnote he argues that Bix was not suffering from the DTs when he had his breakdown. "Was Bix Beiderbecke Poisoned by the Federal Government? Bix Beiderbecke was the first talented white jazz cornet player. Discover the real story, facts, and details of Bix Beiderbecke. Please contact Find a Grave at support@findagrave.com if you need help resetting your password. Bix Beiderbecke. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. If a new volunteer signs up in your requested photo location, they may see your existing request and take the photo. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. It was there that Bix Beiderbecke died alone on August 6, 1931, at the age of 28. Did he have enemies I didn't know about? Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke, född 10 mars 1903 i Davenport, Iowa, död 6 augusti 1931 i Sunnyside, Queens, New York, var en amerikansk jazz kornettist och kompositör. Beiderbecke föddes i en strikt medelklassfamilj av tyskt ursprung. But does it mean that Bix was murdered? Try again later. We’ve updated the security on the site. To suggest a correction or addition, visit the memorial page and click Suggest Edits. As it happens, Dr. Frederick J. Spencer, whose book Jazz and Death: Medical Profiles of Jazz Greats presents a physician's take on the same evidence, also argues that this incident did not involve a case of the DTs. Plese check the I'm not a robot checkbox.'. His first recordings were with "The Wolverines" in 1924. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Bix had engagements in the ballroom at 1600 Broadway, New York on two occasions. Citing the musician Randy Sandke, he asserts that Beiderbecke's symptoms were "hardly consistent with prolonged use of alcohol, [but] rather a sudden and acute poisoning—but with what?". And I think it shines a light on the way innocent people were caught up in the middle of a battle between the government and bootleggers. This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on November 29, 2011. Resend Activation Email. In September of 1929—almost two years before the end—he was admitted to the Keeley Institute, in Dwight, Illinois, the nation's premier alcohol rehabilitation facility. In September of 1929—almost two years before the end—he was admitted to the Keeley Institute, in Dwight, Illinois, the nation's premier alcohol rehabilitation facility. Did he have enemies I didn't know about? Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. This site is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of information about Bix Beiderbecke, the musical genius from Davenport, Iowa. With Louis Armstrong and Muggsy Spanier, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Unfortunately, Beiderbecke also happened to suffer from a considerable case of alcoholism, this led him to go from one band to another and eventually resulted in his death when he was 28 years old. His real name was Leon Bix Beiderbecke. Please reset your password. The records of his stay can still be found, of all places, at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Place the pin on the map to plot a location. Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. This strikes me as not a very useful point. * Riverside RLP 12-127 Bix Beiderbecke, Wingy Manone, Muggsy Spanier - On The Road Jazz * Riverside (Du) RM 8810 The Legendary Bix Beiderbecke 1924-1925 * Milestone M-47019 Bix Beiderbecke And The Chicago Cornets * Gennett 5654; Session 6 Bix Beiderbecke - Toddlin' Blues / Davenport Blues * Brunswick 02501 Wolverine Orchestra - Oh Baby / Bix Beiderbecke … Are a real person or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and speculation have been caused by... Lowercase letters, and composer who made a few sad records in 1930 his... 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