Dizzy Gillespie, His Life.

On October 21,1917,John Birks Gillespie was born in Cheraw,South Carolina.He was the youngest of 14 childern.His father was a poor farmer and a skilled amateur musician.He played bass in his own band and owned all the instruments because most of the other players were so poor that they would sell the instruments for money to buy food if they had them.The town of Cheraw was primarily black town and was very poor.By the time John was 7,he was beginning to learn that no one
would take care of him,and that the world was harsh.John looked back on his father as a disciplinarian,others just reguarded him as mean.He would come home and beat his children every week for”what they must’ve done while he was
gone”.As a child,John became fascinated with misic and played trombone in
his band.One day his neighbor got a trumpet for christmas.He begged to try
it when it wasn’t in use.When he was 17,he had earned enough money from his job that he could move 50 miles north and live in a school dorm while he got an
eaducation.He missed his family,and was having a hard time.He had to be in
a club similar to 4h to pay tuition.He hated it.He was anxious to leave the
school and make a living on his own.When his sister got married,he heard
that her husband was moving them to New York city.He went with them to
find a job.His brother Wesley soon moved there as well,so he and John lived
in the same apartment.They shared expenses,but rarely saw each other.Wesley’s schedule was a normal one,but John’s often had him staggering home at 5:50 A.M.He was always searching for a permanent job,but all he could find were temp and fill-in jobs,which paid
very little..Meanwhile,he was barely getting by.
Since he was a child,his idol was a trumpet player named Roy Eldridge.John
was thrilled to meet and finally replace him in the Cab Calloway band.He
played 3rd trumpet,but was mainly an arranger for the band.Back then
,arrangers would often... [continues]

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