Who was Dick?

[Dmitry]

A sizeable collection of promotional photographs of jazz musicians and vocalists is being sold on eBay. All are signed to someone named DICK, but without the last name on all of the ones I cared to check.  I am surmising that Dick didn't want his last name to be written on photos. Many are signed in red ink.

The oldest photos date to the late 1940s, for instance Mel Torme on Musicraft. Some are from the 1960s, but the majority are from the 1970s, a few the late 1980s, and one or two from the 1990s. One of the latest is Lou Donaldson, dated 10-27-1997.

These are the ones that sold. I bought one, with what I think is a rather tongue in cheek dedication.  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&_udlo=&_udhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=02806-4833&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_fss=1&_fsradio=%26LH_SpecificSeller%3D1&_saslop=1&_sasl=ridellgrove13&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&_fosrp=1

Here are the current offerings.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw&_sacat=0&_udlo&_udhi&_samilow&_samihi&_sadis=15&_stpos=02806-4833&_fss=1&_fsradio=%26LH_SpecificSeller%3D1&_saslop=1&_sasl=ridellgrove13&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=200&_fosrp=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Who was Dick? An agent, an entertainment lawyer? I contacted the seller via eBay, but he does not appear to want to disclose the identity of the old Dick.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Any personalized autograph I've ever gotten never included my last name. Does anyone personalizing autographs do that?

[JSngry]

Dick was, Dick is, and Dick shall be. Many names has he, but Dick is forever.

[mhatta]

I have no proof, but it might be him.

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/20/arts/dick-gibson-jazz-producer-and-fan-72.html

[Dmitry]

Surely, DIck could've been solely a fan. I don't see any inscriptions that are too personal, like "Dick, thank you for the great plumbing job", "Dick, best wishes with your hernia operation", or "Dick, let's get together and blow". Was it a custom for musicians to carry their photographs to gigs? Red ink on the majority of the photos could mean that Dick carried a red marker or a red pen to get autographs.

The seller says he doesn't know Dick's identity. In other words, he doesn't know Dick.

[JSngry]

Maybe it's Dick Van Dyke. Trane did one of his tunes, ya'know.

[Chuck Nessa]

12 minutes ago, mhatta said:

I have no proof, but it might be him.

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/20/arts/dick-gibson-jazz-producer-and-fan-72.html

This makes sense.

[JSngry]

The seller name is ridellgrove13

you can google "Dick Ridell" and get some hits, relevant or not I can't tell.

and of course there's Dick Grove, don't even try to sleuth into that one.

Dick Gibson works too, especially with the collection.

 

[jlhoots]

Just make sure that whoever is signing for you writes their last name. If you have a signature from William Faulkner, you better be sure it doesn't just say - "Best Wishes from Bill".

[Dmitry]

Lads, can you copy-past the obituary here? I get the NYT pop-up, blocking the article. Thanks!

FWIW, the seller is located in Oak Park, Illinois.

NB: Got it!

Dick Gibson, Jazz Producer And Fan, 72By Peter Watrous

• June 20, 1998

Dick Gibson, a longtime jazz aficionado and the producer of what he called an annual jazz party in Colorado, died at the Red Rocks Health Center hospice in Denver on Wednesday. He was 72 and lived in Denver.

The cause was complications from diabetes, said his son Robey.

Mr. Gibson ran his jazz party for some 30 years, starting in 1963, and usually during the Labor Day weekend. Each year, he took musicians he liked to towns in Colorado, including Vail, Aspen, Colorado Springs and Denver, along with critics and fans, and for three days different formations of musicians played.

Those events pulled together musicians who had not seen one another in years, and the spontaneous nature of the festivities created a casual sort of brilliance, where the musicians were playing for themselves and friends. The parties were also important because they were held during a period in which jazz had fallen out of favor in American culture. While Mr. Gibson strove to break even, bringing in up to 500 paying guests at a time, they were in a sense underground events, where the overlooked idiom of mainstream jazz had its yearly reunion in front of its fans. And out of each party inevitably came other parties, along with recording and club dates.

Mr. Gibson had a widely varied career. An expert on Oriental rugs and cloisonne, he also wrote fiction, worked as an investment banker and made a fortune by forming the Water Pik company, which he sold in 1967. He was also a jazz entrepreneur, having formed the World's Greatest Jazz Band in 1968. It included Bob Haggart on bass, Yank Lawson on trumpet, Bob Wilber on reeds, Ralph Sutton on piano and Gus Johnson on drums. On Tuesday evening at the Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, 68th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues, Mr. Gibson is to be celebrated by the JVC Jazz Festival, which will present ''The First Ever New York City Jazz Party: A Salute to Dick Gibson.'' In addition to his son Robey, he is survived by his wife, Maddie; two other sons, Richard Jr. and Joshua, and a daughter, Molly. A  version of this article appears in print on June 20, 1998, Section D, Page 16 of the National edition with the headline: Dick Gibson, Jazz Producer And Fan, 72. 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Dmitry

[Big Beat Steve]

2 hours ago, bresna said:

Any personalized autograph I've ever gotten never included my last name. Does anyone personalizing autographs do that?

It probably depends (among other criteria) on the celebrity status of the one to whom the item was signed. Example: I have a copy of Leon McAuliffe's (long-time steel guitarist with Bob Wills) "Cozy Inn" LP of 1962 (ABC-Paramount 394). It was signed by Leon as follows: "To a great artist and wonderful guy & a good friend - Joe Allison!"

(Don't ask me how it came to end up here - it went through the hands of at least one previous owner outside the US)

I also have a copy of Hugues Panassie's 1950 "Jazz Panorama" book that was signed by him and Madeleine Gautier to a recipient whose full name was given. His name did not ring a bell with Brownie when I asked him about the person so he may have been either just a (dedicated) fan or someone only involved locally  in the jazz scene (I bought the book at a small book fair near the Mediterranean coast in the Southwest of France).

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by Big Beat Steve

[Dmitry]

Dick Gibson's jazz parties were discussed here some years back. I'll watch the film this week.

 

3 hours ago, mhatta said:

I have no proof, but it might be him.

https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/20/arts/dick-gibson-jazz-producer-and-fan-72.html

Good work! How did you come to this?

[Ken Dryden]

Rarely has my name been personalized in an autograph, though it has happened, not necessarily by my request.

Two artists who did so were Oscar Peterson (whose beautiful penmanship matches that on some of his recording graphics)                      and Frank Zappa.

[mhatta]

11 hours ago, Dmitry said:

Good work! How did you come to this?

By some googling...

BTW, I am not so sure that Dick is Dick Gibson.  Some other possibilities are:

Dick LaPalm https://www.jazzwax.com/2013/10/dick-lapalm-1927-2013.html

Dick Buckley https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2010-07-22-ct-met-0723-dick-buckley-obit-20100722-story.html

Now I tend to think it might be Dick Buckley.

[Dmitry]

7 hours ago, mhatta said:

By some googling...

BTW, I am not so sure that Dick is Dick Gibson.  Some other possibilities are:

Dick LaPalm https://www.jazzwax.com/2013/10/dick-lapalm-1927-2013.html

Dick Buckley https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-xpm-2010-07-22-ct-met-0723-dick-buckley-obit-20100722-story.html

Now I tend to think it might be Dick Buckley.

Again, great sleuthing! Dick Buckley could very well be the recipient. His obituary states A funeral will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home, 203 S. Marion St., Oak Park. As mentioned previously, the eBay seller is also located in Oak Park. In my last correspondence with him, the  seller wrote that he bought the photo album from the family [ostnsibly in an estate sale], but doesn't know the name. Photographs are attached to album pages, and were at one time bound together, before the current seller took it apart to sell all the photos individually. 

Dick Buckley's record collection was auctioned off by the family shortly after his death in 2010.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703373404576148241934663356

Here's the 2011 Leslie Hindman Auction catalog. https://issuu.com/lesliehindman/docs/sale156_dickbuckleyjazz/5

I don't see a mention of the photo album, but there were several boxed lots containing books. Maybe it was in one of those boxes. 

8,000 LPs, 200 CDs...the man liked his records.

[Dmitry]

All the jazz stations you can name in the past 25 years that have gone down the drain, have not gone down because they were not making money. They were all making money, but somebody came along with the idea," We can make MORE money, if we follow the current thing, the pop thing of the day."

[Dmitry]

I bought this photo. Received it today.

 

 

[JSngry]

Johnny "Dick Keep Swinging" Griffin.

HOF, first-ballot. No argument allowed.

[Dmitry]

3 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Johnny "Dick Keep Swinging" Griffin.

HOF, first-ballot. No argument allowed.

Hilarious, isn't it?!

[JSngry]

totally keeping with what I can gleam about JG's personality. He was a great man, and a frisky one as well. Lived his life!

[Chuck Nessa]

Dick Buckley was a friend. He kept reminding me he was the first to play Ornette on the radio.

[Larry Kart]

Dick Buckley had a huge effect on my jazz youth, so to speak. From seventh grade on I'd listen to him almost every night, which broadened my tastes a great deal. Dick played good jazz from all eras.

[Chuck Nessa]

He was an important man in Chicago radio for a long time.

But occasionally referred to as Buck Dickley.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Chuck Nessa

[mhatta]

5 hours ago, JSngry said:

totally keeping with what I can gleam about JG's personality. He was a great man, and a frisky one as well. Lived his life!

I believe Mr. Griffin implied that double meaning.  He had acute senses of linguistics and humor.   I love one of his tunes "The JAMFs are coming" and when someone asked what JAMF is , JG replied "Oh, that means Just A Mere Friend".  Obviously, it really is Jive Ass Mother F...