Dick Henry Jurgens (name at birth: Dietrich Heinrich Jurgens Jr.; born January 9, 1910 in Sacramento, California; died October 5, 1995) was an American swing jazz bandleader.
Dick Jurgens was born in Sacramento, the son of Dietrich Heinrich Jurgens and Clara Matilda (Erath) Jurgens. He initially played in an orchestra at high school. In 1928, he founded his first own band while he was still a student. His brother Will Jurgens, who later became his manager, was also a member. Jurgens studied at the University of Berkeley and at Sacramento Junior College before accepting an engagement with his orchestra at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco in 1933. The following year, Decca Records signed him and he recorded numerous records for the label between 1934 and 1940. Jurgens' singer during this time was Eddy Howard. Jurgens played at venues including the Casino Ballroom on Santa Catalina Island, the Elitch Gardens in Denver, the Aragon Ballroom and the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago. In 1938, he recorded for Vocalion Records and from 1940 for Okeh Records; his first hit on the US Your Hit Parade was "It's a Hundred to One You're in Love with Me" in 1939; the following year the title "In an Old Dutch Garden" was a big hit.
Glenn Miller often recorded versions of Dick Jurgens' songs, which were often more successful than the originals, such as the song "Careless". After singer Howard Jurgens left the band in 1940, Harry Cool became the lead singer. Jurgens recorded further hits around 1940, such as "A Million Dreams Ago" and the instrumental "Elmer's Tune", which Glenn Miller eventually turned into a number one hit in a vocal version. Other late hits included "The Bells of San Raquel" and "Happy in Love" (which was released on Columbia Records). His biggest hit in 1942 was "One Dozen Roses," with Buddy Moreno on vocals; the song hit #1 on the charts that summer.
At the end of 1942, Jurgens disbanded his band as a result of the American Federation of Musicians' record strike. He then did his military service in the Marines from 1942 to 1945 and directed theater shows in troop support. He revived his band in 1946 and recorded albums for Columbia and Mercury until the 1950s. In 1948, he had his own radio show on CBS; in the same year he married Miriam Davidson. Jurgens kept his formation together until 1956, when the swing style finally became unpopular. He then moved to Colorado Springs and founded an electrical business with his brother. He still played occasionally at the Broadmoor Country Club in Colorado Springs, then moved to California in 1965, where he performed again. He put together a new band in the 1960s and performed until 1976. He lived his last years in Sacramento; he sold the rights to the name of his ensemble to Don Ring in 1986.
His music from the 1930s and 1940s was released by Hindsight Records in the series ''The Uncollected''.
Note: Translated from a German version of Wikipedia into English.
