Andy Sannella

Andy Sannella (b. Indiana, March 11, 1900 – New York, December 10, 1962) – Bandleader and multi-instrumentalist (violin, piano, organ, clarinet, alto saxophone, guitar, banjo, and vibraphone), vocalist, conductor, and composer. – Indiana native Andy Sannella studied violin and guitar at age ten. After serving in the U.S. Navy during WW I, he played violin and alto saxophone in various bands in Panama City from 1920 to 1922. After moving to New York in 1923, he joined other bands and made his first recordings with the Ray Miller Band. Starting in the mid to late 1920s, Sannella recorded prolifically as a studio musician and played with house bands for Victor Records, Columbia Records, Banner Records, Hit of the Week Records, and the Grey Gull Company of Boston. Sannella also made a number of records in his own name – especially with the Grey Gull Company of Boston. He became so well known that the Selmer Company used his pictures in as an advertising hook. In return, Sannella composed “Valse Selmer” to help market Selmer’s saxophones. Starting in 1932, he worked in mainly televison and radio and at one time conducted an orchestra for a show sponsored by Whitmann’s Chocolate Company. During the 1940s, he supplemented his radio and TV work with conducting Broadway shows.