Tiny Bradshaw
Myron (Tiny) Bradshaw (
1905 –
1958) was an
American jazz and
rhythm and blues bandleader,
singer,
pianist, and
drummer from
Youngstown, Ohio. After graduating from
Wilberforce University in
psychology, he turned to music for a living. He sang with Horace Henderson, drummed for Marion Hardy, the Savoy Bearcats, and the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, and sang for
Luis Russell. In
1934 he formed his own
swing orchestra, which recorded eight sides that year. The band's next recording date was in
1944, when its music was closer to
rhythm and blues. The band recorded extensively for the rhythm and blues market, especially between
1950 and
1954. Bradshaw's best known recording was "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (
1951) which passed from rhythm and blues into
rock.
Bradshaw employed many important musicians and arrangers, including Shad Collins, Gil Fuller, Gigi Gryce, Russell Procope, Red Prysock, Sonny Stitt, and Shadow Wilson.