Lou Busch
Lou Busch was an American record producer, musician and songwriter, best known for performing, as a pianist under the pseudonym Joe "Fingers" Carr.
Biography
Busch was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky during the ragtime and early jazz age. He quickly showed an aptitude for music, and by age 12 was already leading a ragtime and jazz band, Lou Bush and His Tickle Toe Four.At 16, he left school and home for a career as a professional musician, playing with the likes of Henry Busse, Clyde McCoy, and George Olsen. After a few years on the road, his desire to learn more about music theory led him to study at the Cincinnati Music Conservatory in Ohio in the early 1930s.
Following his musical-education break, Busch became the pianist for Hal Kemp's "sweet music" band for the remainder of the 1930s. He also honed his arranging skills, and was offered an arranging position when arranger John Scott Trotter left the band in 1936. He shared the position with another key arranger, Hal Mooney; it was invaluable experience for them both. After Kemp died in a car crash in 1940 and the group disbanded, Busch and Mooney made their way to California to work as studio musicians and on whatever other gigs they could find. This was interrupted by World War II, where Busch spent three years in the Army.
Capitol Records
After his tour of duty, Busch returned to the music business. It was around this time that singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer was recruiting artists and employees for his recently formed label, Capitol Records, and Busch was hired for the radio transcription service in 1946. He was in charge of production of promotional radio shows featuring Capitol artists for distribution to stations around the country. By 1949 he had been promoted to A&R man.One summer, Busch played piano for singer Jo Stafford and conductor Paul Weston on the hit record "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". The success encouraged both him and the label to release his own original single, "Ivory Rag", early in 1950. It was the first piece incorporated into the "Crazy Otto Medley" by German pianist Fritz Schulz-Reichel, which was later associated with Johnny Maddox in the U.S. In 1962, he formed Burning Bush Music ASCAP.
His biggest hits from the 1950s include "Portuguese Washerwomen", "Sam's Song", a cover of Del Wood's version of "Down Yonder", and Bert Kaempfert's international hit "Zambesi". Some of the singles include his vocal backup group, the Carr Hops. Often overlooked are several mainstream and jazz sides he recorded as Lou Busch, featuring exciting band or orchestral arrangements.