Frank Dailey

Big band and swing violinist and bandleader and owner of Meadowlark swing dance club in New Jersey.
Born 1901 in Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA. Died on February 27, 1956 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA (55 years old).

Dailey made his first broadcast over station WJZ, then located in Newark. In 1926, he was playing at the Knickerbocker Grill in New York. In April 1931, he and three of the original members of his orchestra bought the old Pavilion Royal in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and made it a home spot for the band, rechristening it "The Meadowbrook." His orchestra was then dubbed "Frank Dailey and his Meadowbrook Orchestra" and broadcast three to four times weekly over CBS networks.

Dailey was the figurehead of the Meadowlark. It became more famous than Dailey's orchestra as it became one of the hot spots in the country to play at and be at. It was one of the most important venues for dance bands throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Many big-name acts played there including Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra, Mal Hallett, Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra, Red Norvo, Isham Jones, Little Jack Little, and others. Many recorded at the Meadowbrook, and it was often attached to the title or releases such as "Jack Teagarden And His Orchestra Live at Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook".

In 1937, Frank and his orchestra made front-page headlines all over the country by changing their style: although his orchestra was then rated one of America's top swing groups, he switched to a "sweet" style which he christened 'Stop 'n' Go." Swing was at the height of its popularity, but Dailey believed he had created a new style in dance rhythms. Within six months, they were as popular for their new style as their old.