Chick Webb & His Orchestra with Vocal Chorus - Blues In My Heart, Brunswick 1931NOTE: William Henry ("Chick") WEBB (b.1905 in Baltimore, MD -- d.1939) American jazz bandleader and drummer. From childhood, he suffered from tuberculosis of the spine leaving him with short stature and a badly deformed spine. He supported himself as a newspaper boy to save enough money to buy drums, and first played professionally at age 11.At the age of 17 he moved to New York City and by 1926, he was leading his own band in Harlem. He alternated between band tours and residencies at New York City clubs through the late 1920s. In 1931, his band became the house band at the Savoy Ballroom. He became one of the best-regarded bandleaders and drummers of the new "Swing" style. Drumming legend Buddy Rich cited Webb's powerful technique and virtuoso performances as heavily influential on his own drumming, and referred to Webb as "the daddy of them all". The Savoy often featured "Battle of the Bands" where Webb's band would compete with other top bands (such as the Benny Goodman Orchestra or the Count Basie Orchestra) from opposing bandstands. By the end of the night's battles the dancers seemed always to have voted Chick's band as the best. As a result Webb was deemed the most worthy recipient to be crowned the first "King of Swing." Of note that he lost to Duke Ellington in 1937, and tied with Count Basie in 1938. Webb married Martha Loretta Ferguson (also known as "Sallye"), and in 1935 he began featuring a teenaged Ella Fitzgerald as vocalist. In November 1938, Webb's health began to decline, although for a time he continued to play, refusing to give up touring and disregarding his own discomfort and fatigue, which often found him passing out from physical exhaustion after finishing sets. Finally, he had a major operation at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1939. "Chick" Webb died on June 16, 1939, in Baltimore. Reportedly his last words were "I'm sorry, I've got to go." He was just 34 years old. After his death, Ella Fitzgerald led the Chick Webb band, until she left to focus on her solo career in 1942