Full Text of HR0169 96th General Assembly
HR0169 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of
Louie | 4 |
| Bellson, who passed away on February 14, 2009; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson was born Luigi Paulino Alfredo | 6 |
| Francesco Antonio Balassoni in Rock Falls on July 6, 1924; his | 7 |
| father owned a music store, and he began playing drums at the | 8 |
| age of three; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson was a considerably talented drummer | 10 |
| by his teenage years; at the age of 17, he was picked by | 11 |
| popular drummer Gene Krupa as the winner of the Slingerland | 12 |
| National Gene Krupa contest, beating out thousands of other | 13 |
| young competitors; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson continued ascending through the | 15 |
| rank of the music industry as an adult; in the early 1950s, he | 16 |
| began performing in Duke Ellington's band, where he was often | 17 |
| granted a long drum feature, which he attacked with relish and | 18 |
| poise; he also wrote compositions like "The Hawk Talks" and | 19 |
| "Skin Deep" that were regularly performed by the band; in 1965, | 20 |
| he participated in Ellington's first Sacred Concert; he always | 21 |
| proudly maintained that Duke Ellington had called him the | 22 |
| world's greatest drummer; and
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| WHEREAS, Prior to joining Ellington's band, Louie Bellson | 2 |
| performed with the orchestras of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, | 3 |
| and Harry James; he later worked briefly with Count Basie and | 4 |
| Ella Fitzgerald; he also appeared in combos with all-stars like | 5 |
| the trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, the alto | 6 |
| saxophonist Benny Carter, and the pianists Art Tatum and Oscar | 7 |
| Peterson during his regular stints on Norman Granz's Jazz at | 8 |
| the Philharmonic tours in the 1950s; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson led numerous bands of his own for | 10 |
| many decades, leading small groups as well as ensembles, | 11 |
| including the Big Band Explosion; in 1969, his band was chosen | 12 |
| to back James Brown on "Soul on Top"; he created his own label, | 13 |
| Percussion Power, on which he released "The Sacred Music of | 14 |
| Louie Bellson & the Jazz Ballet," which included a big band, | 15 |
| strings, and a choir, in 2006; his most recent album, "Louie & | 16 |
| Clark Expedition 2", was released in 2008; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson gained a reputation throughout the | 18 |
| music world as a dynamic, spectacular soloist known for his use | 19 |
| of two bass drums, a technique he pioneered as a teenager; he | 20 |
| was also known for his attentiveness and precision, which made | 21 |
| him a highly successful sideman, and his subtlety; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson was a prolific composer, who |
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| performed and recorded a number of his own pieces; he sometimes | 2 |
| branched beyond swing music to compose orchestral and choral | 3 |
| work; in his later years, he was a tireless educator and | 4 |
| clinician who nurtured generations of young musicians, | 5 |
| particularly fellow drummers; and
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| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson was the recipient of numerous honors | 7 |
| for his work, including a Jazz Masters Award from the National | 8 |
| Endowment for the Arts and a Living Jazz Legend Award from the | 9 |
| John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he was also | 10 |
| designated an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend by the American Society | 11 |
| of Composers, Authors and Publishers; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1952, Louie Bellson married hit singer and | 13 |
| actress Pearl Bailey; shortly after their marriage, he became | 14 |
| her bandleader; Ms. Bailey passed away in 1990; he is survived | 15 |
| by Francine Bellson, his second wife and manager; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Louie Bellson will be remembered by all who knew | 17 |
| and loved him as a drummer without equal, whose kindness and | 18 |
| compassion to world leaders and ardent fans alike endeared to | 19 |
| everyone he met; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 22 |
| mourn, along with his family, friends, and countless fans, the |
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| passing of Louie Bellson; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 3 |
| presented to the family of Louie Bellson as an expression of | 4 |
| our sympathy.
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