Jon Dodson

Biography

Jon Dodson's association with The King's Men quartet was his primary profession, beginning in 1930. From 1934 to 1937 The King's Men ('Ken Darby', Arranger & Bass; Rad Robinson, Baritone; Jon Dodson, Lead Tenor; Bud Linn, Top Tenor) were a feature of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra on RCA records and the Kraft Music Hall. They subsequently appeared with many other orchestra leaders, including Rudy Vallee. They were heard, and sometimes seen, in many feature films, including Sweetie (1929) (My Sweeter than Sweet), Hollywood Party (1934) (Feelin' High), Let's Go Native (1930) (title song), Belle of the Nineties (1934) (Troubled Waters), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), Murder at the Vanities (1934), (Lovely One) and notably The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which they are the off screen voices for the Lollipop Guild. On screen they were remembered as the singing cowboys of the Hopalong Cassidy films. In the costume party scene of the film Honolulu (1939) the King's Men play the Marx Brothers (Dodson plays Chico). For a few years they were associated with the Music Department at Disney Studios, and are heard in Make Mine Music (1946) and Pinocchio (1940). The quartet was a regular featured on the long-running radio show "Fibber McGee & Molly." The King's Men group was the basis for the Ken Darby Singers, featured on John Charles Thomas' "Westinghouse Broadcasts" and on many Decca phonograph records, such as Bing Crosby's original recording of "White Christmas."