My dad had told me he had a dance band when he was a senior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Some years ago I found the picture above of the band I'm quite sure he was in from his junior year - he's sitting at the piano on the right. He was a junior in 1938 and 1939.
I was going through a scrapbook my father had put together somewhat later with photos of his own band.
Dad not only had pictures of his orchestra but wrote useful information. He was at the piano at Carleton's Great Hall - I'm not sure what building that hall is in - and went by the name of Freddie Leighton then, Frederick Leighton by the time I showed up after World War II. This shot would have been in early 1940, the 1939-1940 winter.
I figure that dance number one would have been in later 1939 since dad is directing the orchestra.
It's clear that dad got much farther into the popular music of his day than I'd realized. By my time in the 1950s he would practice the piano only occasionally and not in organized groups. This does explain his love of big bands, the hot music of his day. And like many kids, I now recognize another area where I really didn't know my dad very well. It looks like he had great fun, maybe explaining why he smiled so much when he played the piano. His band days ended as far as I can tell when he graduated in June of 1940.
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