Music / Business & brands
Bill McKinney
1895–1969 · drummer, bandleader, band manager
Founder and manager of McKinney's Cotton Pickers, the Detroit-based Black big band that was one of the country's most popular from 1927 to 1931.
- Born
Cynthiana, Kentucky- Died
aged 74- Birth name
- William McKinney
- Also known as
- William McKinney
- Detroit years
- 1926–1950s
- Field
- Music, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
McKinney drummed in a circus band and served in the Army in the First World War before settling in Springfield, Ohio, where he took over the Synco Jazz Band. After hiring drummer Cuba Austin he stepped away from the drums to manage the group, which in 1926 won a residency at Detroit's Arcadia Ballroom. Jean Goldkette heard them and moved them to his Graystone Ballroom, where, renamed McKinney's Cotton Pickers, they became the house band and one of the most popular African American orchestras in the country. Under musical director Don Redman and arranger John Nesbitt they made a string of best-selling Victor records between 1928 and 1931, with players such as Todd Rhodes and, on some sessions, Coleman Hawkins and Fats Waller. The Depression broke up the band in 1934. McKinney led a Boston dance band for a time, then returned to Detroit, where from 1937 he managed a cafe with a dance floor and booked bands around the city. He retired in the 1950s to his hometown of Cynthiana.
Highlights
- Built the Synco Jazz Band into McKinney's Cotton Pickers
- Band became Goldkette's Graystone Ballroom house orchestra from 1927
- Best-selling Victor records, 1928–1931
- Managed a Detroit cafe and booked bands from 1937
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1927–1934
Graystone Ballroom
Demolished · 1922–1972
Goldkette's ballroom, where McKinney's Cotton Pickers became the house band; Black audiences could attend only on Monday nights.