# Bernie Cummins

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**Bernard Joseph Cummins** (March 14, 1900 – September 22, 1986) was an American [jazz drummer](/source/Jazz_drumming) and [bandleader](/source/Bandleader).

## Early years

Cummins was born on March 14, 1900,[1] in [Akron, Ohio](/source/Akron,_Ohio). In his youth, Cummins was a boxer, besides playing drums in local bands in Ohio.[citation needed] His parents, Mary and Michael J. Cummins, were Irish immigrants,[1] and his father was a leading temperance worker in Ohio.[2] He had eight siblings. He was a student at St. Vincent High School.[1]

## Orchestras

In 1919 he created a small ensemble of his own,[3] which debuted in Indiana and which grew gradually into a larger dance band after he moved to Cincinnati in 1923.[4]

Singers in the band included Dorothy Crane, Jerry Lang, Betty Griffin, Bernie's brother Walter Cummins and Scottee Marsh, who sang later with [Tommy Dorsey](/source/Tommy_Dorsey).

A female singing trio known as the Sophisticates was hired by Bernie in the mid-1930s out of Minneapolis Marshall High School about the time the [Andrews Sisters](/source/The_Andrews_Sisters) from Minneapolis North High School became popular. [Charlie Callas](/source/Charlie_Callas) and [Randy Brooks](/source/Randy_Brooks_(musician)) also played with the band, as did Tommy Dorsey for a time. Besides his activities as bandleader, Cummins was briefly also the manager of [The Wolverines](/source/The_Wolverines_(jazz_band)).

## Recordings

The Bernie Cummins Orchestra recorded frequently for such labels as [Brunswick](/source/Brunswick_Records), [Columbia](/source/Columbia_Records), [Victor](/source/RCA_Records), [Decca](/source/Decca_Records), [Gennett](/source/Gennett), [Vocalion](/source/Vocalion) and [Bluebird](/source/Bluebird_Records).

## Personal appearances

The band had many appearances in the [Mid-West](/source/Mid-West) and was well known for its live performances; its smooth style was much loved in larger hotels and ballrooms. They played many times at the [Biltmore Hotel](/source/New_York_Biltmore_Hotel) and the [Hotel New Yorker](/source/Hotel_New_Yorker) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), the [Trianon](/source/Trianon_Ballrooms), Aragon, [Blackstone](/source/Blackstone_Hotel) and the [Edgewater Beach Hotel](/source/Edgewater_Beach_Hotel)[5] and Palmer House in [Chicago](/source/Chicago), as well as further appearances in [Dallas](/source/Dallas), [Kansas City](/source/Kansas_City,_Missouri), [New Orleans](/source/New_Orleans), [Denver](/source/Denver), [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) and [Saint Paul](/source/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota). Cummins' band also played on radio shows including the *Spotlight Dance Program* sponsored by [Coca-Cola](/source/Coca-Cola), and *[The Fitch Bandwagon](/source/The_Fitch_Bandwagon)*.[3]

In the late 1950s it became increasingly difficult for the band to find gigs, but the group continued to play clubs in [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas_Valley), at such places as [The Flamingo](/source/The_Flamingo), [El Rancho](/source/El_Rancho_Vegas) and [Last Frontier](/source/New_Frontier_Hotel_and_Casino), before it dissolved it 1959.

## Theme

Cummins' orchestra's theme song was "[Dark Eyes](/source/Dark_Eyes_(Russian_song))".[6]

## Later years

Cummins retired to Boca Raton, Florida.

## Personal life and death

Cummins married Katherine Mahoney in New York City in 1930.[1] He died September 22, 1986, in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 86.[4]

## Discography

- *Bernie Cummins & his Orchestra (1924-1930)* ([Timeless Records](/source/Timeless_Records))

## References

1. Price, Mark J. (December 26, 2011). ["Akron bandleader finds he's well-suited for fame"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-bernie-cummins/173921017/). *The Akron Beacon Journal*. pp. [B 1](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-bernie-cummins/173921017/), [B 2](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-akron-beacon-journal-bernie-cummins/173920971/). Retrieved June 5, 2025. – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)

1. ["Bermoe Cummins' Father Dies"](https://www.nytimes.com/1948/01/06/archives/bernie-cummins-father-dies.html). *The New York Times*. Associated Press. January 6, 1948. p. 23.

1. Lee, William F. (2005). [*American Big Bands*](https://archive.org/details/americanbigbands00leew). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. [31](https://archive.org/details/americanbigbands00leew/page/31). ISBN 9780634080548. Retrieved 9 March 2017. Bernie Cummins.

1. Yanow, Scott (2001). [*Classic Jazz: Third Ear - the Essential Listening Companion*](https://books.google.com/books?id=e1SBuNFZolAC&dq=%22Bernie+Cummins%22&pg=PA65). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 65. ISBN 9781617744860. Retrieved 10 March 2017.

1. Walker, Leo (1989). [*The Big Band Almanac*](https://archive.org/details/bigbandalmanac00walke). Da Capo Press. p. [92](https://archive.org/details/bigbandalmanac00walke/page/92). ISBN 0306803453. Retrieved 10 March 2017. Bernie Cummins.

1. Cox, Jim (2005). *Music Radio: The Great Performers and Programs of the 1920s Through Early 1960s*. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-7864-6085-4.

- Leo Walker: *The Big Band Almanac*, Ward Ritchie Press, Pasadena, CA, 1978, p. 92
- William F. Lee, *American Big Bands*, [Hal Leonard](/source/Hal_Leonard), Milwaukee, WI, 2006, p. 31

## External links

- [Discography of Bernie Cummins' recordings at Discography Of American Historical Recordings](http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/talent/detail/43019/Cummins_Bernie_director)
- ["Bernie Cummins Orchestra 78rpm Collection" at Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/BernieCumminsOrchestra78rpmCollection/01+Who+Was+The+Lady%EF%80%A5.m4a)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bernie Cummins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Cummins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Cummins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.