Putney Dandridge
Putney Dandridge, born Louis Dandridge on January 13, 1902, in Richmond, Virginia, was an American jazz pianist and singer. He began performing in 1918 as a pianist in The Drake and Walker Show. In 1930 he worked as an accompanist for tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and appeared in the musical Brown Buddies. In 1931 he joined the revue Heatin’ Up Harlem at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. In the 1932 film Harlem Is Heaven, he played piano and spoke lines as Robinson sang “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t.”
After touring the Midwest, he settled in Cleveland and formed a band with guitarist Lonnie Johnson. The group lasted until 1934, when he tried a solo act and moved to New York City for long runs at the Hickory House on 52nd Street and other clubs. From 1935 to 1936 he recorded many sides with notable jazz players, including Roy Eldridge, Teddy Wilson, Red Allen, Buster Bailey, John Kirby, Chu Berry, and Cozy Cole. He seems to have disappeared from the music scene in the late 1930s, possibly due to ill health. He died on February 15, 1946, in Wall Township, New Jersey, at age 44.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:42 (CET).