The Hudson-DeLange Orchestra was a formed around the basic concept that Will Hudson and Eddie DeLange wrote some very good music together. The band was only around for a few years, but the music they made was excellent. Hudson would normally compose the music and DeLange would pen the lyrics. In fact, before creating a band together, the two co-authored "Moonglow" which went on to become a standard of the Big Band era.
In the mid 1930's, DeLange decided to form an orchestra. He soon figured out that he would need a much deeper catalog to draw from so DeLange offered Hudson a partnership in his new band in exchange for his arranging abilities. Hudson accepted and the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra was born.
In their limited time together, the Hudson-DeLange Orchestra managed to record a good amount of music for the Brunswick label. Some of them became hits and many others resurfaced later covered by other big names from the era. It was decided that DeLange lead the band while Hudson stayed behind the scenes. They played over 200 live dates throughout the Eastern portion of the United States over a two year span.
Listen to: "Definition of Swing" by Hudson-DeLange Orchestra
In early 1938, the band decided to call it quits. Hudson continued to tour with a group under his own name. When he later entered the military for World War II, he did some arranging for Glenn Miller's AAF Orchestra. DeLange, also went on to form his own band and recorded a lot of sides for the Bluebird label. He suffered from an early death in 1949.
Even though The Hudson-DeLange Orchestra was around for only a very short time, the band did make it's mark on the era. You can listen Hudson and DeLange right here on Swing City Radio.
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