circa 1980 |
circa 1989 |
circa 1993 |
February 1979 - Resident Jodie Smith and Jekyll Island Authority Executive Director Bob Case collaborated to start a new attraction to the island, the Jekyll Island Dance Band. Jodie gathered the instrumentalists he needed, including Gil Tharp who had played sax with Artie Shaw; Chester Anderson, reedman with Johnny Long's band; and Gene Brislin who had played with Lee Vincent and his Orchestra on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. |
June 9, 1979 - The JIA furnishing uniform jackets sporting the Jekyll Island logo, music stands & lights and a rehearsal room, the band was ready. The first dance drew 800 dancers who paid $1 per person admission! The band went on to play Halloween, Christmas & New Years dances. By 1980 there were semi - monthly dances sponsored by the JIA and the Big Band also played for the Authority at various events on the island. |
The band briefly became The Jekyll Island Dance Orchestra until February 1981, when The Jekyll Island Authority produced the LP Album with the Ray Melton Studio in Macon, GA, Georgia On My Mind "The Sounds of Jekyll Island Performed by the Jekyll Island Big Dance Band ". |
New Years Eve 1981 at the Jekyll Island Holiday Inn and March 1982 at the St. Williams Parish Hall on St. Simons Island put the JIBB on track for a 25 year ongoing success story playing not only with the Jekyll Island Authority, but private engagements all along the S.E. Coast! |
In 1994, the year before he died, Jodie Smith retired as director and passed the baton to trombonist Dr. Hal Crowe. In the late 90's, with administrative transition on the island, the band's sponsorship by the Jekyll Island Authority ended and the group became "privatized" with continued success! A 50 year Time Capsule buried at the Jekyll Island Club on December 31, 1999 includes items from the Jekyll Island Big Band and we're featured in the history book; Images Of America - Jekyll Island A State Park by Tyler Bagwell (Arcadia Press). |
JIBB History |
