Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders were one of several black territory bands that played venues in the African American community of the Near North Side of Omaha from the early 1920s through the big band era.
He recorded only once, near the beginning of a ten-month national tour with then prominent blues singer Victoria Spivey. The record, Sensational Mood, included Lloyd Hunter, Reuben Floyd, and George Lott or Ted Frank on trumpets; Elmer Crumbley or Joe Edwards on trombone; Horace "Noble" Floyd and Archie Watts on alto saxophones; Harold Arnold or Dick Lewis on tenor saxophone; George Madison, piano; Herbert Hannah, banjo; Robert Welch or Wallace Wright, bass, and Pete Woods or Jo Jones on drums. It was recorded April 21, 1931, in New York. Originally issued on Vocalion 1621 (The other side was a Victoria Spivey blues vocal with the band providing accompaniment.)[1]
The 12-piece band undertook a national tour that featured Spivey, who was married to Hunter's second trumpet Rueben Floyd at the time. The tour was less than successful, and by 1932 Hunter was back in Omaha, which would be his home base for the next 10 years.[5]
The saxophonist Preston Love got his start with Lloyd Hunter in the early 1940s, as well as Johnny Otis on drums.[6] While describing North Omaha's music scene, Love once suggested that Hunter relied on that community's talent for his own success.[7]Anna Mae Winburn was an early collaborator with Hunter.[8]
Nat Towles' band once out-played The Serenaders to make their own name in Omaha's music history.[9] Hunter's band was also once the target of a "raid" by a major label attempting to construct their own version of Count Basie's band, which was also formed after one-such raid.[10]
^"Lloyd Hunter, 62, Orchestra Leader, Dies," Omaha World-Herald, April 19, 1961, p 52.
^(1938) "Interview with Josiah Waddle"[dead link], December 5, 1938. U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore Project, Life Histories, 1936–39); Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
^Otis, J. (1993) ["Mister Blues: Winnonie Harris"]. Upside Your Head!: rhythm and blues on Central Avenue. Wesleyan University Press, p. 88.
