Richard Maltby, Sr.

Who was Richard Maltby, Sr.?

Richard Eldridge Maltby, Sr. was an American musician, conductor, arranger and bandleader, most notable for his 1956 recording The Man With the Golden Arm". He was also the father of the Broadway lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr.

After studying briefly at Northwestern University's music school, he left college to become a full time musician. He played trumpet with several big bands, including those of Jack Little, Roger Pryor, Bob Strong and Henry Busse, as well as also doing some arranging. In 1940, he took a job as an arranger for the orchestra of the Chicago-based radio station, WBBM, before moving to New York in 1945 to become an arranger-conductor on network radio, where he worked with Paul Whiteman. In 1942, Benny Goodman recorded his composition "Six Flats Unfurnished."

During the post-war years, he made several recordings for subsidiary labels of RCA Victor, and in 1954, finally scored a Top 40 hit with "St. Louis Blues Mambo". In 1955, he began leading his own dance band, with which he had his Top 20 hit, The Man With the Golden Arm," in the spring of the following year. He left RCA for Columbia Records in 1959, then moved to Roulette Records a year later.