Bob Merrill

Robert "Bob" Merrill (12 November 1918) was an American jazz musician (trumpet, vocals) of the late swing era.

Merrill was born on November 12, 1918, in Claremore, Oklahoma.

In the early 1940s, he worked with Jay McShann; the first recordings with his orchestra were made in 1942, as radio recordings from the Savoy Ballroom in New York. In the following years, he also acted as a band vocalist with McShann, heard in numbers like "Bad Neighborhood" (1943).

From 1944, he played with Dallas Bartley and his Orchestra (on "Cherry Red"), then as a trumpeter with Cootie Williams, for whom he also worked as a vocalist, in titles such as "Stingy Blues", "I May Be Easy, But I'm No Fool", "Ain't Got No Blues Today" and "Let 'Em Roll" from 1949.

In 1949, Merrill recorded three tracks ("I'll Always Be in Love with You", "Baby I'm Tired", "I Want a Little Girl") with Ike Quebec for Apollo Records. In the same year, he recorded for Abbey Records a single titled "The Blues Is Here T'nite" with Alfred "Chippy" Outcalt (trombone), Sam "The Man" Taylor, Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone), Arnold Jarvis (piano), Leonard Swain (bass) and William Parker (drums). During this time, he also appeared in recordings of Wynonie Harris and Sam "The Man" Taylor. 

Between 1942 and 1949, he participated in 23 jazz recording sessions. 

In November 2004, Blue Moon Productions released Merrill's compilation album The Complete Recordings 1943-1961, which featured Sam "The Man" Taylor, Cootie Williams, Paul Quinichette, Ike Quebec, Count Hastings, Jay McShann, and Gus Johnson. The album carries some of his best songs and collaborations including Ain't Got No Blues Today (feat. Cootie Williams), Wrong Neighborhood(feat. Jay McShann), Cherry Red (composition Big Joe Turner), We Gonna Pitch A Boogie Woogie (composition/lyrics: J. Mayo Williams, Dallas Bartley, and Bumble Bee Slim), I'll Always Be In Love With You (composition/lyrics: Bud Green, Sam H. Stept, Harry Ruby).