Oral History Interview with Johnny Case, March 5, 2003

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Interview with jazz pianist Johnny Case. In the interview, Case talks about his family's acquaintance with Ernest Tubb, his early interest in rhythm and blues, how his parents, Elvis Presley, and local radio stations influenced his musical career, learning to play the piano and his interest in jazz, early gigs in Oklahoma and northeast Texas, his family's move from Paris, Texas to Dallas and his playing gigs at several clubs there, moving to Fort Worth, his collaboration with Tom Morrell in producing the 'How the West Was Swung' albums, his comments about the demise of western swings, gigs and clubs in Fort Worth, his transition from playing western swing to jazz, various jazz artists, okaying for African-American audiences, avant-garde jazz and its promoters, difficulties in making a full-time living as a jazz artist in Fort Worth, his employment at Sardine's Italian Restaurant in Fort Worth, the Caravan of Dreams and the resurgence of jazz in Fort Worth, his relationship with the local musicians union, Texas jazz, and the evolution of jazz in Fort Worth. The interview includes an appendix with an article, Case's discography, and Case's notes on various jazz musicians and venues.
Date: March 5, 2003
Creator: Brown, Peggy Brandt & Case, Johnny
Object Type: Book
System: The UNT Digital Library
[News Clip: Tracking Texas Weather] captions transcript

[News Clip: Tracking Texas Weather]

Video footage from the KXAS-TV/NBC station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.
Date: March 25, 2004
Creator: NBC 5 (Television station : Fort Worth, Tex.)
Object Type: Video
System: The UNT Digital Library
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009 transcript

Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date: March 31, 2009
Creator: Solis, John G.
Object Type: Sound
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009 (open access)

Oral History Interview with John G. Solis, March 31, 2009

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with John G. Solis of Irving, Texas. He discusses enlisting in the U.S. Navy on September 17, 1942, and was sent to the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas for bootcamp. In bootcamp Mr. Solis talks about learning to shoot rifles by shooting clay pigeons and presentations held to teach how to identify enemy aircraft. While learning to fly, Mr. Solis was assigned to Bombing Squadron 1. In 1944 Mr. Solis ended up with the Torpedo Squadron 100 flying torpedo planes in Oahu, Hawaii. His squadron never saw combat, but he did witness U.S. ships getting destroyed by Kamikaze planes during the Okinawa invasion. He helped in some Naval strikes in Japan from March to June of 1945 before returning to the states for leave. Mr. Solis was still at home on leave when the war officially ended, and he was discharged on September 14th of 1948 due to signing up for a 6-year contract instead of the normal 4-year one.
Date: March 31, 2009
Creator: Solis, John G.
Object Type: Text
System: The Portal to Texas History