The Resume

(August 21, 1904-April 26, 1984)
Birth name was William Basie
Leader of 'Count Basie & His Orchestra' (1935-50, 52-1984)
Recorded 'One O'clock Jump,' 'Jumpin' at the Woodside,' 'Every Tub,' '9:20 Special,' 'Lester Leaps In,' 'April in Paris,' 'Lil' Darling,' 'Blues in Hoss' Flat' and 'Two O'clock Jump'
Acted in 'Stage Door Canteen (1943),' 'Cinderfella (1960),' 'Sex and the Single Girl (1964)' and 'Blazing Saddles (1974)'
Inducted into Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (1981)

Why he might be annoying:

He was given the nickname, 'Count,' just to compete with Duke Ellington.
Without thoroughly reading the contract, he signed a record deal to record 24 sides a year for $750 a year with no royalties.
In school, he was a terrible student.
He was a heavy drinker and gambler.
He had a sparse piano-playing style so he could easily reach for his drink during performances.
He was a huge and erratic eater, once pouring ketchup all over a French gourmet meal.
He was legendarily absent-minded and when traveling on tours, he wouldn't know where he was going, who he was playing for or how to get to the venue.
He was uncommunicative and evasive when giving interviews.

Why he might not be annoying:

He led his own band for nearly 50 years, which continued to perform after his death.
He never received royalties for his first several hit songs.
He collaborated with some of the best jazz musicians and singers in the country, including Frank Sinatra, Jo Jones, Thad Jones, Buddy Rich, Lester Young, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday.
He had a warm, gentle, and mild-mannered persona.
He was a laissez-faire leader and gave his musicians and arrangers a lot of musical freedom.
He toured successfully throughout Europe and Japan.
He continued to perform and tour into old age, even while confined to a wheelchair.

Credit: Calvin

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Andy Williams Show Guests [1962-71]
• Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Members and Honorees [1973-2005] (Ranked: 1978)
• Black Men Loved by Whites
• Call me Calvin's Profiles
• Ed Sullivan Show Guests
• Freemasons
• Golden Girls References
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 2002)
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [A-C]
• I Am Vaudeville [A-L]
• I Appeared on Jerry Lewis' MDA Telethon [A-B]
• I Attended Nat King Cole’s Funeral [February 18, 1965]
• I Covered a Beatles Song
• I Covered Eden Ahbez's 'Nature Boy'
• I Covered 'Frankie and Johnny'
• I Covered the Beatles' 'Hey Jude'
• I Did Not Graduate High School [A-B]
• I Died in 1984 (Ranked: 79)
• I Have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[A-B]
• I Have Pancreatic Cancer
• I Need to Place a Wager
• I Performed at 'From Spirituals to Swing'
• I Portrayed Myself
• I Recorded Billie Holiday’s ‘God Bless the Child’
• I Retired, Just Kidding
• I Sing About New York
• I Sing About Taxis
• Jazz Artists
• Judy Garland Show Guests
• Kennedy Center Honorees (Ranked: 1981)
• Las Vegas Walk of Stars Honorees
• Look at Me, I Got a Microphone
• My Band, My Name
• My Music was Lost in the 2008 Universal Studios Fire
• My Song is on Rhino's 'Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America'
• My Song is on Sony's 'Soundtrack for a Century'
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1992)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1979)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1985)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2005)
• New Jersey Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2010)
• NPR's 50 Greatest Jazz Vocals [2013] (Ranked: 17)
• Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
• Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
• Profiles 16501-16750 (Ranked: 16734)
• Stage Door Canteen [1943]

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 73 Votes: 42.47% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 16 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 16 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 46 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 41 Votes: 46.34% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 28 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 79 Votes: 45.57% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 183 Votes: 41.53% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 35 Votes: 48.57% Annoying