Vic Knight
Vic Knight led a big band known as one of the finest in Florida. He was adored by countless music fans, and both loved and respected by musicians.
His band played for society balls and charity galas, parties at clubs like the Gulf Stream Golf Club and the Country Club of Florida, and public events he promoted on the radio station he owned, WDBF AM-1420 in Delray Beach.
When he died of cancer in 2000, hundreds of mourners attended services at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton. Afterward, Ted led his father's big band for a reception at Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club. The cocktails and hors d'oeuvres flowed freely, and Vic was there in spirit, smiling and digging the sound.
Early
years
Vic was born in 1928 in St. Petersburg, a sixth-generation Florida native. He was the grandson of Marion S. Knight, a state senator for whom Knight's Key was named.
Vic's father, Texas H. Knight, moved the family to Indianapolis after World War II. There Vic attended Howe High School, where he played second trumpet in the school band. It took an entire semester for the teacher to discover that Vic was playing by ear, able to fake the second part after hearing the lead. The teacher made the student learn to read music, which certainly came in handy later. It was also in high school that Vic met his lifelong sweetheart, Patty.
Radio
days
Vic went on to study music at the Jordan Conservatory at Butler University, and he and Patty were married not long after. It was during college that Vic began leading dance bands. After graduation, he went to work at WXLW Radio. Click images to enlarge.
He
was a popular announcer but his bands were just as popular as his radio
show. Willing to work Sunday mornings for extra money, he would often
get to the station just in time, still dressed in his suit from having
played a prom in some Indiana town the night before.
Talent
agency
He established an agency called Knight Artists and combined the best local musicians in various bands with names like the Quintones (below right) and the Squires.
In February, 2010, retired attorney Lee Hoffman found this web page and wrote to say he's the drummer pictured at left with the Squires. He identifies David Dick on bass and thinks it might be Jack Coker, who went on to success with the Woody Herman band, at the piano. Lee still lives in Indianapolis and would love to hear from his fellow musicians.
Vic
did many remote broadcasts for WXLW. The station boasted a mobile studio
aboard a luxurious custom trailer called the Traveler, state of the art
in 1960. Picture windows let people watch their favorite announcers spin
the records.
Local
celebrity
He was a local star whose presence at a remote could attract fans eager to see the exciting young announcer and bandleader in person. Vic loved radio remotes, a holdover from the live big band broadcasts of the 1940s.
Touring record artists all passed through Indianapolis because of its location in the heartland, and many would stop at WXLW to meet the announcers who played their records. At left, Vic with June Christy, vocalist with Stan Kenton and one of Vic's favorites.
With a gift for gab, Vic perfected the rambling personalized first-person radio spots that sponsors love. He was promoted to sales director and moved his family into a big house in the suburbs, complete with pool table, garage workshop, and a baby grand piano. But he tired of working for someone else and longed for a radio station he could call his own.
Back to Florida
In 1965 he sat the family down for a meeting. It seemed there were two stations for sale, one in upstate New York and one in Delray Beach, Florida. Which one would Patty and the kids prefer? It wasn't hard to decide in favor of sun and sand. With the help of two Indianapolis partners, Vic purchased WDBF and moved with his family to Delray Beach.
Remote
broadcasts were an important selling tool. At right, Vic puts local
banker George Wilde on the air. The musical format always included his
beloved big bands. His own program, “Seven Decades of Sounds,” attracted
devoted fans fascinated by his musical taste and his knowledge of
trivia. Later he syndicated the program, mailing tapes of the show to
stations in Indiana and other states.
In 1973 he recruited his son Ted to write ad copy while still a music student at nearby Florida Atlantic University. Ted joined the station full time in 1977 and spent 20 years working with his father as announcer, copywriter and program director.
Vic briefly expanded when he and his partners bought WGGG in Gainesville and WNDB/WDNJ in Daytona Beach. He sold them off after realizing how much he preferred working closer to home.
New bands
In 1980, at the request of promoters needing a band to play for star vocalist Helen O'Connell at the West Palm Beach Auditorium, Vic founded the WDBF All-Star Big Band.
The band became a hit not only in Florida but in Indiana, where the returning favorite son was a sure draw at Indianapolis venues like the Indiana Roof Ballroom.
Later
he formed the Gentlemen of Jazz to play for smaller venues, and he loved
playing his trumpet and trombone with both groups. Ted often played
piano with Vic’s bands, and before long was following in his father's
footsteps by hosting a radio show and leading bands of his own.
Over the years Vic's bands played for many charity balls. He backed stars like Bob Hope and Garry Moore, who liked his music so much that he brought Vic's band up to play for parties in Hilton Head, South Carolina more than once. The musicians laugh about riding in the rattletrap DC-9 chartered for the trips, scared half to death by the poorly lit island runway and practically freezing in the unheated cabin.
Live
at Erny's
Both the big band and the Gentlemen of Jazz played many times at Erny's, a Chicago-style saloon in Delray Beach known for live jazz, now only a memory after a 50-year run.
At left, Vic with the Gentlemen of Jazz and the "No-Name Jive Singers" at Erny's. From left to right: Pat Baxter, vibes, with Vic, Doug Smith, Dwane Earnhardt, and Glen Rovinelli.
The smaller band also played many times at Cypress Manor Grill in Boynton Beach. Announcers broadcast live from the scene at both locations, occasionally putting live music on the air in the best tradition of the 1930s and 40s.
At
right, a rare photo of the big band at Erny's. Saxes (L-R): Ray Oram,
Frankie DeFranco, Paul Magersuppe, Glen Rovinelli. Leader: Vic Knight.
Bass (hidden): Chuck Andrus. Trombones: Jim Berman, Frank McCallum, Hank
Bredenberg, Pat Lacy. Drums: Jean Bolduc. Trumpets: Doug Smith, Mike
Terry, Dwane Earnhardt, Bunny Carfagno. Piano: Ted Knight.
Family man
Vic always had time for Patty and their three children. There were summer vacations in St. Petersburg with Ted and his sisters, Beth and Jody. In Indiana and Florida, they spent weekends with the kids swimming and playing tennis.
Vic taught his son the music business, patiently explaining everything from choosing instruments for a band to writing contracts. He played big band and jazz records of all kinds for Ted, even the ones he thought were too wild to play on the air, and twice took his son to see the Count Basie Orchestra when they came to town.
Later,
Patty and Vic traveled the world, saying they did not want to “save it
all for retirement.” They were as giggly as a couple of kids when
grandchildren came along, making frequent visits and shooting dozens of
rolls of film to capture memories of the little ones.
Patty and Vic were blessed with the kind of storybook romance that we rarely get to see, but their religious faith also helped keep them close throughout their 51 years of marriage. Vic never wrote pop songs or jazz, but even the musicians who knew him well might be surprised to learn that he wrote several choral works on sacred texts.
Retirement
In
1997, Patty and Vic made many new friends when they moved to Delray
Dunes, a golf community west of Boynton Beach. At right, Vic dances with
Patty at the Dunes while Ted leads the band.
About
a year later, Vic sold the radio station. His retirement was an active
one, both as a successful day trader and as a writer. Selling the
station gave him time to complete the book he'd been working on.
He had long enjoyed giving humorous talks on Florida history, and adapted his talks to write Vic Knight's Florida. When the book was accepted for publication by Pelican Press, it was one of the proudest days of his life. His second published book was Florida Scams.
The
last chapter
Vic had just renewed his interest in golf when his cancer was diagnosed. Although surgery was successful, the effects of chemotherapy and radiation proved to be too much to take.
He was survived by Patty, his children and grandchildren, and by his sister, Mary Lou Ricker. Patty died in 2002, also of cancer.