The King at Disneyland

No, not that King...I'm referring to Wayne King. In this June 1968 photo, Wayne is shown playing at the Carnation Plaza Gardens.



Taped to the back of this publicity shot was his obituary:

Big band leader Wayne King, called the "waltz king" of the late 1920s and early 1930s died Tuesday night. He was 84.

The alto saxophonist, a longtime Phoenix area resident, developed his fondness for the waltz during his dance group's regular engagement at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. His theme became The Waltz You Saved For Me.

In the early '30s, King's sound became widely associated with a cosmetics line manufactured at home by a brother and sister. The two hired King's band to play for a weekly radio show pushing their product and paid the group $500 per show.

The Lady Esther Serenade became one of the most popular shows on radio. Sales figures for the costmetic line soared and King was paid $15,000 a week.

The show was most popular with matrons who used makeup generously and responded with swoons to King's lush romantic music, interspersed with poetry readings.

Among the singers who appeared with King's band were Bob Eberly and Buddy Clark.

Besides Wayne King, the Carnation Plaza Gardens were a musical venue for Frank Sinatra, Jr.:



Bill Elliott:



The Osmonds:



Lionel Hampton:



Benny Goodman:



Stan Kenton:



Count Basie:



Who did you see play at The Gardens?

See more vintage Disneyland Plaza Gardens photos on my Plaza Gardens web page.

1970’s Disneyland Entertainment

Picture this...September, 1978...you’re walking toward the castle and you hear live jazz coming from the Plaza Gardens. You reach the bandstand area and it’s Count Basie! How cool is that? Just check him out on the ivories, while Freddie Greene plays guitar. The Count and his orchestra played from 8:30pm until after midnight; time to get the other half and go dancing at Disneyland.



Here’s the brochure that tells you what other entertainment is going on at the park at the same time:





Going back in time another three years, we could have seen Stan Kenton in the same location, May 1975:



Stan should have fired the publicity agent that let this photo get out; even in these pre-photoshop days, there were plenty of things that could have been done to make Stan look less like an escapee from the Haunted Mansion cemetery:



Here’s the entertainment brochure from May 1975; be sure to check out this lineup, including the legendary Sara Vaughan. Does Disneyland have this caliber of entertainment play inside the park anymore?





More vintage and current Disneyland photos at my main website.