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Pianist Joe Buskin Dies At 87

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Jazz pianist and songwriter Joe Bushkin, who co-wrote Frank Sinatra's first hit and performed with some of the best jazz musicians of his time, has died. He was 87.

Bushkin, who performed and recorded with such jazz and big band greats as Fats Waller, Eddie Condon and Billie Holiday, died Wednesday of pneumonia, his family said.

As a member of the Tommy Dorsey band, he co-wrote the hit “Oh! Look at Me Now” with John DeVries. The song launched the career of a young Frank Sinatra, the band's vocalist.

Born to Russian immigrants in New York City, Bushkin learned to play the piano at 10 and started playing professionally in 1932 with Frank LaMarr at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Three years later, Bushkin became intermission pianist at the Famous Door, where the Bunny Berigan Boys, a group that included guitarist Eddie Condon and pianist George Zack, performed.

Bushkin ended up replacing Zack and went on to play with Condon, Joe Marsala and Dorsey. He played on Billie Holiday's first recording under her own name in 1936.

Bushkin retired in the 1960s but returned to play on Bing Crosby's last tour in 1976 and 1977. He also performed in a concert series at New York's St. Regis hotel in 1984 that celebrated his 50 years in show business.



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