William Dover

The name William Dover has been in almost constant play in American history, from a pioneer in cystic fibrosis research to members of Civil War regiments. While the name has not been totally shunned by musicians, there are surprisingly few examples. Even champion jazz discographer Tom Lord missed the trombonist and bandleader William Dover, who often utilized his middle initial when fronting outfits such as the William H. Dover Tempo Orchestra. Dover was part of the busy New York City recording scene in the '20s, doing all the trendy jobs. This included blowing on sessions backing various classic blues singers as well as taking part in the seemingly endless recording of dance band sides. Literally dozens of cover versions would be released of any popular tune; one aspect of the record business at that time was that various chain stores owned certain records outright, keeping players such as Dover, Bob Fuller, Lem Fowler, or Perry Bradford busy coming up with "matcher" versions that competing stores could carry. In a typical example of this process, Fletcher Henderson released "31st Street Blues" in early 1924 and the aforementioned Dover band was one of half a dozen outfits to come up with alternative versions within a matter of weeks. Dover's later career seems to bring the concept of unpopularity to an all-time low. He moved to Chicago and eventually became an assistant or enforcer for the musicians' union, a job that required him to cruise the city's nightspots looking for infractions. As a result he must have become the reverse of a "musician's musician," someone unknown to the general public but loved by all musicians. While the first half of this concept applied to Dover, he was in contrast hated by all musicians, particularly for his strict enforcement against...