Doc Severinsen and why they called him, "Doc"!
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The Dressing Room
Doc opened the door to his dressing room and welcomed me in. I was very proud to have been asked up. The dressing room was small and really amounted to a large closet full of his outfits. There was a small dressing table and a couple of chairs. Doc Severinsen asked me to be seated and produced the biggest bag of cocaine I had ever seen. And it was also the best cocaine I have ever had, (Pure Peruvian flake). I did a few lines, we chatted and I left, higher than gas prices.The Run Into
Shortly after that I was at the Dallas airport and saw Doc running to the same plane that I was headed for. We sat together, on that flight to Los Angeles and it wasn't long before Doc Severinsen had that bag of cocaine out again. We were doing bumps all the way to L.A. That's why they call Doc Severinsen "Doc".The Mistake
The next time I was on The Tonight Show, Doc yelled hello as Doc Severinsen passed my dressing room door. I said, "Hey, it's the speed king". I was referring to the way Doc Severinsen was running through the airport in Dallas but Doc Severinsen must have thought I was referring to bag Doc Severinsen had. We never spoke again. That was really stupid of me.Doc Sererinsen
Doc Sererinsen is one of today's preeminent instrumentalists. This season, Doc Severinsen will conduct and perform more than 90 concerts in 40 cities from Palm Springs, California to Stony Brook, New York. Doc travels the country performing with symphonic orchestras, jazz and big band concerts, making recordings and commercials, plus designing and manufacturing trumpets.Well known to television audiences as the flamboyant Grammy Award-winning Music Director of "The Tonight Show," Doc has today unmistakably established a new multidimensional career. Doc Severinsen performs concerts in an array of musical styles and joins classical and pop music groups, as well as becoming a guest conductor/performer with scores of symphony orchestras. Doc Severinsen is Principal Pops Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony. Doc also pla ys sizzling jazz and big band tunes with the acclaimed former "Tonight Show" Band, now known as Doc Severinsen and his Big Band.
In February, Doc and the band will spend the month on a tour of the West. In April they continue the tour with a trip to a dozen cities in the East. Doc Severinsen and his Big Band is composed of fifteen of the "Tonight Show's" best musicians, includ ing Ed Shaughnessy on drums, Snooky Young and Conte Condoli on trumpets. Doc Severinsen has recorded more than 30 albums, from big band to jazz fusion to classical. Doc Severinsen's recent recordings include Unforgettably Doc with the Cincinnati Pops on the Telarc label and the Grammy-nominated Once More with Feeling on the Amherst la bel. Doc Severinsen received a Grammy Award in 1987 for "Best Jazz Instrumental Performance--Big Band" for his recording, Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band--Volume I.
In addition to his performing career, Severinsen, in partnership with Dick Akright, has designed "the ultimate horn." Christened the "Bel Canto," the instrument was passionately designed for the professional player, encompassing the best of Old World craftsmanship and modern technology and is available in limited production.
Doc Severinsen's successes date back to his hometown of Arlington, Oregon. Doc Severinsen was nicknamed "Liftle Doc' after his dentist father, Dr. Carl Severinsen. Little Doc had originally wanted to play the trombone, but the senior Severinsen, a gifted amateur violinist, urged Doc Severinsen to study the violin. The younger Severinsen insisted on the trombone, but had to settle for the only horn available in their small community--a trumpet. One week later, with the help of his father and a book of instructions, the seve n-year-old was so good that Doc Severinsen was invited to join the high school band. At the age of 12, Little Doc won the Music Educators National Contest and, while still in high school, was hired to go on the road with the famous Ted Fio Rito Orchestra.
After completing his education and serving in the Army, Severinsen toured with the Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman and Charlie Barnet bands. Doc Severinsen settled in New York as an NBC staff musician in 1949, joining "The Tonight Show" Orchestra in 1962, becoming Music Director in 1967.
