Buddy Childers

Marion "Buddy" Childers (February 12, 1926 – May 24, 2007) became famous in 1942, when Stan Kenton hired him at the tender age of 16 to be the lead trumpet in his band. As Buddy himself later told the story to Steve Voce: "At the rehearsal he sat me down in the first trumpet chair, had the first trumpet player sit out. I played about eight or nine things in a row and the adrenalin was really flying that day. I was 16 I probably looked about 13, but I played considerably more maturely than that.