Bob McCracken
American clarinetist (1904–1972)
Robert Edward McCracken (November 23, 1904 – July 4, 1972) was an American jazz clarinetist.
He was born in Dallas, Texas, United States. Early in his career, McCracken played with local Dallas musicians, including Jack Teagarden, Eddie Whitley, the Southern Trumpeters, and Doc Ross's Jazz Bandits.
He lived in New York City from 1926–28, where he worked with Johnnie Johnston and Willard Robison's Levee Loungers. After returning to Dallas, he worked with Ligon Smith, Joe Gill, and Ross again, then toured with Joe Venuti and Frankie Trumbauer, before moving to Chicago in 1939. There he played with Bud Freeman (1939–40), Jimmy McPartland, Wingy Manone, Benny Goodman (1941), Russ Morgan, and Wayne King.
He substituted for Barney Bigard in the Louis Armstrong All-Stars international tour in 1952–53. He then toured internationally with Kid Ory and Red Allen throughout the 1950s.
During his later years in Los Angeles, McCracken played in several Dixieland revival groups, working with Ben Pollack, Pete Daily, Wild Bill Davison, and again with Teagarden, Ory, and Allen. McCracken is on many recordings including Kid Ory's album, This Kid's the Greatest.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bob McCracken” as american clarinetist (1904–1972). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american clarinetist (1904–1972). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q888106. VIAF identifies the subject as 71107629. The Library of Congress control number is no2004083053. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904, 1972, 1926 and 1939.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bob McCracken”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bob McCracken primary sources, Bob McCracken archive and McCracken research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bob McCracken”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bob McCracken” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.