Abstract
The Danny Cassella Collection of Sheet Music (1940s-1960s) consists of stock arrangements for songs and scores from the 1940s through the 1960s. The arrangements were collected by musician Danny Cassella. Additionally the collection contains several Tune-Dex cards.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Danny Cassella Collection of Sheet Music consists of stock arrangements for songs and scores from the 1940s through the 1960s collected by musician Danny Cassella. Cassella relied on stock arrangements, commercially published musical arrangements that provided an inexpensive way for bands to replicate popular music. This collection consists of the music that Cassella performed from the 1940s into the 1960s, and includes parts for all instruments. Additionally the collection contains several Tune-Dex cards.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical / Historical Note
Danny Cassella was a Las Vegas, Nevada big band performer and orchestra leader from the 1940s to the 1960s. Cassella grew up in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, where he studied violin and drums. It was shortly after he graduated from Newcastle High School that a traveling musical show gave him the opportunity to fulfill his dreams. After gaining experience with the traveling production, Cassella's musical ability was noticed by a number of orchestras. He decided to go to Hollywood. He appeared in the 1933 movie Flying Down to Rio with Fred Astaire. While doing the film he aquired a new found talent for the rumba rhythm and a number of well-known bands asked Cassella to join them. In the course of a few years, Cassella appeared with a host of great orchestras. World War Two paused Cassella's career for several years, although he kept active with his drumming while serving in the U.S. Army. After being discharged, he put together a group of musicians called Danny Cassella and His Orchestra and resumed his music career. The band made several recordings and appeared in hotels, theater-restaurants, night clubs, theaters, and on radio programs.
Preferred Citation
Danny Cassella Collection of Sheet Music, 1940s-1960s. MS-00614. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2008 by Danny Cassella; accession number 2008-001. Materials were collected by the director of the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center and transferred to Special Collections.
Processing Note
Material was processed by Joyce Moore in 2008. In 2014, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Ian M. Baldwin revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.