Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 4, Number 1, Spring, 1992 Page: 32
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Herbert Cowens
USO Drummer Extraordinaire
By Alan GovenarFOR NEARLY thirty years, from World War II
to the Vietnam War, Dallas musician Herbert
Cowens entertained American troops throughout
the world. Touring as part of the United Services
Organization (USO), Cowens and his "Jazzorama"
unit brought their lively music to servicemen and
women in such distant posts as Newfoundland,
Libya, Alaska, and Thailand.
Born in 1904, Herbert Cowens was from a
musical family. His brothers, Alvis and Carden,
played drums; his sisters Beatrice and Louise were
singers; and his sister Lorraine was a dancer.
Herbert's interest in drums began as a child after
seeing the legendary Jessie Atkins in a silent movie.
With money Cowens earned shining shoes, he
bought his first set of drums, one piece at a time. In
high school he started a group called "The Rainbow
Jazz Band" and later played with the "Satisfied
Five." In 1927 he left Dallas with Cleo Mitchell's
"Shake Your Feet Company," and from 1927 to
1980 he lived in New York and worked in vaudeville,
Broadway shows, musicals, and for several
band leaders, including Eubie Blake, Fats Waller,
Stuff Smith, and Fletcher Henderson.
In 1943 Cowens got involved in the USO
through his friend, Dick Campbell. Cowens says
that working for the USO was a "life-saver" for him
because his work as a musician was slowing down.
Campbell was working with the USO at the time,
Cowens remembers, "and the USO was sending
out shows. So Dick told them about me. That wasin 1943, and I went out with a pianist and we played
hospital shows around the United States. But when
we'd get to a place, we'd play with the people from
the military band who were available. We played
in every state they had a GI in this country in 1943
and 1944."1
In 1945 Cowens left on a tour of the Pacific,
stopping in Honolulu and then traveling on to the
Philippines. His performances were well-received,
but in 1946 he broke his arm in a military
bus accident and was disabled for thirteen months.
However, he was not discouraged from continuing
his work for the USO. "They paid all my medical
bills," he recalls, "and after I got better, I was ready
to go out again." From 1947 to 1949 he made
annual tours of the Pacific and returned several
times over the next two decades.
Initially Cowens' touring unit was called
"Drum Boogie," but the name was changed to
"Jazzorama" at the suggestion of a "gentleman
from Chicago." Cowens explains, "He heard us
rehearsing and when we finished, he came up to us
and said, 'You should have a name that really says
what you're all about."'
As a performer, Cowens was called "a jazz
drummer extraordinaire" by his commanding officers
and was promoted to band leader and later to
unit manager. In 1957 Music Supervisor Charles
R. Burgess wrote, "In a field where temperaments
and personalities often run riot, Mr. Cowens has
been a Rock of Gibraltar. A gentleman of tact and32
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Dallas County Heritage Society. Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas, Volume 4, Number 1, Spring, 1992, periodical, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35116/m1/34/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Historical Society.