Cecil Gant
b. 4 April 1913, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, d. 4 February 1951, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Usually regarded as a blues singer and pianist, Gant's crooning style had a significantly wider appeal, somewhat in the manner of Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine. After playing clubs in the Nashville area in the late '30s, he joined the US Army and sang at a major War Bond Rally in Los Angeles. Signed to the Gilt-Edge label he had an enormous hit in 1945 with I Wonder, which he wrote with Raymond Leveen; the label credit read: ‘Private Cecil Gant’. Dressed in Army khaki, and billed as ‘The GI Sing-sation’, he toured extensively, playing to large, enthusiastic black and white audiences. After the war he appeared at clubs in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and recorded for several labels, including King, Bullet, Four Star, Downbeat/Swingtime and Imperial. For Decca Records (1950-51), he cut several precursors to Bill Haley, such as Rock Little Baby and We're Gonna Rock, but was never able achieve anything to match the engaging I Wonder. He died of pneumonia at the comparatively early age of 37.