Scrappy Lambert

Harold "Scrappy" Lambert (May 12, 1901 – November 30, 1987, New Brunswick, New Jersey) was an American jazz band vocalist. He appeared on hundreds of recordings from the 1920s to the 1940s.

He attended Rutgers University, where he was a cheerleader and played piano for a jazz group called the "Rutgers Jazz Bandits." He and fellow student Billy Hillpot formed a musical duo, which was discovered in 1926 by Ben Bernie, who signed them to perform with his orchestra. Lambert and Hillpot appeared on many recordings with the orchestra and remained under Bernie's employ until 1928. [http://www.jazzage1920s.com/scrappylambert/scrappylambert.php Scrappy Lambert] , The Jazz Age. Accessed July 6, 2008.]

Other bandleaders who employed Lambert include Red Nichols, Frank Britton Wenzel, Fred Rich, and Sam Lanin.

In the 1930s, Lambert and Hillpot took their comedy routine to the National Broadcasting Company, then a fledgling radio network.

In 1943, MCA offered him a job overseeing their radio department in Beverly Hills, California. This marked the end of his singing career, and he worked for MCA until 1948.

Scrappy was one of the Smith Brothers and also one of Red Nichols' Five Pennies. He passed away in Riverside, CA.

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