Will Osborne (singer)

Osborne retired from bandleading in 1957. He then became entertainment director for Harvey's Casino in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

A 1948 newspaper article reported that, at that time, "The band holds the all-time attendance record at Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles."

He and his orchestra appeared in the 1946 Monogram musical comedy film Swing Parade of 1946.

Simon described the band that Osborne formed in 1935 as "a stylized outfit that featured rich, deep-toned brass, emphasizing, of all things, slide trumpets plus glissing trombones blown through megaphones. This he would dub as "Slide Music"

In his book, The Big Bands, George T. Simon noted that the tenor of the times contributed to Osborne's early success: "Then in 1929 came the stock-market crash and the Depression. The high living and the tempos slowed down. The mood and the music of the country changed. The search for security, for sweetness and light, was reflected in the country's musical tastes — in its acceptance of crooners like Rudy Vallee and Will Osborne, and then Bing Crosby and Russ Columbo, in its preference for dance music that encouraged romance and sentiment and escape."

Osborne started out playing the drums. He began his bandleading career in 1924. He began recording in 1929 with a light, crooning vocal style similar to Rudy Vallée's on Columbia Records. While Vallée was in Hollywood for the filming of The Vagabond Lover, Osborne took over for him at his Heigh-Ho Club. Soon after, both him and Will entered into a fierce rivalry with each other lasting multiple years.

Will Osborne (November 25, 1905 – October 22, 1981) was a Canadian-born American bandleader, trombonist, and crooner.