Duane Thamm Sr.

Duane Wallace Thamm Sr., age 88, passed away on December 25, 2015. Duane is survived by his wife Dottie of 68 years and a loving father to Pam, Brenda & (Dick) and Duane Jr.; Grandfather to Taryn & (Jeff) and Todd & (Kristi); and Great-Grandfather to Amelie, Bravery, Christian & Kenzi.

Duane started drum lessons at nine years of age. During his early years he was in the Chicago Civic Orchestra and received a degree in Applied Music in Percussion. In 1945 he joined the Carl Schreiber Orchestra and went on the road for awhile joining the Elmo Tanner Orchestra.

Duane was married to Dottie in 1948. During this time he taught at the Metropolitan School of Music in Chicago. Later, Duane joined the Dick Sarlo Orchestra and then the Frank York Orchestra at the Sherman Hotel.

Duane met Dick Schory, (Vice President of Ludwig Drum Company) and was asked to join his Percussion Pops Orchestra. They toured twice a year playing from Hollywood to Carnegie Hall. Duane also became a clinician for Ludwig Company and gave clinics at many universities. During this time Duane was an adjunct percussion teacher at Elmhurst College and a percussion teacher at Columbia College in Chicago. Music Publisher, C.P. Belwin , also published solos and ensembles Duane had written.

In the 1970’s and 80’s, Duane was featured many times on WGN T.V. Bozo show with his wife and son. He had a musical puppet show where Duane attached the puppets’ feet to mallets and manipulated the mallets on the vibe keyboard playing various tunes appropriate to the character of the puppet. The family musical act appeared at many functions and was enjoyed by many.

Another highlight in Duane’s musical career was playing at Chicago’s McCormick Place for Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennet, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra.

Later Duane joined the Chuck Hedges Swingtet playing vibes at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago. They recorded albums and performed at festivals in the United States, Scotland, Germany and Italy. During this time he also played vibes with Buddy DeFranco, Bill Russo’s Band and the late Barrett Deems’ Big Band. (Barrett was the former drummer with Louie Armstrong).

In 2004, Chicago based Delmark Labels asked Duane and the Chuck Hedges’ group to record an album live in Chi-Town entitled Duane Thamm – Tribute to Hamp. Duane always admired Lionel Hampton’s vibe playing and was honored to pay tribute to him when he made the recording.

Duane has taken great pleasure hearing from his ex-students from all over the world during his 65 years of teaching. His main ambition was to teach and share his experiences with eager and aspiring percussion students. Duane will be remembered for the many gifts he has given to his family, friends and students.