Bandleader and radio personality remembered for his Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge broadcast and for his eleven #1 records.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He was posthumously inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
He had three children with his wife, Georgia Carroll.
He also appeared in several films, co-starring with Ann Miller in the 1944 film Carolina Blues.
