The ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra was formed in San Francisco by Stephen Ashman, a bass-player. They released several LPs in the 1984-1987 time period and continue to be active. The Orchestra did not have any overt connection to ZaSu Pitts beyond the name.
The band consisted of approximately 15 members (mostly male instrumentalists and female singer-dancers) who performed full band renditions of Motown, soul, R&B and other classic pop songs along with a few original compositions. A mid-1980s New Year's Eve show broadcast by San Francisco PBS station KQED-TV is sometimes shown on public TV in the United States.
The Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra won a Bammy Award for Best Independent Album of 1985
On June 23, 2008, the semi-original Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra lineup reformed for the first time in nearly 23 years for a one- off concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco to benefit original Zasu Pitts/Big Bang Beat saxophonist Morey Goldstein who had recently been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Booker T. of Booker T. & the M.G.'s made a guest appearance at this show. Goldstein died on July 5, 2008.
Famous quotes containing the words memorial and/or orchestra:
“I hope there will be no effort to put up a shaft or any monument of that sort in memory of me or of the other women who have given themselves to our work. The best kind of a memorial would be a school where girls could be taught everything useful that would help them to earn an honorable livelihood; where they could learn to do anything they were capable of, just as boys can. I would like to have lived to see such a school as that in every great city of the United States.”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
““Pop” Wyman ruled here with a firm but gentle hand; no drunken man was ever served at the bar; no married man was allowed to play at the tables; across the face of the large clock was written “Please Don’t Swear,” and over the orchestra appeared the gentle admonition, “Don’t Shoot the Pianist—He’s Doing His Damndest.””
—Administration in the State of Colo, U.S. public relief program. Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State (The WPA Guide to Colorado)