JOHN T. "FESS" WHATLEY

	John T. "Fess" Whatley became one of the most influential
educators in American music during the 1920s and 1930s when
graduates of his music curriculum at Birmingham Industrial High
School began to take positions with the many of the leading
bands of that day.

	A native of Tuscaloosa, Whatley used strict discipline to
instill the ability to read music in his pupils. As the big band
craze spread across the United States few Black musicians had
the ability to read the intricate arrangements, so Whatley's
former pupils found their hard earned achievements in high
demand.

	Among Whatley's more famous students were Erskine Hawkins,
Sammy Lowe, Herman Grimes, Joseph Britton, Ed Whatley, Murray
Harper, Edward Brown, Curley Parrish, William Scott, Walter
Blythe, Wilson Driver, Joe Britton, Joe Guy, Leatha Pearl Lowe,
Henry Minnet, J.B. Sims, Herman Robinson, H.O. Thompson and
James Lowe.

	In addition to teaching, Whatley formed Birmingham's first
"Negro Society Dance Orchestra" under the name of "Fess Whatley
and His Jazz Demons" and played most of the society events
throughout the city.