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Larry Clinton; Band Leader and ‘Dipsy Doodle’ Composer

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Larry Clinton, a band leader and composer best known for “The Dipsy Doodle,” one of the big hits of the 1930s, has died of cancer in Tucson. He was 75 and had been undergoing treatment at the University of Arizona Medical Center.

A trumpet player, Clinton was an arranger for both the Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey bands, Isham Jones, Glen Gray, Louis Armstrong and Bunny Berigan.

He was encouraged to begin arranging by Ferde Grofe, composer of the “Grand Canyon Suite,” and after proving successful as an arranger led his own orchestra from 1938 to 1950.

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Clinton also made popular hits of classical melodies, borrowing from Debussy for “My Reverie,” from Tchaikovsky for “Our Love” and from Flotow for “Martha.”

Most recently Clinton, who died May 2, had been an executive with Kapp Records.

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