Remembering Vic

Vic Knight led a big band known as one of the finest in Florida. He was loved by countless music fans, and both loved and respected by the musicians who knew him.

His band played for society balls and charity galas, parties at upper-echelon clubs like the Gulf Stream Golf Club and the Country Club of Florida, and public events he promoted on the radio station he owned, WDBF AM-1420 in Delray Beach.

When he died of cancer in 2000, hundreds of mourners attended services at Spanish River Church in Boca Raton. Noted Indianapolis broadcaster Howard Caldwell spoke movingly about Vic's reputation in the northern city, still glowing even 35 years after Vic had moved back to Florida.

Afterward, Ted led his father's big band for a reception at Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club. The cocktails and hors d'oeuvres flowed freely, and Vic was there in spirit, smiling and digging the sound.

Early years

Vic was born in 1928 in St. Petersburg, a sixth-generation Florida native. He was the grandson of Marion S. Knight, a state senator for whom Knight's Key was named..

Vic's father, Texas H. Knight, moved the family to Indianapolis after World War II. There Vic attended Howe High School, where he played second trumpet in the school band. It took an entire semester for the teacher to discover that Vic was playing by ear, able to fake the second part after hearing the lead once or twice. The teacher made the student learn to read music, which certainly came in handy later. It was also at Howe that Vic met his lifelong sweetheart, Patty.

Vic went on to study music at the Jordan Conservatory at Butler University, and he and Patty were married not long after. It was during college that Vic began leading dance bands.

After graduation, he went to work at WXLW Radio. He was a popular announcer but his bands were just as popular as his radio show.

Willing to work Sunday mornings for extra money, he would often get to the station just in time and dressed in his tuxedo, having played a prom in some distant Indiana town the night before.

He established an agency called Knight Artists, combining the best local musicians in various bands and booking them under names like the Quintones, the Squires, and the Foursome.

Click the images to enlarge.

Vic did many remote broadcasts for WXLW. The station boasted a full-featured mobile studio aboard a luxurious custom trailer called the Traveler, state of the art in 1960. Picture windows let people watch their favorite announcers spin the records. He was a local star whose presence at a remote could attract fans eager to see the exciting young announcer and bandleader in person. Vic loved radio remotes, a holdover from the live band broadcasts of the 1940s.

Touring recording artists all passed through Indianapolis because of its location in the heartland, and many would stop at WXLW to meet Vic and the other announcers who played their records. At left, Vic with June Christy, vocalist with Stan Kenton and one of Vic's favorites.

With a gift for gab, Vic perfected the rambling personalized first-person radio spots that sponsors love. He was promoted to sales director and moved his family into a big house in the suburbs, complete with pool table, garage workshop, and a baby grand piano. But he tired of working for someone else and longed for a radio station he could call his own.

Back to Florida

In 1965 he sat the family down for a meeting. It seemed there were two stations for sale, one in upsate New York and one in Delray Beach, Florida. Which one would Patty and the kids prefer?

It wasn't hard to decide in favor of sun and sand. With the help of two Indianapolis partners, Vic purchased WDBF and moved with his family to Delray Beach. The musical format always included his beloved big bands. Remote broadcasts were an important selling tool. At right, Vic puts local banker George Wilde on the air.

His own program, “Seven Decades of Sounds,” attracted devoted fans who were fascinated by his musical taste and his knowledge of trivia. Later he syndicated the program, mailing tapes of the show to stations in Indiana and other states.

In 1973 he recruited his son, Ted, to write ad copy while studying music at nearby Florida Atlantic University. Ted joined the station full time in 1976 and spent 20 years working with his father.

Vic briefly expanded when he and his partners bought WGGG in Gainesville and WNDB/WDNJ in Daytona Beach. He sold them off after realizing how much he preferred working closer to home.

In 1980, at the request of concert promoters needing a big band to accompany star vocalist Helen O'Connell for a date in West Palm Beach, Vic founded the WDBF All-Star Big Band. Later he formed the Gentlemen of Jazz to play for smaller venues, and he loved playing his trumpet and trombone with the group. Ted often played piano with Vic’s bands, and before long was following in his father's footsteps by hosting a radio show and leading bands of his own.

Over the years Vic's bands played for many major charity balls. He backed stars like Garry Moore, who liked his music so much that he brought Vic's band up to Hilton Head, South Carolina more than once. The musicians laugh about riding in the rattletrap DC-9 chartered for the trips, scared half to death by the poorly lit island runway and practically freezing in the unheated cabin.

Both the big band and the Gentlemen of Jazz played many times at Erny's in Delray Beach, a Chicago-style saloon known for live jazz. Sadly, Erny's is now only a memory, having closed its doors after a 50-year run. At left, Vic with the "No-Name Jive Singers" at Erny's. From left to right: Pat Baxter, vibes, with Vic, Doug Smith, Dwane Earnhardt, and Glen Rovinelli.

The smaller band also played many times at Cypress Manor Grill in Boynton Beach, also no longer in business. At both locations, announcers broadcast live from the scene, occasionally putting live music on the air in the best tradition of the 1930s and 40s.

At right, a rare photo of the big band at Erny's. Saxes (left to right): Ray Oram, Frankie DeFranco, Paul Magersuppe, Glen Rovinelli. Leader: Vic Knight. Bass (hidden): Chuck Andrus. Trombones: Jim Berman, Frank McCallum, Hank Bredenberg, Pat Lacy. Drums: Jean Bolduc. Trumpets: Doug Smith, Mike Terry, Dwane Earnhardt, Bunny Carfagno. Piano: Ted Knight. Click to enlarge.

Family man

Vic always had time for Patty and their three children. There were vacations in St. Petersburg every summer with Ted and his sisters, Beth and Jody. In Florida, they spent weekends with the kids swimming and playing tennis. Vic taught his son the music business, patiently explaining everything from how to choose the right instruments for a band to writing contracts for bookings. He played big band and jazz records of all kinds for Ted, even the ones he thought were too wild to play on the air, and took Ted to see the Count Basie Orchestra when they came to town.

Later, Patty and Vic traveled the world, saying they did not want to “save it all for retirement.”  They were as giggly as a couple of kids when grandchildren came along, making frequent visits and shooting dozens of rolls of film to capture memories of the little ones.

Patty and Vic were blessed with the kind of storybook romance that we rarely get to see, but their religious faith also helped keep them close throughout their 51 years of marriage. Vic never wrote pop songs or jazz, but even the musicians who knew him well might be surprised to learn that he wrote several choral works on sacred texts.

Retirement

In 1997, Patty and Vic made many new friends when they moved to Delray Dunes, a golf community west of Boynton Beach. At left, Vic dances with Patty at the Dunes while Ted leads the band.

About a year later, Vic sold WDBF. His retirement was an active one, both as a successful day trader and as a writer. Selling the station gave him time to complete the book he'd been working on.

He had long enjoyed a second career giving humorous talks on Florida history, and adapted his talks to write Vic Knight’s Florida. When the book was accepted for publication by Pelican Press, it was one of the proudest days of his life. His second book, Florida Scams, is also in print. He was one of several historians featured on a cable TV program called "Eye on History," discussing subjects like the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach.

The last chapter

Vic had just renewed his interest in golf when his cancer was diagnosed. Although surgery was successful, the effects of chemotherapy and radiation proved to be too much to take. He was survived by Patty, his children and grandchildren, and by his sister, Mary Lou Ricker. Patty died in 2002, also of cancer.