Died On This Date (August 8, 2010) Jack Parnell / Bandleader For The Muppets
themusicsover Jack Parnell
August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2010
Jack Parnell was an English jazz drummer, pianist and bandleader who began playing is instruments at the age of five. During WWII, he played in the RAF band. He composed many television theme songs throughout his career, and in 1973, he became the first British musician to win an Emmy for his work on a Barbra Streisand special. Over the course of his career, Parnell played with the likes of Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis Jr. From 1976 to 1981, Parnell served as the off-camera bandleader for The Muppets program. Jack Parnell was 87 when he passed away on August 8, 2010.