Gene Krupa in Chicago. Bartłomiej was an immigrant from Poland. Anna was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania and was also of Polish descent. His parents were Roman Catholics who groomed him for the priesthood. He spent his grammar school days at parochial schools. After graduation he attended Saint Joseph's College for a year but decided the priesthood was not his vocation. Krupa studied with Sanford A. Moeller and began playing drums professionally in the mid-1920s with bands in Wisconsin. In 1927 he was hired by MCA to become a member of Thelma Terry and Her Playboys, the first notable American jazz band—all-girl bands
Lee Gordon (promoter) music tour, headlined by the famous American jazz drummer Gene Krupa. Brodziak went to promote many other musical tours in competition with Gordon, and in 1964 he famously scored the biggest coup of his long career when he secured The Beatles for their first and only Australian tour. Lee Gordon's first concert promotion, staged in July 1954, was an all-star variety 'package' tour featuring three of the biggest names in American jazz - vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, drummer-bandleader Buddy Rich and clarinettist-bandleader Artie Shaw, supported by comedian Jerry Colonna. It was a significant event in many respects. Ella Fitzgerald's inclusion was