* Born 1918, New York City One of the hardest working men in Space Age Pop, Phil Kraus' motto might be, "Have Percussion, Will Travel." Along with his frequent partner, Bobby Rosengarden, Kraus played on more percussion showcase albums than any other musician--except, perhaps, Dick Hyman, who had the advantage of never having to sleep. Kraus began studying the xylophone at the age of 8, and by the time he graduated from high school, was so proficient at most common percussion instruments that he won a full scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music. He played with a few New York groups, including a very early all-electric combo with organist John Gart that played at the Hotel Shelton. In 1939, he joined the staff band of radio station WNEW. The core of the station band took the name, The Five Shades of Blue, and performed in New York nightclubs until Kraus enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941. Aside from Lionel Hampton, Kraus was one of the few professional vibraphonists at the time. Kraus was among the Army musicians selected to appear in Irving Berlin's patriotic musical, "This is the Army." After the war, he returned to New York and began a busy schedule of TV, radio, and recording session work that continued through the late 1970s. He played in studio bands for such TV shows as "Studio One," "Your Show of Shows," "The Perry Como Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and "The Jackie Gleason Show." He was a favorite of numerous arrangers and performers, and can be heard on recordings by Percy Faith, Hugo Winterhalter, Leroy Holmes, Andre Kostelanetz, Benny Goodman, and many others. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.