SC001-1 Joe Sanders Collection Finding Aid

Joe Sanders was born in Thayer, Kansas, and spent the majority of his childhood in the Kansas City area. He started his musical performances as a boy soprano in local church choirs and graduated from Westport High School. After World War I he organized an orchestra with Carleton Coon called the Nighthawks which played on the local radio and traveled the country. After Mr. Coon's untimely death in 1932, Sanders continued as a composer, piano player, singer, and conductor of his own band. Sanders died in 1965.
This collection of material, such as scrapbooks, travelogues, photos, sheet music, etc., provides information and detail about Sanders, covering his formative musical years and later successful band career. It also contains information on the relationship between Carleton Coon and Joe Sanders and the formation and travels of their band in the 1920s.