Spoiler : Finegan, Bill (birth name was William J. Finegan) Born 4/3/1917 in Neward, New Jersey. Died 6/5/2008 from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He grew up in a family of muscians playing piano. While attending high school in Rumson, New Jersey he formed a band. In the early 1930s the band played on Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour. His band won, and was hired to tour the US and Canada, performing in Bowes' vaudeville-style shows on a bill that might include a dog act, an opera singer, and somebody playing a classical piece on the piano while wearing mittens.

Spoiler : He was an arranger for Tommy Dorsey in 1938, when Dorsey bought Finegan's score for "Lonesome Road" to Glenn Miller, who hired Finegan. From 1938 to 1942, he wrote more than 300 arangements for Miller, including Little Brown Jug, Sunrise Serenade amd Song of the Volga. Finegan also wrote arrangements for he films, "Sun Valley Serenade" in 1941 and "Orchestra Wives" in 1942.

Spoiler : He was also a teacher, one of his students was Neslon Riddle, the longtime arranger for Frank Sinatra. He served in the US Army during WWII, then after his discharge, he spent time in Europe and studied at the Paris Conservatory.

Spoiler : In 1952, Finegan and Eddie Sauter teamed up to create a band that would explore and expand the concept of the jazz orchestra. Time magazine called the group "the most original band heard in the United States in years." Their albums include "New Directions in Music," recorded in 1953, "The Sons of Sauter-Finegan" (1955), and "Adventure in Time" (1956). The band lasted about five years, and became known for its rich harmonics, extroardinary voicing and varied instrumentation. In addition to the standard instruments, the orchestra included kazoos, toy xylophones and recorders. The band was featured on The Saturday Night Revue for NBC-TV, which was the summer replacement series for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows in 1954.

Spoiler : Following the breakup of the Sauter-Finegan band, Finegan wrote music for commercials, and taught at the University of Bridgeport and elsewhere. During the 1980s, he wrote and arranged for vocalist Carol Sloane, saxophonist Sonny Stitt, and the Mel Lewis Ensemble. His most recent work before his death, includes arrangements for Warren Vache's "Don't Look Back" and for the Gotham Wind Symphony in 2007.