About Cootie Williams
Charles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter. When it was over his father asked him what he'd heard and he replied, "Cootie, cootie, cootie." In 1928, he made his first recordings with pianist James P. Williams rose to prominence as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra when the band was playing at the Cotton Club, with which he first performed from 1929 to 1940. In the late 1950s, he formed a small jazz group and recorded a number of albums with Rex Stewart, as well as his own album, Cootie Williams in Hi-Fi (1958). For him, Duke Ellington wrote ''Concerto for Cootie,'' which when lyrics were added became "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me".
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.