Just Friends

The standard "Just Friends" (Sam M. Lewis - John Klenner) was introduced to the world by Red (William) McKenzie and His Orchestra in 1931. For some reason the single went virtually unrecognized. Red was a talent scout and an actual jazz comb player in the twenties.

In 1931 Russ Columbo (Ruggiero Colombo) recorded "Just Friends" with the Leonard Joy Orchestra and the song became a hit when it peaked at number fourteen. Russ was killed in an accidental shooting. It's said that he and actress Carole Lombard (Jane Peters) were romantically involved.