Roy was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was playing
professional trumpet by the time he was sixteen years old.
Before he was twenty, he moved to New York and made a name
for himself playing in many of the dance bands in Harlem.
Roy became a very popular trumpet player—all the bandleaders
wanted him to join their bands. He played with Fletcher
Henderson's Orchestra, and then with the Gene Krupa, Artie
Shaw and Benny Goodman bands. Roy also formed his
own small and big bands and played with great musicians
like Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges. Anita O’Day and Ella
Fitzgerald. Everyone loved Roy's amazing trumpet solos and
his special, one of a kind sound—fast, high and sweet!