Benny Goodman

Forever known as the King of Swing, clarinetist Benny Goodman ushered in the Swing Era and created some of the best-loved early jazz. Born to Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Goodman showed musical promise at an early age, entering music school at age 10 and playing professionally, alongside the legendary Bix Beiderbecke, at 14. Two years later he joined the locally popular Ben Pollack band, with whom he made his first recordings. By the start of the '30s, while in his early 20s, Goodman was recording under his own name; Billie Holiday (in her recorded debut) and Jack Teagarden were among the singers on his early singles. During 1934 he began a brief (six months) but significant stint on the NBC radio program "Let's Dance." Needing an arranger, he hired Fletcher Henderson whose charts were "hotter" than anything Goodman had done before. Henderson also arranged Goodman's 1935 single of "King Porter Stomp" which proved influential though it wasn't an immediate hit. At this point Goodman was still bigger on the West Coast than the East; thus his 1935 tour began with some underwhelming shows. But when he made it to the Palomar Ballroom near Los Angeles on August 21, he got a wildly enthused crowd who danced through the show. This night is often pegged as the start of the Swing Era. Further career milestones followed, including a more successful radio show (CBS's "Camel Caravan"), a residency at New York's Pennsylvania Hotel, and a string of hits including "Goody, Goody" and "Stompin' At the Savoy." In 1938 Goodman gave a triumphant concert at Carnegie Hall, bringing jazz to that venue for the first time. The night's showstopper was "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)," featuring solos by Goodman, trumpeter Harry James and drummer Gene Krupa. The live album from that show, The Famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, would be a bestseller for decades to come. One of his most acclaimed soloists, guitarist Charlie Christian, joined the band soon afterward. Goodman's run of hits continued into the '40s, including vocals by a young Peggy Lee on "Somebody Else is Taking My Place" and Helen Forrest on "You Turned the Tables On Me"; he took his own vocal on "Gotta Be This or That." He also began to perform classical music, notably Igor Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto which was written for him. However, the evolution of jazz left Goodman further from the forefront; a 1953 tour with Louis Armstrong led to friction between the two greats. The movies would give new life to his career, and there were two features based on his life: Sweet and Low-Down (1944) and The Benny Goodman Story (1955), where he was portrayed by Steve Allen. He continued to record into the '70s, sometimes with younger performers (notably George Benson), often reworking his signature pieces but sometimes doing contemporary material; the album London Date included the Beatles' "Octopus's Garden." Goodman's status as a jazz legend was well established by the time of his death in 1986.