Benny Goodman 1

Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman

Benny Goodman, 1971Background information

Birth name Benjamin David Goodman

Also known as "King of Swing", "The Professor", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "Swing's Senior Statesman"

Born May 30, 1909

Origin Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Died June 13, 1986 (aged 77)

Genres Swing, big band

Occupations Musician, bandleader, songwriter

Instruments Clarinet

Years active 1926–1986

Benny Goodman, born Benjamin David Goodman, (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazzmusician who played the clarinet. He was called "The King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor",and "Swing's Senior Statesman".

Life

Early lifeGoodman was the son of poor Jewish immigrants in Chicago, Illinois. They lived in Chicago's Maxwell Streetneighborhood. He learned to play clarinet in a boys' band run by a charity. He became a strong clarinet player at anearly age, and began playing professionally in bands while still wearing 'in short pants'.

Early influencesHis early influences were New Orleans jazz clarinet players in Chicago such as Johnny Dodds, Leon Ropollo, andJimmy Noone.

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First bandGoodman joined one of Chicago's top bands, the Ben Pollack Orchestra, at the age of 16, He made his firstrecordings with them in 1926. He started making records under his own name two years later.

Later lifeGoodman left for New York City. He became a good session musician during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Hewas known as a solid player because he was prepared and reliable. He played with the nationally known bands ofRed Nichols, Isham Jones, and Ted Lewis. Then he formed his own band in 1932.In 1934, he tried out for the "Let's Dance" radio program. Since he needed new charts every week for the show, hisfriend John Hammond suggested that he buy some jazz charts from Fletcher Henderson, who had New York's mostpopular African-American band in the 1920s and early 1930s. The combination of the Henderson charts, his strongclarinet playing, and his band that practiced well made him a rising star in the mid-30s.

FameHe performed at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on August 21, 1935. Because of this show, he became knownacross the United States His radio broadcasts from New York were too late at night for many people on the EastCoast to hear them, but Goodman had many fans in California, and a very excited crowd greeted Goodman. This gota lot of attention across the nation, and made the Goodman Band popular very fast. Some writers have said that thiswas the start of the Swing Era.

Loss of fame

Goodman continued his fast rise throughout the late 1930s with his big band, his trio and quartet, and a sextet. OnJanuary 16, 1938, his band made a famous appearance at Carnegie Hall. By the mid-1940s, big bands became lesspopular. Some reasons for this are that talented musicians were entering the military or getting better-paying factoryjobs, gasoline and rubber rationing during WWII, two long musician recording strikes, and the rise of popularsingers like Frank Sinatra.

DeathGoodman continued to play on records and in small groups. He would sometimes organize a new band and play in ajazz festival, or go on a tour, playing in other countries. He continued to play the clarinet until he died in 1986 in inNew York, New York.

Other projectsGoodman also helped racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could notplay together in most clubs or concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by law. BennyGoodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with him and drummer Gene Krupa in the BennyGoodman Trio. In 1936, he added Lionel Hampton on vibes to form the Benny Goodman Quartet. Goodman was sofamous that his band could afford to not go on tour in the southern states, where the people in his band might havebeen arrested because of their race.

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References

Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and ContributorsBenny Goodman  Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=4760645  Contributors: A Ramanujan, Belovedfreak, Creol, DefenseSupportParty, Djsasso, Glaisher, Gwib,Hikitsurisan, Kansan, Mh7kJ, Peterdownunder, PhnomPencil, TDKR Chicago 101, The Obento Musubi, Yottie, 13 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Benny Goodman1.1971.JPG  Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Benny_Goodman1.1971.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Hans Bernhard (Schnobby)

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