Show Notes 3/5-8

The secret(s) to success

Woody Herman was a very successful bandleader. In fact, he enjoyed one of the longest careers of any of the Big Bandleaders, stretching from the early 1930s almost up to his death in 1987. How did he manage to do that when nearly all of his contemporaries had thrown in the towel decades earlier? 

Woody wasn't the world's greatest sax or clarinet player. His singing was good, but nothing sensational. Many of his musicians outshone him as a soloist. So what was it that made Woody Herman so special? IMHO, it was a combination of three things: 

(1) He loved the music

(2) He was a collaborator 

(3) He believed in encouraging young musicians and embracing their ideas. 

Unlike some bandleaders of the day, Woody was a veteran performer at heart, having grown up performing on the Vaudeville stage since the age of six. By the time he was out of his teens, Woody had seen the demise of Vaudeville coming, and had switched gears to music. He left his native Milwaukee and headed for the West Coast, where he found work in the dance bands of Tom Gerun, Harry Sosnik, and later, Isham Jones, one of the most successful songwriter/bandleaders of the 1920s. By now it was 1936 and Mr. Jones decided to retire (a decision he later reversed). The band members formed a cooperative, patterned after the bands of Glen Gray and Bob Crosby. Woody was elected president, and they settled into their new repertoire of bluesy swing numbers, with Woody taking the reed solos and sharing the vocals with Frances Wayne.

Being one of Woody's sidemen was not so much like working for him as it was like working with him. Band members were encouraged to call their own rehearsals to try out their  ideas for solos or new arrangements. It just made all the guys work harder. Maybe that's why Woody was one of the most well-liked bandleaders of the era. 

This week, In the Mood begins Hour 1 with some sides by Woody's pre-Herd band (pre-1944) as well as a few sides from Herman's First Herd, the group of young upstarts that burst onto the scene with exciting, progressive tunes like Caldonia and Bijou. 

We kick off Hour 2 this week with a nice retrospective on Frank Sinatra's early years of success with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Tommy hired Frank away from the Harry James band (Frank's first big break) in 1939. Frank was only halfway through a two-year contract when Harry graciously released him to accept the job with Tommy's more successful band. 

Frank was with Dorsey for a little over three years before he struck out on his own. During that time, he was featured on some of the biggest hit recordings of the time, including I'll Be Seeing You, Delores, and I'll Never Smile Again, which Victor pressed until they wore out the master. 

When Sinatra did leave Dorsey's employ, he was still obligated to the bandleader by the terms of his employment contract with him, which stipulated that Dorsey was entitled to one-third of Frank's income for the rest of his life. Needless to say, this was a contract that Frank desperately wanted out of, but Dorsey;s attorneys were adamant. Unconfirmed legend has it that a couple of thugs had to show up unannounced at Dorsey's posh suburban home at 3 am and "negotiate" Frank's release. But we will never know the truth of the matter; all the parties involved have long since departed this mortal plane 

We'll spin some delightful Dorsey sides that feature the young Sinatra, both in ballad settings and swinging sessions. It's especially interesting to hear Sinatra evolve as a singer over this period.

Other highlights in this week's In the Mood include the original hit recording of Blueberry Hill (hint: it wasn't by Fats Domino), a lesson in trombonics from Jack Teagarden, a sample of Billie Holiday with the Artie Shaw band, and Ella Fitzgerald live at the Crescendo in Hollywood. As always we include the best of the Big Bands of the 1930s, 40s and 50s with appearances by Sammy Kaye, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, Bert Kaempfert, Count Basie, Glenn Miller and many others. 

We'd love to hear your comments about the show! Please feel free to leave your requests and comments here or on our Facebook Page. And Keep Swinging, My Friends!