An Overnight Success that Took 20 Years
How does one do it? How does one burst onto the scene, fully developed and swinging rampantly? Well, of course, the answer is that one does no such thing. Most overnight successes are, in fact, achieved over time - often a great deal of time. That was certainly the case with Frank Sinatra.
Sinatra, as are many who sustain success over the long haul, was a refined, "new-and-improved" version of himself, having re-invented himself more than once before achieving lasting success. First, there was the "boy singer," a shy, skinny band singer with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. After three years with Dorsey, Frank was finally developing a substantive style of his own.
Then, there was the "pop crooner," a humble, still-skinny kid who sold a pretty decent number of singles for a while, delivering dewy-eyed love ballads and an occasional clunky swing tune. This Sinatra's career hit the skids after a two-year slide in 1951. For the next couple of years, Frank wasn't cool - he was cold. Columbia kept him paired with arranger Axel Stordahl, who had worked with Sinatra when both were in the employ of Tommy Dorsey. As the 1950s wore on, Stordahl's arrangements sounded ever more stuffy and old-fashioned. And so did Frank's records.
So, in 1953, with seemingly nothing to lose, Frank opted out of his contract with Columbia and signed a new record deal with Capitol. He was 38 years old. Capitol teamed Sinatra with arranger Nelson Riddle and producers Voyle Gilmore and Sonny Burke. The result was the "Swingin' Sinatra" of the next 20 years. And this is the guy we spotlight in Hour 1 of In the Mood this week. We'll hear some of Frank's swingin'-est sides for Capitol, all with the genius of Nelson Riddle and his hand-picked band of studio studs backing him up.
Frank Sinatra could not have achieved what he did without the experience he gained as a "boy singer" in the Big Bands. Of course, he moved beyond that, becoming a fully-realized talent in his own right. But his values as a performer were firmly rooted in the Big Band Era, when the business was so tough as a performer, you had to really love what you were doing; it was the only way to survive.
Hour 2 begins this week with some swinging 78 sides from the great band of Chick Webb. It was a real pleasure to comb through the 78 section of the World's Greatest Record Library to select the tunes for this feature. Most of the songs in this 20-minute segment come straight off of the original Decca shellac singles. We've used every means at our disposal to help these historic recordings from the mid-1930s sound their best.
Chick Webb was a talented and tireless drummer who led a band that rocked the "killer-dillers" and delivered ballads with a swing that the dancers found irresistible. They reigned supreme as the house band at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom for years, striking fear in the hearts of any band that might challenge their dominance. The band "cutting contests" of the day were the stuff of legends. And Chick did it all while suffering with a lifelong hunchback condition caused by spinal tuberculosis, a malady that would claim his life at the tragically young age of 33 in 1939.
Through it all, Chick Webb set a standard of excellence in jazz drumming that is still respected today. You'll understand when you hear his innovative and propulsive drive on these recordings. But Chick Webb gave us much more than a legacy of fine and inspired drumming. Chick Webb left us the gift of Ella Fitzgerald. She made her first professional appearances with his band, and made her first recordings with him also. It was under his direction that the teenage Ella Fitzgerald rose to her first fame, capturing the hearts of America's jitterbugs and swing-a-roos.
The cutesy double-entendre in the lyric of her first #1 hit, A Tisket, A Tasket, is lost on most people nowadays. She is singing about having lost her "little yellow basket." At one point, she sings, "That itty-bitty basket was a joy of mine.". But the way she swings the lyric, it sounds like, "That itty-bitty basque , it was a joy of mine," referring to a type of ladies' undergarment. Later, she sings, "Oh, gee, I wish that little girl I could see..." to which the guys in the band respond, "So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we."
But you have to read this blog to hear about that!!
We'll enjoy a generous helping of Chick Webb's finest work, both with and without Ella Fitzgerald, on this week's show. As you might guess, his band was populated with some of the most talented swing musicians, composers and arrangers of the day, and their body of work commands a high level of respect. If you're not too familiar with Chick and his band, I hope you hear something new that you like in this segment.
In addition to these special Spotlight features focused on Frank Sinatra and Chick Webb, In the Mood brings you the best of the Big Bands of the 1930s, 40s and 50s this week, with superb entries from Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Harry James, and many others. We'll hear the iconic voice of Mildred Bailey singing with the King of Jazz, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1932. We'll hear Bix Beiderbecke on cornet with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra from 1927. And we will also play the rarely-heard Blues from William Grant Still's Lenox Avenue Suite in a landmark recording by Artie Shaw and his orchestra from 1940.
Reach out to a band student or young jazz player and ask them to listen to the show with you this week! These young players NEED to hear this music! As always, you're invited to leave us a comment or request here or on our Facebook Page.
Remember to be kind to one another this week, and above all,
Keep Swinging!
Scott
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