May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986
The undeniable “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman was one of the most important and successful musicians and bandleaders of the Big Band jazz era. Throughout the 1920’s and early ’30’s, Goodman played clarinet in bands and as a session musician alongside titanic contemporaries like Bix Beiderbecke, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Taking the arrangements of a successful but stalled-out African-American bandleader/arranger named Fletcher Henderson, Goodman was able to bring a broad popularity to what would become Swing music. Continue reading
Celebrity Graveland 