On this episode we’re going back to the 1940s, considered by many to be the last decade of the Big Band Era or the Swing Era, originating in the 1930s. Big bands had existed before this era of course, but this is the time in which swing was the dominant style of jazz and had the most influence on American music before bebop took over as the prominent jazz style. We’re paying particular attention to the singers from this time, some of which were already famous, and some who would rise in popularity because of the big bands they sang with. We’ll hear from the bands of Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and many of the vocalists at their microphones: Frank Sinatra, Anita O’Day, Jimmy Rushing, the Pied Pipers, The Modernaires, and more.
Sing, Sing, Sing: The Voices of the Big Bands of the 1940s
