Big Bands

Big band music emerged in the 1930s as a spirited response to the economic problems of the Great Depression (1929–41; see entry under 1930s—The Way We Lived in volume 2). The style of music continued into the 1940s as the soundtrack to World War II (1939–45). A form of jazz (see entry under 1900s—Music in volume 1) music, big band music took jazz and swing styles from the bands of the 1920s and before and put them into arrangements for larger bands. Sometimes these larger bands had as many as twenty or more musicians. These bands usually consisted of saxophones, trumpets, and trombones; a rhythm section of piano, bass, drums; sometimes guitar; and vocalists or other soloists. Big band music could be fast and exciting or slow and mellow. Either way, it was and is great music for listening and dancing to.

The rise of big bands in the 1930s brought jazz music into the mainstream of American life. Jazz was mostly the creation of African Americans. In the 1920s, there were great African American big bands such as the Roseland Ballroom Orchestra, led by Fletcher Henderson (1897–1952), and the Duke Ellington (1899–1974) Orchestra. But in the 1930s, as more white musicians began to discover and play jazz on their own, it crossed over into mainstream America. White band leaders such as Benny Goodman (1909–1986), Tommy (1905–1956) and Jimmy (1904-1957) Dorsey, Glenn Miller (1904–1944), and Harry James (1916–1983) had lots of hits and drew rave crowds. Many of their songs were their own versions of songs originally written and recorded by black bands such as Henderson's.

Goodman, nicknamed the "King of Swing," and his band could bring dancers to a frenzy with the wild solos and driving beat of such tunes as "Sing, Sing, Sing." Big band music also launched solo singing stars such as Frank Sinatra (1915–1998; see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3), who first thrilled crowds as a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. These white bands brought the music to mainstream America, but black big bands extended the music even further. The band of Count Basie (1904-84) was one of the best and hardest swinging bands of the era. Ellington wrote popular songs such as "In a Sentimental Mood" and "Solitude," but also more complex pieces. Extended orchestral pieces such as "Black, Brown, and Beige" pushed jazz music to new heights. Ellington emerged as one of the great composers of the twentieth century.

During the grim years of the Great Depression, big band music (also called "swing" music) provided an upbeat and uplifting sound. This was dance music, and people could escape their troubles dancing (see entry under 1900s—The Way We Lived in volume 1) away the night to the sounds of the big bands. In the 1940s, when World War II took many young men overseas to fight, big band music provided songs of longing and remembrance that matched the sad mood of the war years, songs such as "Long Ago and Far Away" and "I'll Be Seeing You." The popularity of big band music faded when rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3) emerged in the 1950s, but it continues to be played and enjoyed today. A swing revival, in fact, occurred in the 1990s.

—Timothy Berg

For More Information

Berendt, Joachim E. The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to Fusion and Beyond. Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill and Company, 1982.

Erenberg, Lewis. Swingin' the Dream: Big Band Jazz and the Rebirth of American Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998.

Stowe, David W. Swing Changes: Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994.

Walker, Leo. The Big Band Almanac. New York: Da Capo Press, 1989.