"It Don't Mean AThing If It Ain't Got That Swing"

The Great Depression that swept through North America in 1929 had a huge devastating effect on the music of the late 20s and early 30s. With jobs as scarce as hens' teeth and whole families starving, the idea of purchasing records or going to a night club to hear some dance music bordered on the insane. The economy was depressed and the spirit of the people was even lower. Something was needed to stir the hearts, souls, and feet of the nation. Like a lightning bolt from Zeus in the heavens, Swing music arrives and "let the good times roll." Here is a clip from Ken Burns' "Jazz" series:

Though a number of big bands emerged in the Swing Era, none were as popular and as influential as the Benny Goodman Band. like Paul Whiteman earlier, it took a white man to bring a black musical form to the attention of the masses. the following clips illustrate the growth of the Goodman Band and the Swing music they made popular. All three clips are from the "Jazz" series:

Although Benny Goodman was called the King of Swing," many other artists - Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, and many others - many people consider Duke Ellington as the true artist of the period. His music brought an elegance to the scene and his influence is still felt. Here is a clip from the "Jazz" series.

Is there possibly any thing so infectious and joyful as Swing music from the 30s and 40s? Just as the Great Depression was starting to lift and prosperity was returning, if not quickly than certainly steadily, Benny Goodman and his Orchestra was there to tell people "Blues skies, nothing but blue skies from now on." From the "Jazz" series:

Benny Goodman's band and the other big bands that sprung up to play this new hot dance music dotted the landscape with their performances. The Palomar in Los Angeles, the Savoy Ballroom and the Cotton Club in New York City, even the Palais Royale in Toronto, were meccas for young people who wanted to dance and jive the night away, to put the troubles and strives outside the door and enter into a world of "pure pleasure." Doing the Lindy Hop and the Big Apple and the Jitterbug were ways to escape the present and pay no heed to the looming dark future. Europe was falling under the sway of Fascism and the drumbeat of war was sounding again but they couldn't match the drums of Gene Krupa!! This is from the movie "Hollywood Hotel" and features the song that sums up the whole period and sound - "Sing, Sing, Sing":

Is it any wonder that this music is still so popular today? The Big Band Sound endures because it brings in and employs many aspects of American music that went before and it mixes them all up in a bag and out pops something new and old and hot and cool and tame and wild - a true American Invention.

At the core of the Swing  Era is, of course, dancing. Pumped by the solid "four on the floor" beat and the intricate rhythms, kids dance and danced and danced. all across America dance halls and ballrooms were jammed packed with young people doing the Lindy Hop, the big Apple, jitterbugging the night away. Here is a clip from the "Jazz" series:

 If Swing can be described in two words, those words would be "pure" and "pleasure."

Of course, it is futile to try and present even the tip of this huge musical iceberg. Swing is far too big and influenced too much of the music we listen to today. Through the "four on the floor" rhythms to the youth marketing to the driving irrepressible beats to the wild abandonment, Swing had it all. But mostly, and at the core of it, is the joy and almost giddy nature of it. I defy any one to be in a bad mood and not spring out of it by watching or listening to the Andrews Sisters. Here is a clip from the Abbot and Costello film "Buck Privates":