Goodman, Benny (1909–1986), jazz clarinetist and bandleader.Born into a poor Russian‐Jewish family in
Chicago, Benny Goodman studied clarinet at Jane
Addams's Hull House. A musical prodigy, he performed professionally at age twelve and in a traveling band at sixteen. As a teenager, Goodman became famous for playing “hot” clarinet solos, improvising like the
New Orleans musicians who had invented
jazz. Success in studio and
radio work led Goodman to form his own touring band in 1935, which received mixed reviews until it played the Palomar Ballroom in
Los Angeles on 21 August 1935. Teenagers who had heard Goodman's broadcasts packed the club, and “swing” music was born. While no one agreed exactly what “swing” was, promoters quickly dubbed Goodman the “King of Swing.” On 16 January 1938 he became the first jazz bandleader to play Carnegie Hall, the country's premier high‐culture musical venue.
Goodman was one of the first big‐name bandleaders to feature African American musicians in his ensemble. The vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and the guitarist Charlie Christian received national exposure through his band. Black bandleaders like Edward (“Duke”)
Ellington resented Goodman's raids on their bands, as Goodman offered salaries they could not match. Goodman's musicians were subject to his discipline and temper, however, and few stayed with him for more than one year.
High turnover coupled with physical exhaustion and the disruptions of
World War II ended Goodman's reign as “King of Swing.” By the war's end, demand for small combos rendered Goodman's big bands obsolete. Playing concerts into his seventies, Goodman experimented with modern jazz and classical music; his later career, however, mostly celebrated his past.
See also
Music: Popular Music.
Bibliography
James Lincoln Collier , Benny Goodman and the Swing Era, 1989.
Ross Firestone , Swing, Swing, Swing, 1993.
Jonathan Z.S. Pollack