Swing: Pure Pleasure

>> FOR OVER A DECADE, GENERAL MOTORS HAS BEEN THE SOLE CORPORATE SPONSOR OF THE FILMS OF KEN BURNS.

WE'RE PROUD OF OUR ASSOCIATION WITH KEN BURNS AND PBS.

IT'S ALL PART OF GM's COMMITMENT TO SHARE THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH QUALITY TELEVISION PROGRAMMING.

MAJOR SUPPORT WAS ALSO PROVIDED BY THE PARK FOUNDATION, DEDICATED TO EDUCATION AND QUALITY TELEVISION.

THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, SUPPORTING PERFORMING ARTISTS WITH THE CREATION AND PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF THEIR WORK.

LOUISIANA, HOME OF THE SOUNDS OF ZYDECO, CAJUN, GOSPEL, AND, OF COURSE, JAZZ.

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD.

THE REVA & DAVID LOGAN FOUNDATION, A FAMILY FOUNDATION.

AND BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

[STEPPIN' INTO SWING SOCIETY PLAYING] CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY GENERAL MOTORS Man: I THINK IT'S TERRIBLY IMPORTANT THAT JAZZ IS PRIMARILY DANCE MUSIC.

SO, YOU MOVE WHEN YOU HEAR IT, AND IT ALWAYS MOVES IN A DIRECTION OF ELEGANCE, WHICH IS THE MOST CIVILIZED THING THAT A HUMAN BEING CAN DO.

THE ULTIMATE EXTENSION, ELABORATION, AND REFINEMENT OF EFFORT IS ELEGANCE WHERE JUST DOING IT GIVES PLEASURE OF ITSELF.

THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR AS WE CAN GET WITH LIFE.

THAT'S EQUIVALENT TO WHAT ERNEST HEMINGWAY CALLED THE SWEAT ON A WINE BOTTLE.

IF YOU DON'T ENJOY HOW THOSE BEADS OF SWEAT LOOK, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU POUR THE WHITE WINE OUT AND YOU TASTE IT AND HOW YOUR PARTNER LOOKS AND HOW THE SUNLIGHT COMES THROUGH, YOU MISSED IT.

[RIDIN' HIGHPLAYING] Man: JANUARY 1, 1936...

THE SWINGOS THINK THAT SWING IS MARKING AN INDELIBLE NOTATION ON THE EVOLUTION OF JAZZ.

WITH THEM, IT'S A CREED, A CODE.

THAT'S WHY THE SWING ADDICTS SEEM SO GLAZED AND DAZED IN THEIR Nth DEGREE APPRECIATION OF THIS...SWING BUSINESS...

SO WHAT IS SWING?

ASK ANY ONE OF THE SWINGOISTS, AND THEY ALL VAMP OFF, "WELL, SWING IS SOMETHING LIKE..." BUT NONE SEEMS ABLE TO DEFINE JUST WHAT IT IS.

ABEL GREEN.

VARIETY.

NARRATOR: IN THE MID 1930s, AS THE GREAT DEPRESSION STUBBORNLY REFUSED TO LIFT, JAZZ CAME AS CLOSE AS IT HAS EVER COME TO BEING AMERICA'S POPULAR MUSIC.

IT HAD A NEW NAME NOW--SWING-- AND ITS IMPACT WAS REVOLUTIONARY.

SWING RESCUED THE RECORDING INDUSTRY.

IN 1932, JUST 10 MILLION RECORDS HAD BEEN SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES.

BY 1939, THAT NUMBER WOULD GROW TO 50 MILLION.

SWING--WHICH HAD GROWN UP IN THE DANCEHALLS OF HARLEM-- WOULD BECOME THE DEFINING MUSIC FOR AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF AMERICANS.

Man: I THINK THAT WE ALL HAVE A HANKERING FOR THE MUSIC WE WERE HEARING WHEN WE WERE 14, 15, 16 YEARS OLD.

I THINK THAT NEVER GETS AWAY FROM US, AND WITH ME, IT WAS THE SWING BANDS.

THAT WAS MY MUSIC.

THIS IS WHERE I WAS COMING FROM.

THIS IS THE THING THAT GRIPPED MY HEART AT THE BEGINNING, AND AS IS THE CASE WITH ANYBODY, THOSE THINGS THAT YOU PICKED UP EARLY IN YOUR LIFE ARE THE ONES YOU TURN BACK TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU WANT A LITTLE SOLACE.

[BUGLE CALL RAGPLAYING] Man: PEOPLE NEEDED DANCE MUSIC, MAYBE MORE THAN EVER IN AMERICA, BECAUSE THE COUNTRY WAS IN SUCH DOLDRUMS.

SO I THINK PEOPLE NEEDED THE ESCAPE OF GOING TO THE SAVOY AND TO THOSE OTHER PLACES TO DANCE.

THEY NEEDED THOSE BANDS.

AS AN ANTIDOTE TO THE DEPRESSION, I THINK SWING MUSIC DID AS MUCH AS MGM MUSICALS TO HELP AMERICA THROUGH.

Narrator: SWING PROVIDED HOLLYWOOD WITH ITS THEME MUSIC AND OFFERED ENTERTAINMENT, ELEGANCE, AND ESCAPE FOR A PEOPLE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK.

RADIOS AND JUKEBOXES COULD BE HEARD PLAYING SWING ALONG EVERY MAIN STREET IN AMERICA, PROVIDING THE ACCOMPANIMENT FOR A HOST OF EXHILARATING NEW DANCES-- THE BIG APPLE AND LITTLE PEACH, THE SHAG AND SUSY Q, AND THE DANCE THAT HAD STARTED IT ALL-- THE LINDY HOP-- NOW CALLED JITTERBUGGING.

HUNDREDS OF BANDS WERE ON THE ROAD-- AND YOUNG PEOPLE FOLLOWED THE CAREERS OF THE MUSICIANS WHO PLAYED IN THEM JUST AS THEY FOLLOWED THEIR FAVORITE BASEBALL PLAYERS.

MILLIONS OF WHITE AMERICANS WHO HAD NEVER LISTENED TO JAZZ BEFORE SUDDENLY FILLED BALLROOMS AND THEATERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY-- THE ARAGON IN CHICAGO, THE ALCAZAR IN BALTIMORE, AND THE ALI BABA IN OAKLAND; THE TWILIGHT IN FORT DODGE, IOWA, AND THE MOONLIGHT IN CANTON, OHIO...

THE ARCADIA BALLROOM IN DETROIT, THE PARAMOUNT THEATER IN NEW YORK, AND THE PALOMAR BALLROOM IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE BENNY GOODMAN HAD THRILLED AUDIENCES WITH HIS VERSION OF THE MUSIC FIRST PLAYED BY LOUIS ARMSTRONG, FLETCHER HENDERSON, CHICK WEBB AND DUKE ELLINGTON.

Man: SWING MUSIC WAS AN ELECTRIFYING DEVELOPMENT IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE.

IT UNLEASHED FORCES THAT, I THINK, PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW EXISTED.

THERE HAD BEEN DANCE BANDS, SWEET BANDS, SENTIMENTAL BANDS, BUT WHEN BENNY GOODMAN REACHED THOSE KIDS AT THE PALOMAR BALLROOM IN CALIFORNIA, IT WAS LIKE 20 YEARS LATER WITH ROCK AND ROLL.

HE WAS PLAYING A SWINGING ROUGH MUSIC THAT HAD BEEN PLAYED IN BLACK COMMUNITIES FOR YEARS.

ELLINGTON, YOU KNOW, WROTE IT DON'T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN'T GOT THAT SWING 3 YEARS EARLIER, AND CHICK WEBB'S BAND WAS DOING IT AND FLETCHER HENDERSON'S.

IT SWEPT THE COUNTRY.

IT WAS--IT UNLEASHED SOME KIND OF PENT-UP EXCITEMENT AND--AND--AND PHYSICALITY THAT I THINK NOBODY WAS QUITE PREPARED FOR.

ALSO, THIS WAS THE DEPRESSION.

IT WAS NOT AN EASY PERIOD.

AND THIS WAS A MUSIC THAT WAS JUST PURE PLEASURE, PURE PHYSICAL PLEASURE.

[BLUE SKIESPLAYING] Man: WE ARE GETTING THIS MONEY OUT JUST AS FAST AS WE CAN BECAUSE WE ARE ANXIOUS TO GET THE UNEMPLOYED FROM RELIEF ROLLS ONTO PAYROLLS.

WE ARE NOT ONLY BUILDING ROADS, WE ARE BUILDING BRIDGES, WE'RE BUILDING DAMS...

IT IS GOING INTO PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND VARIOUS OTHER PROJECTS.

Man: SONG IS THE WIND-CHIME OF MEMORY, AND THESE WERE OUR SONGS.

THEY WERE PART OF THE DAILY ORDINARY... AND THIS, I THINK, IS WHAT TOOK BENNY OVER THE GAP, OUT OF JAZZ, INTO THE AMERICAN PARLOR.

HE ARRIVED WITH BLUE SKIES.

WELL, WE KNEW BLUE SKIES.

I MEAN, EVERYBODY KNEW IRVING BERLIN SO THAT WE WERE HOME FREE.

THIS IS OUR GUY.

Narrator: WITHIN A MONTH OF BENNY GOODMAN'S UNEXPECTED SUCCESS AT THE PALOMAR, HIS RECORDS STOOD AT NUMBER 3, NUMBER TWO, AND NUMBER ONE IN CALIFORNIA RECORD STORES.

HE WAS 26 YEARS OLD AND ALREADY BEING BILLED AS THE "KING OF SWING."

SUDDENLY, HIS MUSIC WAS EVERYWHERE, AND GOODMAN, THE RETICENT SON OF JEWISH IMMIGRANTS FROM THE SLUMS OF CHICAGO, WAS BECOMING A MATINEE IDOL.

Woman: I KIND OF WAS IN LOVE WITH BENNY GOODMAN.

I DON'T KNOW WHY.

I THOUGHT HE LOOKED GREAT, AND I LOVED THE WAY HE JUST STOOD THERE, AND HE DIDN'T OVER-- YOU KNOW--EMPHASIZE HIMSELF.

HE WAS COOL.

TO ME, HE WAS A COOL GUY--IN MY YOUTH.

YOU KNOW, I WAS 16 YEARS OLD, 17.

Radio announcer: THE "KING OF SWING".

YES, SIR, IT'S BENNY GOODMAN HIMSELF, PLAYING... Gordon: AND I USED TO PUT THE RADIO ON AT HIGH VOLUME AND PUT MY EAR TO IT TO HEAR GENE KRUPA, AND MY MOTHER WOULD GO CRAZY, SAYING, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

I SAID, "MOM, SHH!

I GOTTA HEAR THIS!"

Narrator: ON MARCH 3, 1937, BENNY GOODMAN'S ORCHESTRA BEGAN A TWO-WEEK ENGAGEMENT AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER IN TIMES SQUARE.

UNTIL THEN, THEY HAD PLAYED HOTELS AND BALLROOMS WHERE ALCOHOL WAS SERVED AND THE CUSTOMERS WERE MOSTLY ADULTS.

[SING SING SINGPLAYING] BUT AT THE PARAMOUNT, EVERYONE WAS WELCOME.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS, WHO HAD BEEN BUYING UP BENNY GOODMAN'S RECORDS, NOW HAD A CHANCE TO SEE THEIR HERO IN PERSON.

Collier: THE MOMENT HAD COME, AND THEY WERE POURING OUT OF THE SUBWAYS AROUND TIMES SQUARE IN MOBS, AND THE POLICE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON.

WHERE WERE ALL THESE KIDS COMING FROM?

WHAT WAS IT ALL ABOUT?

Gordon: THE MUSIC HAD SUCH AN INCREDIBLE BEAT THAT IT JUST BROUGHT YOU OUT OF YOURSELF AND YOU GOT OUT OF YOUR SEAT AND YOU DANCED WITH WHOEVER-- A STRANGER, YOU DIDN'T KNOW.

BUT IT WAS JUST FUN TO GET UP AND MOVE WITH THAT BEAT.

Collier: AND THE KIDS STARTED JITTERBUGGING IN THE AISLES...

RIGHT UP AROUND THE STAGE, AND SOME OF THEM EVEN JUMPING UP ON THE STAGE.

AND THAT WAS WHAT TRIGGERED A GREAT DEAL OF PUBLICITY, AND BENNY GOODMAN THEN, ALTHOUGH HE HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL, NOW HE HAD BECOME REALLY AN ICON.

A GREAT--A GREAT HERO OF POPULAR CULTURE.

Giddins: BENNY WAS A GOOD ROLE MODEL.

HE COMES OUT, HE LOOKS LIKE A GENTLEMAN, AND THEN, IN THE MIDDLE OF A CLARINET SOLO, ALL OF A SUDDEN, HE'S GOT ONE FOOT RAISED, AND HE'S HOPPING AROUND, THEN HE SITS DOWN ON A CHAIR, AND HE PRACTICALLY FALLS OVER, AND HE BECOMES COMPLETELY CONSUMED IN THE MUSIC, AND THIS IS MESMERIZING FOR AN AUDIENCE BECAUSE IT'S NOT A SHOW, IT'S NOT A PUT-ON-- IT'S GOODMAN.

Maher: THE THING ABOUT BENNY THAT WAS SO GREAT WAS THAT IT WAS KIND OF AN EXPLOSION.

HE SHOWED UP ON THE SCENE, COMPLETELY UNKNOWN AS FAR AS WE WERE CONCERNED.

WE KNEW ELLINGTON, WE KNEW ALL THE OTHER BIG NAMES, AND HERE IS THIS KID NOBODY HAD EVER HEARD OF.

AND OVERNIGHT, THIS GUY WALKS INTO THE AMERICAN PARLOR WITH JAZZ BY THE SCRUFF OF ITS NECK.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, JAZZ, WHICH WAS ALMOST A CULT MUSIC, HAS BECOME AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC, AND THAT'S WHAT GOODMAN DID.

[SINGLE PETAL OF A ROSE PLAYING] Man: JAZZ MUSIC IS NOT RACE MUSIC.

EVERYBODY PLAYS JAZZ MUSIC.

EVERYBODY HAS ALWAYS PLAYED IT.

BUT IF YOU TEACH THE HISTORY OF JAZZ, YOU HAVE WHITE BANDS AND BLACK BANDS.

BUT MUSICIANS DON'T LEARN THAT WAY.

SEE, THIS IS THE BIG LIE IN THE WAY THAT IT'S TAUGHT.

BENNY GOODMAN WAS GOING TO LEARN THE CLARINET FROM WHOEVER HE COULD.

THAT'S HOW MUSIC IS.

YOU HEAR SOMETHING YOU LIKE, AND YOU WANT TO PLAY LIKE THAT.

IT'S NOT SO MUCH THAT HE WAS THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, IT'S JUST THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO BOUGHT THE RECORDS WERE WHITE, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO WROTE ABOUT IT WERE WHITE, THE RECORD COMPANIES WERE OWNED BY WHITE PEOPLE.

JUST THE MUSIC CAME OUT OF THE AFRO-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.

SO IT JUST STANDS TO LOGIC AND REASON THAT THE KING OF IT WOULD BE WHITE.

NOW, BENNY GOODMAN HIMSELF DIDN'T THINK THAT.

Interviewer: WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?

THE IDEAS?

OH, MAN, I GOT A MILLION DREAMS.

IT'S ALL I DO IS DREAM... ALL THE TIME.

Interviewer: I THOUGHT YOU PLAYED PIANO.

NO.

THIS NOT PIANO; THIS IS DREAMING.

[PLAYING SYMPHONY IN BLACK] THAT'S DREAMING.

Murray: ELLINGTON ONCE DEFINED JAZZ AS "NEGRO FEELINGS," BY WHICH HE MEANT AMERICAN NEGRO FEELINGS PUT TO RHYTHM AND TUNE.

ELLINGTON'S MUSIC REPRESENTED THE MUSICAL EQUIVALENT TO THE AMERICAN SPIRIT OF AFFIRMATION IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY.

IT WAS CONSTANTLY CREATIVE, YOU KNOW?

IT GENERATED RESILIENCE WHICH MADE AN EXPERIMENTAL ATTITUDE POSSIBLE.

MEANT YOU DEVELOPED AN EXPERIMENTAL DISPOSITION.

Narrator: DUKE ELLINGTON NEVER PUBLICLY COMPLAINED ABOUT BENNY GOODMAN'S CORONATION AS "THE KING OF SWING" OR THE ENORMOUS POPULARITY OF THE NEW, MOSTLY WHITE BANDS THAT FOLLOWED IN HIS WAKE.

"JAZZ IS MUSIC," HE SAID.

"SWING IS BUSINESS."

[SOLITUDEPLAYING] HE CONTINUED ON HIS OWN INDEPENDENT COURSE, REFUSING TO BE CATEGORIZED.

BY DOING THAT, HIS TRUMPETER REX STEWART REMEMBERED, "HE COULD STAND ABOVE HIS CONTEMPORARIES...

IN THE MANNER OF A GOD DESCENDING FROM OLYMPIAN HEIGHTS... LET THE WORLD CATCH UP."

Man: HE WAS WRITING FOR A SPECIAL ORCHESTRA, AND HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE CARRIED AWAY BY A NEW TREND OR A NEW-- A NEW KIND OF STYLE JUST TO SAY, WELL, HE'S AMONG THEM.

HE WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER HE'S NUMBER ONE OR TWO OR 3.

HE WANTED TO BE HONEST TO HIMSELF, TO WHAT HE WANTED TO DO WITH THAT ORCHESTRA.

AND SO HE JUST SWAM THROUGH THE WHOLE THING AND STILL COMES OUT TO BE AN IMMORTAL.

[JEEP'S BLUESPLAYING] Marsalis: AT THAT TIME, THERE STILL WAS THIS DESIRE TO PUSH THE BLACK MAN DOWN AT ALL COSTS, AND DUKE ELLINGTON--HE WAS A MAN WITH A LOT OF FIRE AND PRIDE, AND YOU CAN BELIEVE THAT DUKE ELLINGTON DID NOT LIKE WHAT HE SAW GOING ON.

AND EVEN THOUGH HE WASN'T THE TYPE OF MAN WHO WOULD COME OUT WITH A LOT OF VERBAL PRONOUNCEMENTS ON IT, IN HIS MUSIC, HE MAKES IT VERY, VERY CLEAR THAT HE IS VERY, VERY PROUD OF WHO HE IS, WHAT HE IS, AND HE FEELS THAT HIS MUSIC AND THE MUSIC OF HIS PEOPLE WAS A TREMENDOUS CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD OF MUSIC, BAR NONE.

Narrator: AN INTERVIEWER ONCE ASKED ELLINGTON HOW HE FELT ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE COULD NOT STAY IN MANY OF THE HOTELS HE PLAYED.

ELLINGTON DEFLECTED THE QUESTION.

"I TOOK THE ENERGY IT TAKES TO POUT," HE SAID, "AND WROTE SOME BLUES."

[BLUE AGAINPLAYING] Louis Armstrong: ♪ I'M BLUE AGAIN ♪ ♪ BLUE AGAIN... ♪ Narrator: BY THE MID-1930s, LOUIS ARMSTRONG, THE MAN WHO HAD FIRST TAUGHT A BIG BAND TO SWING, WAS IN TROUBLE.

HE WAS OUT OF WORK, PRESSED FOR CASH, AND HADN'T RECORDED IN THE UNITED STATES FOR TWO YEARS.

TWO EX-AGENTS WITH GANGSTER CONNECTIONS WERE SUING HIM-- AND ONE WAS THREATENING BODILY HARM.

ARMSTRONG NEEDED HELP.

HE HIRED A NEW MANAGER.

JOE GLASER WAS A HARD, HOT-TEMPERED MAN, COARSE AND CONTROLLING, WITH HIS OWN STRONG LINKS TO THE MOB.

THE TWO MEN NEVER HAD A WRITTEN CONTRACT, BUT FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS, HALF OF EVERYTHING ARMSTRONG EARNED WENT TO GLASER.

IN RETURN, GLASER WORKED TIRELESSLY FOR HIS STAR.

HE BOUGHT OUT ARMSTRONG'S FORMER AGENTS, PLACATED HIS EX-WIFE, MADE SURE HE PLAYED THE BEST NIGHTCLUBS AND DANCEHALLS, AND GOT HIM A LUCRATIVE CONTRACT WITH DECCA RECORDS.

ARMSTRONG WAS HAPPY FOR THE HELP.

HE WAS FOLLOWING THE PRACTICAL ADVICE A NEW ORLEANS BOUNCER HAD GIVEN HIM YEARS BEFORE: IN A WORLD RUN BY WHITE PEOPLE, "ALWAYS HAVE A WHITE MAN BEHIND YOU."

Giddins: JOE GLASER WAS TOUGH, HE WAS BRUTAL, HE USED TO HAVE SALAMIS HANGING FROM HIS OFFICE.

THE TERRIBLE ODOR.

AND IF HE LIKED YOU, HE'D PULL DOWN A SALAMI AND GIVE IT TO YOU.

AND ARMSTRONG'S DEVOTION TO GLASER, HOWEVER MUCH GLASER MAY DISTURB THE REST OF US, HIS DEVOTION TO GLASER WAS REAL AND IT WAS ABSOLUTE.

[SHINEPLAYING] Narrator: ARMSTRONG ALSO APPEARED IN THE MOVIES.

ONE OF HIS FIRST FILMS WAS A SHORT CALLED A RHAPSODY IN BLACK AND BLUE.

UNLIKE DUKE ELLINGTON, WHO ALWAYS APPEARED ON-SCREEN AS HE WAS IN LIFE-- SUAVE AND SOPHISTICATED-- LOUIS ARMSTRONG, A DARK-SKINNED BLACK MAN, WAS OFFERED VERY DIFFERENT ROLES.

Giddins: HE'S DRESSED IN A LEOPARD SKIN, HE'S STANDING ANKLE DEEP IN SOAP BUBBLES, AND HE'S PERFORMING IN HEAVEN BECAUSE SOMEBODY WAS DREAMING THIS.

SO THERE'S ALL SORTS OF MINSTREL KIND OF HUMOR SURROUNDING IT.

♪ OH, CHERRY DROP THAT MEAN, 'CAUSE ♪ ♪ MY HAIR IS GRITTY ♪ ♪ JUST BECAUSE MY TEETH ARE PEARLY ♪ Giddins: BUT WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY SEEING?

YOU'RE SEEING A VERY POWERFUL, CHARISMATIC BLACK MAN WHO IS PRACTICALLY FLEXING HIS MUSCLES AT YOU BECAUSE THEY ARE BARED BY THE LEOPARD SKIN, AND SINGING THE TUNE "SHINE", WHICH ITSELF IS A MINSTREL NUMBER, IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT BECOMES-- IT LOSES WHATEVER MINSTREL OR NEGATIVE QUALITIES IT HAS.

AND PLAYING THIS UNBELIEVABLE, UNPRECEDENTED, MAGNIFICENT VIRTUOSO TRUMPET.

BUT THE ARMSTRONG EFFECT WAS JUST TOO COMPLICATED FOR MOST PEOPLE.

THEY BECAME EMBARRASSED ABOUT IT, AND THEY REFUSED TO SEE WHAT WAS CLEARLY ON THE SCREEN, WHICH WAS A BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT YOUNG MAN THEY'RE TRYING TO IMPRISON WITH THESE STEREOTYPES, AND HE'S JUST BREAKING THE CHAINS RIGHT AND LEFT.

Narrator: MOVIES MADE ARMSTRONG EVEN MORE FAMOUS AND INTRODUCED HIS MUSIC TO A STILL LARGER NATIONAL AUDIENCE.

LOOK OUT, BOYS, FOR PUBLIC MELODY #1.HA!

[PUBLIC MELODY #1PLAYING] Narrator: BUT AS THE SWING ERA REACHED ITS ZENITH, MOST AMERICANS REMAINED UNAWARE OF HOW CENTRAL LOUIS ARMSTRONG WAS TO THE MUSIC THEY LOVED.

Giddins: WHEN YOU LISTEN TO BENNY GOODMAN PLAYING THOSE FLETCHER HENDERSON CHARTS, AND HE GOES, YOU KNOW... ♪ BAP BA DA DOO DEE DOO BE DOO BAP BE DAP ♪ YOU KNOW, IF YOU JUST MAKE THE VOICE A LITTLE GRAVELLY... ♪ BAP BA DA DOO DA DOO ♪ ♪ BAP BA DA DOO DA DOO... ♪ Giddins: YOU CAN HEAR ARMSTRONG IN EVERY PHRASE.

SO, LOOK OUT FOR PUBLIC MELODY #1.

THE MORE YOU LISTEN TO THOSE ARRANGEMENTS, THE MORE YOU LISTEN TO THE SOLOISTS, THE MORE YOU LISTEN TO EVERYTHING IN JAZZ, THE MORE YOU KEEP HEARING LOUIS, LOUIS, LOUIS.

I MEAN, HE CREATED THE VOCABULARY.

AND WE'VE NEVER REALLY GOTTEN SO FAR BEYOND IT THAT IT DOESN'T KEEP CROPPING UP AND THAT YOU DON'T HEAR ECHOES OF IT.

BUT IN SWING, IT REALLY IS, THE SOUND THAT HE BROUGHT, THAT INCREDIBLE POWER, IT'S ORCHESTRATED FOR A BIG BAND.

IT'S ORCHESTRATED LOUIS.

THAT'S WHAT THE SWING ERA IS.

Marsalis: THE BIG BAND MUSIC WAS POPULAR BECAUSE FIRST IT COMES OUT OF THE SOIL OF THE COUNTRY.

IT HAS THE HAPPINESS AND JOY OF THE SOUND OF JAZZ IN IT.

IT WAS AT A CERTAIN TIME IN THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU HAVE A CERTAIN SOPHISTICATION AND A BELIEF IN ADULT SENSIBILITY.

YOU HAD THE FLOWERING OF THE AMERICAN POPULAR SONGS.

SO YOU HAD A LOT OF POPULAR MATERIAL THEY COULD SING AND PLAY.

YOU HAD RADIO, WHICH WAS JUST REALLY KICKING IN, WHICH WAS PROJECTING THE BANDS.

AND YOU HAD, ALSO, A FANTASTIC BELIEF IN THE COUNTRY, LIKE A MATINEE IN THE ROSELAND BALLROOM OR THEN THE COTTON CLUB.

THEY WOULD HEAR THAT ON THE RADIO AND THINK, "BOY, THIS IS SOME GREAT THING," LIKE, YOU WOULD LOOK AT SOMETHING THAT WOULD SAY, "MADE IN NEW YORK," AND IF YOU WEREN'T IN NEW YORK, YOU WOULD THINK, "BOY, NEW YORK CITY."

[WELL, GIT IT!PLAYING] Radio announcer: A PLEASANT AND GOOD EVENING TO YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FROM MANHATTAN TO THE GOLDEN GATE.

IT'S ANOTHER FIRST NIGHTER ON THE AIR FOR THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY... Collier: ONE OF THE GREAT THRILLS WAS AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATER WHEN YOU WOULD BE A TEENAGER-- 12, EVEN AS YOUNG AS 12, 13, 14, 15-- AND YOU'D SAVED YOUR PENNIES, AND YOU WERE ABLE TO GO TO THE THEATER TO HEAR YOUR FAVORITE BAND, AND YOU WOULD HEAR IN THE DISTANCE THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SOUND OF THE THEME OF THAT ORCHESTRA, AND YOU WOULD HEAR THAT VERY FAINTLY IN THE BACKGROUND... [BAND PLAYING] AND THEN THE BAND WOULD RISE UP ON THIS RISING STAGE THAT THEY HAD AND COME INTO SIGHT PLAYING THEIR CLASSIC THEME... AND THAT WAS--THAT WAS CHILLS, I'M TELLING YOU, THAT WAS CHILLS RIGHT UP YOUR BACK AND ACROSS THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD.

THAT WAS SOMETHING.

Narrator: IN THE WAKE OF BENNY GOODMAN'S ASTONISHING SUCCESS, THE SOUNDS OF DOZENS OF BIG BANDS NOW FILLED THE AIR AND HELPED DRAW MILLIONS TO MOVIE THEATERS AND DANCEHALLS.

SOME PLAYED PRECIOUS LITTLE JAZZ, EMPHASIZING POP TUNES AND FEATURING ATTRACTIVE SINGERS GUARANTEED TO BOOST THE BOX OFFICE.

BUT ALL OF THEM ENCOURAGED AMERICANS TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET AND DANCE.

THERE WAS WOODY HERMAN'S "BAND THAT PLAYS THE BLUES" AND THE CASA LOMA ORCHESTRA.

BOB CROSBY AND THE BOBCATS.

KAY KYSER AND HIS KOLLEGE OF MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE.

THERE WERE THE ALL-GIRL INTERNATIONAL SWEETHEARTS OF RHYTHM AND INA RAY HUTTON AND HER MELODEARS.

EARL HINES HAD AN ORCHESTRA, SO DID BENNY CARTER... AND CHARLIE BARNET... AND JIMMIE LUNCEFORD.

Radio announcer: MEN, JUBILEE IS ON THE AIR TO BRING YOU RIFF NUMBER ONE OF THE BATTLE OF BARREL HOUSE, BOOGIE WOOGIE, AND THE BLUES.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T COTTON TO A MELODIC HANDLE, THE TREBLE CLEF IS NOW BEING TINTINNABULATED BY THE CAT WHOSE PAW IS THE DADDY OF THE DICTY DOWNBEAT, JIMMIE LUNCEFORD.

[PLAYING NAGASAKI] ♪ BOY ♪ ♪ GINGER AND DYNAMITE ♪ ♪ ALL THEY SERVE TONIGHT ♪ ♪ BACK IN NAGASAKI WHERE THE FELLAS CHEW TOBACCKY ♪ ♪ AND THE WOMEN WICKY-WACKY-WOO!

♪ ♪ THE WAY THEY ENTERTAIN ♪ ♪ HURRY UP A HURRICANE ♪ ♪ BACK IN NAGASAKI WHERE THE FELLAS CHEW TOBACCKY ♪ ♪ AND THE WOMEN WICKY-WACKY-WOO!

♪ Narrator: JIMMIE LUNCEFORD ONCE SAID THAT "A BAND THAT LOOKS GOOD, GOES IN FOR BETTER SHOWMANSHIP, "AND SEEMS TO BE ENJOYING ITS WORK WILL ALWAYS BE SURE OF A RETURN VISIT."

LUNCEFORD'S ORCHESTRA WOULD DEMONSTRATE THAT NIGHT AFTER NIGHT.

HE HAD FINE SOLOISTS, BUT IT WAS THE BAND'S ASTONISHING ENSEMBLE PRECISION THAT BROUGHT THE DANCERS OUT ONTO THE FLOOR WHEREVER IT PLAYED.

Giddins: JIMMIE LUNCEFORD HAD THE GREATEST SHOW BAND THAT EVER WAS.

THE GUYS IN THAT BAND WERE BEAUTIFUL.

THEY HAD THE BEST-TAILORED UNIFORMS IN THE BUSINESS, AND THEY ALL LOOKED GREAT.

AND THEY HAD ALL KINDS OF HAND THINGS, AND THEY HAD NOVELTY VOCALS.

THEY HAD ROUTINES WHERE THEY WOULD THROW THE TRUMPETS UP IN THE AIR AND CATCH THEM SIMULTANEOUSLY.

Man: VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT JIMMIE LUNCEFORD.

JIMMIE HAD A GREAT RESPECT FOR WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND HE INFUSED HIS MEN WITH THAT RESPECT.

AND HE HAD A LOT OF PRIMA DONNAS IN THAT BAND, BUT ONCE THEY WERE IN THAT BAND, THEY SUBMERGED THEIR PERSONALITIES INTO THE OVERALL ENSEMBLE.

AND IT WAS A TREMENDOUS BAND.

IT WAS ALWAYS AT ITS PEAK.

[GETTING SENTIMENTAL OVER YOUPLAYING] Woman: MMM...WHAT MUSIC, LET'S DANCE.

Man: NO, LET'S LISTEN, IT'S TOMMY DORSEY.

Announcer: AND HERE'S THAT SENTIMENTAL GENTLEMAN HIMSELF, TOMMY DORSEY!

[APPLAUSE] [PLAYING SONG OF INDIA] Narrator: THOUGH HE WAS BILLED AS "THE SENTIMENTAL GENTLEMAN OF SWING," THERE WAS NOTHING SENTIMENTAL ABOUT TOMMY DORSEY.

HE WAS COMBATIVE AND TIGHT-FISTED, A HARD-DRINKING TASKMASTER WHO CREATED HIS OWN BAND MOSTLY BECAUSE HE COULD NO LONGER BEAR TO PLAY ALONGSIDE HIS BROTHER, JIMMY.

BUT HIS BAND WAS HUGELY POPULAR AND THROUGH ITS RANKS MOVED SUCH STARS AS BUNNY BERIGAN, DAVE TOUGH, BUDDY RICH, AND A SKINNY SINGER FROM HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, NAMED FRANK SINATRA.

Shaw: DORSEY, HE WAS A SUPERB MUSICIAN, HE WAS A GREAT TROMBONE PLAYER.

TOMMY MADE THE TROMBONE INTO A SINGING INSTRUMENT.

HE WAS THE FIRST GUY WHO TOOK IT FROM A "BLATTING" INSTRUMENT, YOU KNOW... ♪ TA DA TA DA DA DAH DA DA DA DA DAH ♪ AND HE MADE IT INTO A SONG INSTRUMENT.

HE PLAYED MELODIES ON IT.

HIS BREATH CONTROL WAS SUPERB.

HE WAS A HELL OF A PLAYER.

HE HAD A HELL OF A BAND.

VERY, VERY, VERY UNDERESTIMATED.

Giddins: HE REALLY, I THINK, MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE, WAS ABLE TO CREATE AN ORCHESTRA THAT HAD TWO SOULS.

IT COULD BE A VERY GOOD JAZZ ORCHESTRA AND A VERY GOOD POP ORCHESTRA.

IT COULD BE A SWEET BAND PLAYING VERY SENTIMENTAL TUNES, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE A VERY VIGOROUS JAZZ BAND.

AND HE ALWAYS KEPT VERY GOOD SOLOISTS IN THE BAND.

[PLAYING GAL FROM KALAMAZOO] Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SWING BANDS OF ALL TIME WAS LED BY ANOTHER TROMBONIST, GLENN MILLER, WHO FAVORED TIGHTLY CONTROLLED ARRANGEMENTS-- AND PLENTY OF VOCALS AND SHOWMANSHIP.

♪ HI THERE, TEX, HOW'S YOUR NEW ROMANCE ♪ ♪ THE ONE YOU MET AT THE CAMPUS DANCE?

♪ ♪ WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE HER ♪ ♪ YOU'LL AGREE ♪ ♪ MY HOMETOWN GAL'S THE ONLY ONE FOR ME ♪ ♪ A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H- I GOT A GAL ♪ ♪ IN KALAMAZOO ♪ Giddins: I THINK THE IMPORTANCE OF GLENN MILLER WAS THAT HE POPULARIZED SWING MUSIC FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T EVEN GET WITH, YOU KNOW, GOODMAN AND ELLINGTON.

HE MADE IT VERY ROMANTIC.

HE CREATED THE SOUND OF THAT ERA THAT--THAT-- THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS ASSOCIATE-- PEOPLE WHO WERE ALIVE THEN-- WITH THAT PERIOD.

AND IT'S NOT A NEGLIGIBLE CONTRIBUTION.

CERTAINLY, IT'S NOT CREATIVE IN A TRADITIONAL JAZZ SENSE, BUT IT'S A--IT'S A POTENT BREW.

♪ ...TODAY ♪ ♪ AM I DREAMIN'?

♪ ♪ I CAN HEAR HER SCREAMIN' ♪ Shaw: HE HAD WHAT YOU'D CALL A REPUBLICAN BAND-- VERY STRAIGHT-LACED, MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.

AND MILLER WAS THAT KIND OF GUY, HE WAS A BUSINESSMAN.

AND HE WAS SORT OF THE LAWRENCE WELK OF JAZZ.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS HE WAS SO BIG, PEOPLE COULD IDENTIFY WITH WHAT HE DID.

THEY PERCEIVED WHAT HE WAS DOING.

BUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM, HIS BAND NEVER MADE A MISTAKE.

AND IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WRONG, BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T EVER MAKE A MISTAKE, YOU'RE NOT TRYING, YOU'RE NOT PLAYING AT THE EDGE OF YOUR ABILITY.

YOU'RE PLAYING SAFELY, WITHIN LIMITS, AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO, AND IT SOUNDS, AFTER A WHILE, EXTREMELY BORING.

♪ ...IN KALAMAZOO ♪ [DRUMBEAT] ♪ ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ZOO ♪ ♪ ZOO... ♪ ♪ KALAMAZOO ♪ Narrator: IN THE YEARS TO COME, GLENN MILLER AND HIS ORCHESTRA WOULD TURN OUT HIT AFTER HIT, INCLUDING STRING OF PEARLS, LITTLE BROWN JUG, AND IN THE MOOD THAT WOULD BE AMONG SWING'S MOST FAMILIAR ANTHEMS.

[APPLAUSE] [STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY PLAYING] Man: I THOUGHT THAT THE HAPPIEST I COULD BE WOULD BE IN A JAZZ CLUB, PLAYING.

THEN MY DAD SAID, "YOU'RE GOING TO BE A CATTLEMAN."

WHEN WE'D DRIVE THE CATTLE, MY DREAM WAS THAT THE BENNY GOODMAN BAND BUS WOULD WANT TO GET THROUGH THE CATTLE AND I WOULDN'T LET 'EM THROUGH UNLESS THEY LET ME GET ON THE BUS AND PLAY WITH THEM.

BUT IN MY MIND THAT'S WHAT I WAS-- SOMEDAY I'D BE HEARD WITH SOME BAND GOING THROUGH HERE.

HA HA!

[SUMMERTIMEPLAYING] Giddins: ARTIE SHAW IS PROBABLY THE FINEST CLARINET PLAYER THAT JAZZ HAS EVER PRODUCED TECHNICALLY.

A TRUE VIRTUOSO.

WHEN YOU COMPARE ARTIE AND BENNY, WHAT PEOPLE USUALLY SAY IS THAT BENNY SWUNG MORE, HE HAD MORE OF A BLUES QUALITY, BUT THAT ARTIE HAD A PRETTIER TONE, HE WAS A MORE INTELLECTUAL PLAYER, A MORE LYRICAL PLAYER, HAD A BETTER TECHNIQUE.

Narrator: ARTIE SHAW WAS BENNY GOODMAN'S GREATEST RIVAL.

GIFTED, ERUDITE, ARTICULATE, AND OPINIONATED, SHAW SUCCESSFULLY COMBINED CHAMBER MUSIC WITH JAZZ AND WON AN ENORMOUS FOLLOWING.

BUT HE WAS CURSED, HE SAID, WITH SERIOUS-MINDEDNESS.

HE DISLIKED AUTOGRAPH-SEEKERS, DISDAINED JITTERBUGGING, AND WAS MADE PROFOUNDLY UNEASY BY HIS OWN SUCCESS.

AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR OWN VERSION OF COLE PORTER'S BEGIN THE BEGUINE.

Shaw: WELL, THE MINUTE YOU BECAME A BIG, BIG SMASH HIT, IT BECAME VERY CONFUSING.

NOTHING IN LIFE CAN PREPARE YOU FOR STARDOM.

SUCCESS IS A VERY BIG PROBLEM, BIGGER THAN FAILURE.

YOU CAN DEAL WITH FAILURE.

IT'S TOUGH, IT'S HARD, YOU FIGHT LIKE HELL TO GET--GET IT GOING.

BUT SUCCESS IS AN OPIATE, AND YOU GET VERY CONFUSED.

THINGS HAPPEN THAT YOU HAVE NO PREPARATION FOR.

AND MONEY COMES IN AND POPULARITY AND PEOPLE THROW THEMSELVES AT YOU.

AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE INTO.

I COULDN'T HANDLE IT, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

Narrator: THE BASIC TRUTH, ARTIE SHAW CONCLUDED, IS THAT POPULAR MUSIC HAS LITTLE OR NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSICAL VALUES AT ALL.

Shaw: I STILL WANTED TO PLAY MUSIC, AND THE AUDIENCE WAS SAYING, "PLAY WHAT YOU'RE PLAYING, PLAY THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER, WE LIKE THAT."

AND THEY NEVER COULD GET IT THROUGH THEIR HEADS THAT WHAT THEY LIKED WAS SOMETHING I WAS DOING ON MY WAY TO GETTING BETTER.

THAT RECORD THAT THEY LIKED, BEGIN THE BEGUINE-- WHICH BECAME A MILLSTONE, IT BECAME AN ALBATROSS AROUND MY NECK.

Narrator: THE OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF BEGIN THE BEGUINE WOULD EVENTUALLY PROPEL ARTIE SHAW PAST BENNY GOODMAN IN POPULARITY.

BUT IN 1939, SHAW DISBANDED HIS ORCHESTRA IN FRUSTRATION.

"I'M UNHAPPY IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS," HE SAID.

"I LIKE THE MUSIC-- LOVE AND LIVE IT, IN FACT-- BUT FOR ME THE BUSINESS PART PLAIN STINKS."

[TRUCKIN'PLAYING] Man: AUGUST 27, THE DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA WILL APPEAR FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY AT THE TURNPIKE CASINO, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.

AUGUST 28, WATERLOO, IOWA; AUGUST 29 AND 30, CORONADO THEATER, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS; AUGUST 31, ORPHEUM THEATER, MADISON, WISCONSIN.

SEPTEMBER 2 AND 3, THE DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA WILL BE APPEARING IN MILWAUKEE.

Narrator: DESPITE THE DEPRESSION AND IN PART BECAUSE OF IT, SWING MUSIC HAD BECOME A HUNDRED-MILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY.

30,000 TO 40,000 MUSICIANS WERE EMPLOYED TO PLAY DANCE MUSIC ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

AND ANOTHER 8,000 MEN AND WOMEN WERE NEEDED JUST TO MANAGE, BOOK, AND PROMOTE THEIR APPEARANCES.

EVEN FOR THE BEST-PAID BANDS, LIKE BENNY GOODMAN'S AND ARTIE SHAW'S, THE ROAD WAS HECTIC AND EXHAUSTING.

Shaw: THE PROBLEM WAS TO MEET A PAYROLL.

YOU HAVE 14 TO 20 OR AT TIMES 40 MEN, AND YOU GOT TO PAY THEM EVERY WEEK.

IN MY DAY, THE MEN WERE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION.

WE TRAVELED TOGETHER, WE LIVED TOGETHER, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT TIMES WHEN HOTELS WERE $3.00 A NIGHT.

Narrator: SOME BOOKERS INSISTED BANDS COVER 500 MILES BETWEEN DATES AND WORK 7 NIGHTS A WEEK-- UNTIL THE UNION FINALLY MANAGED TO GET IT DECREASED TO 6 NIGHTS AND 400 MILES.

ANDY KIRK AND HIS CLOUDS OF JOY AVERAGED MORE THAN 50,000 MILES A YEAR ON ROUGH ROADS.

"WHEN I LEFT DUKE," ONE LONG-TIME ELLINGTON TRUMPET-PLAYER REMEMBERED, "I SLEPT ALMOST A WHOLE YEAR."

[LIVING IN A GREAT BIG WAY PLAYING] Man: WE DID 300 ONE-NIGHTERS AND NEVER EVEN FELT IT.

AFTER 300 OR 400 MILES A DAY AT A BUS, WE COULDN'T WAIT TO GET ON THE BANDSTAND, WE HAD THAT VITALITY.

WE WANTED TO PLAY, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF WE HADN'T EATEN ALL DAY.

'COURSE WHEN I FIRST JOINED THE BAND, WE WERE MAKING ABOUT $8.00 A NIGHT.

SO WE DIDN'T PLAY FOR THE MONEY.

WE PLAYED FOR OURSELVES.

WE JUST LOVED TO PLAY.

Woman: TRAVELING COULD BE REALLY KIND OF ROUGH BECAUSE WE'D TRAVEL FOR HOURS, AND THEN WE'D HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BUS, GET ON THE STAGE, AND DO A GREAT SHOW.

AND SOMEHOW, IT'S SO FUNNY, THAT THE MORE DIFFICULT THE TRAVELING WAS OR THE MORE TIRED EVERYONE WAS, THE GREATER THE MUSIC.

THE GUYS WOULD COME OFF OF A LONG, LONG RIDE AND SIT ON THAT BANDSTAND AND BLOW US AWAY.

IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.

Woman: ♪ I DON'T WANT YOU ♪ ♪ BUT HATE TO LOSE YOU ♪ ♪ YOU GOT ME IN BETWEEN ♪ ♪ THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA ♪ ♪ OH... ♪ Narrator: THE MEN DRANK HARD, GAMBLED HARD, PLAYED HARD.

Woman: ♪ ...YOU'VE GOT ME IN BETWEEN ♪ ♪ THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA ♪ ♪ I OUGHT TO CROSS YOU OFF MY LIST ♪ ♪ BUT WHEN YOU COME A-KNOCKIN' AT MY DOOR ♪ ♪ FATE SEEMS TO GIVE MY HEART A TWIST ♪ ♪ AND I COME RUNNING BACK FOR MORE ♪ ♪ I SHOULD HATE YOU ♪ ♪ BUT I GUESS I LOVE YOU ♪ ♪ YOU'VE GOT ME IN BETWEEN ♪ ♪ THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA ♪ Man on P.A.

: BUS 112 FOR NEWARK, NEW JERSEY-- Narrator: "ALL YOU NEED TO SURVIVE ON THE ROAD," BENNY GOODMAN'S GREAT TRUMPET PLAYER BUNNY BERRIGAN ONCE SAID, "WAS A TOOTHBRUSH AND A PHOTO OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG."

[TOUGH TRUCKIN'PLAYING] Man: "NOVEMBER 1-- HAVING BUS TROUBLE.

"STAY ON ROAD ALL NIGHT.

"WEATHER COLD.

"ORCHESTRA MAKES BONFIRE WITH BUS TIRE.

"GET HELP NEXT MORNING.

"NOVEMBER 7--BUS SEIZED B3 CLOTHING STORE, "FINALLY REDEEMED... "TOO LATE FOR ORCHESTRA TO MAKE DATE IN CUMBERLAND, KENTUCKY.

"WOMAN PROPRIETOR OF SOUTHERN HOTEL HOLDS KING OLIVER'S TRUMPET FOR RENT."

PAUL BARNES.

Narrator: ON THE ROAD, BAND LEADERS RARELY PAID FOR FOOD OR LODGING, SO MANY MUSICIANS SPENT EVERY OTHER NIGHT SLEEPING ON THE BUS TO SAVE A LITTLE MONEY.

SOME BANDS WERE TOO POOR TO AFFORD A BUS AT ALL.

AS MANY AS 10 MUSICIANS PACKED INTO A SINGLE TOURING CAR AND HAULED THEIR INSTRUMENTS IN A TRAILER.

SOMETIMES, STRANDED BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS, THEY WOULD SIMPLY PULL INTO A ROADHOUSE, BEGIN TO PLAY, AND HOPE PASSING THE HAT WOULD RAISE ENOUGH CASH TO BUY DINNER.

TRAVELING IN SEGREGATED AMERICA, THE MUSICIANS WHO HAD BEEN THE FIRST TO PLAY SWING HAD TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES UNKNOWN TO WHITES.

BLACK MUSICIANS WERE GENERALLY PAID FAR LESS, BARRED FROM CAFES AND RESTROOMS ALONG THE ROAD, WERE RARELY PERMITTED TO EAT OR SLEEP AT THE HOTELS WHERE THEY PERFORMED, BUT THEY FOUND A READY WELCOME IN BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS.

THERE WERE BLACK-OWNED AND OPERATED HOTELS AND ROOMING-HOUSES IN EVERY BIG TOWN.

AND THERE WAS A NETWORK OF CELEBRATED COOKS EAGER TO CATER TO BLACK MUSICIANS.

"THEY COOKED FOR YOU LIKE THEY COOKED FOR THEIR FAMILY," ONE BAND-MEMBER REMEMBERED.

"AND THEY DIDN'T MIND FILLING YOUR PLATE UP."

Man: AND WE'D GET IN TOWN FROM THE BUS JUST IN TIME TO GET THE INSTRUMENTS OUT AND SET UP THE BANDSTAND AND GO TO PLAY.

HADN'T HAD ANYTHING TO EAT.

I HAD NO PLACE TO STAY, OR ANYTHING.

WE UP THERE PLAYING, AND THE PEOPLE CRAMMED IN THERE, AND MY WIFE MONA WOULD BE THE ONLY GIRL TRAVELING WITH THE BAND, SHE WOULD GO AROUND TO THE BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS AND TALK TO THE LADIES.

SHE SAYS, "WE HAVEN'T HAD ANYTHING TO EAT.

WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY PLACE TO STAY."

AND THESE LADIES WERE AWFUL NICE.

THEY WOULD GET TOGETHER AND CALL ONE ANOTHER, SAY, "WELL, MRS. JONES WILL TAKE TWO OVER AT HER HUSBAND'S HOUSE, AND MRS. SMITH SAY, SHE'LL TAKE TWO."

BY INTERMISSION TIME, MONA WOULD COME DOWN TO THAT BANDSTAND WITH A GREAT BIG BASKET OF CHICKEN AND POTATO SALAD AND A LIST OF NAMES: "'DIZZY, YOU AND CHU BERRY ARE STAYING OVER AT MRS. JONES HOUSE; CHARLIE, YOU AND SO-AND-SO OVER AT MRS. SMITH'S HOUSE."

AND THIS IS THE WAY WE SURVIVED... [QUEEN ISABELLAPLAYING] Man: VARIETY.JUNE, 1937.

"ATTENDANCE RECORDS ARE BEING BROKEN "PRACTICALLY EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK.

"CLAIM IS THAT MANY OF THE SMALLER SPOTS, "INCLUDING THOSE FAR OFF THE BEATEN PATH, "TURN IN BETTER GROSSES THAN RECOGNIZED CITY PALACES.

"REASON IS THAT EVEN THE BARE-FOOTED POPULATION RECOGNIZE BAND NAMES WHEN THEY HEAR 'EM."

[SMILESPLAYING] ♪ THERE ARE SMILES ♪ ♪ SILLY OL' SMILES ♪ ♪ THAT MAKE US HAPPY ♪ ♪ HAPPY ALL DAY ♪ Collier: WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SWING, THE SWING BANDS, IT'S A LITTLE DICEY AS TO WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO CALL THIS JAZZ OR NOT.

♪ THERE ARE SMILES ♪ ♪ THAT STEAL AWAY THE TEARDROPS ♪ BECAUSE A GREAT DEAL OF THAT MUSIC REALLY WAS PRETTY COMMERCIAL STUFF.

THE KIDS OUT THERE, MOST OF THEM, LIKE ANY KIDS, WERE INTERESTED IN POPULAR MUSIC BECAUSE THAT WAS THE HIP THING, YOU HAD TO KNOW THE NAMES OF THE BANDS.

♪ BUT THE SMILES ♪ ♪ THAT FILLED MY LIFE WITH SUNSHINE ♪ ♪ YES, YES ♪ ♪ ARE THE SMILES ♪ ♪ THAT YOU GIVE TO ME ♪ THAT'S SWING MUSIC IF I EVER HEARD IT.

[CHEROKEEPLAYING] Narrator: ADULTS LOVED SWING MUSIC, BUT IT WAS TEENAGERS WHO MADE IT A NATIONAL CRAZE.

TRUMPET SALES DOUBLED, AND SALES OF CLARINETS, ARTIE SHAW'S AND BENNY GOODMAN'S INSTRUMENT, TRIPLED.

THERE WAS AN UNOFFICIAL SWING "UNIFORM."

BOYS DRESSED IN SPORT JACKETS AND SLACKS, LIKE THE ONES THEIR HEROES WORE ON THE BANDSTAND.

GIRLS FAVORED BOBBY SOCKS AND SADDLE SHOES, AND PLEATED SKIRTS THAT FLARED WHEN THEY GOT ONTO THE DANCE FLOOR.

Narrator: EVERY IMPORTANT BANDLEADER HAD A FAN CLUB.

YOUNG WOMEN SHOWERED THE BEST-LOOKING PLAYERS WITH LETTERS... AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS.

ARTIE SHAW ONCE DISMISSED JITTERBUGS AND ICKIES ALIKE AS "MORONS."

AND EVEN BENNY GOODMAN, WHOSE APPEARANCE AT THE PARAMOUNT HAD PULLED THEM OUT OF THEIR SEATS, CONFESSED HE WAS SOMETIMES FRIGHTENED BY THEIR ENTHUSIASM.

Giddins: TO BE A BAND LEADER AT THAT TIME WAS TO BE, I SUPPOSE YOU COULD SAY, LIKE A ROCK MUSICIAN MORE RECENTLY.

THEY WERE COURTED BY THE WHOLE CULTURE.

THESE WERE THE NEW CELEBRITIES.

AND IT WAS SOMETHING NEW IN THE MUSIC.

IT WAS SOMETHING NEW IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE, AND IT LASTED FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS.

[GRAND TERRACE SHUFFLEPLAYING] Narrator: BUT SWING HAD ITS CRITICS.

THE SWEET BANDLEADER BLUE BARRON DENOUNCED IT AS "NOTHING BUT ORCHESTRATED SEX.... A PHALLIC SYMBOL SET TO SOUND..." AND DR. A.A. BRILL, A NOTED PSYCHIATRIST, WAS EVEN MORE CONCERNED.

SWING MUSIC REPRESENTS OUR REGRESSION TO THE PRIMITIVE TOM-TOM-TOM, A RHYTHMIC SOUND THAT PLEASES SAVAGES AND CHILDREN ALIKE.

IT ACTS AS A NARCOTIC AND MAKES THEM FORGET REALITY.

THEY FORGET THE DEPRESSION, THE LOSS OF THEIR JOBS.

IT IS LIKE TAKING A DRUG.

Gordon: MY PARENTS, ANYWAY, DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT MUSIC.

WHY AM I LISTENING TO DUKE ELLINGTON?

WHY AM I LISTENING TO LOUIS ARMSTRONG?

AND THEY'RE OUT OF IT COMPLETELY.

THEY DON'T EVEN WHY I'M INTO IT.

I LOVED IT, THAT'S ALL I KNOW AND THAT'S ALL I CARED ABOUT.

THERE WAS THAT SENSE THAT WE WERE REBELS.

WE WERE DOING SOMETHING THAT OUR GROWN-UPS DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT AND PROBABLY DIDN'T LIKE VERY WELL.

AND THE JITTERBUGGING, OF COURSE, IS VERY MUCH A PART OF IT, THAT, THAT DANCING, BECAUSE IT WAS STRENUOUS, AND THE GIRLS WERE OUT THERE WITH THEIR LITTLE SHORT SKIRTS AND THEIR BOBBY SOCKS.

AS THEY TWIRLED AROUND, THOSE SKIRTS WOULD RISE UP A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT.

NOTHING LIKE WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, MIND YOU.

BUT IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS PRETTY NICE WHEN YOU WERE A YOUNG GUY.

[BODY AND SOULPLAYING] Man: I'M AT MY FRESHMAN YEAR, GONZAGA UNIVERSITY.

I'M IN THE GYMNASIUM ONE DAY.

AND I'M SITTING AT THE PIANO.

AND I'M PLAYING.

AND THIS GUY COMES IN AND LISTENED... WITH HIS ARM ON THE TOP OF THE PIANO.

AND HE'S LISTENING TO ME, AND HE'S LOOKING AT ME, AND HE'S KINDA GRINNING.

SO I FINALLY STOPPED AND I SAID, "WELL, HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?"

OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

AND HE SAID, "I LIKE YOUR TOUCH, YOU GOT A NICE TOUCH.

"BUT YOU'RE NOT PLAYING THE RIGHT STYLE.

YOU'RE NOT PLAYING THE RIGHT WAY TO PLAY."

HE TAKES ME DOWNSTAIRS, AND HE SETS ME DOWN IN THIS ROOM, AND HE PUTS THIS TEDDY WILSON RECORD ON WITH BENNY GOODMAN.

AND I HAD NEVER HEARD THIS KIND OF MUSIC BEFORE IN MY LIFE.

NEVER HEARD ANY JAZZ.

I HADN'T EVEN HEARD LOUIS ARMSTRONG.

I HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING.

JUST AMERICAN ALBUM OF FAMILIAR MUSIC.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I'M LISTENING TO THIS GUY PLAY THE PIANO.

I SAY, "HOLY MACKEREL, WAIT A MINUTE, WAIT A MINUTE, WHO IS THAT?"

HE SAID, "THAT'S TEDDY WILSON.

AND THAT'S THE WAY YOU SHOULD PLAY THE PIANO, ACE."

Narrator: ONE OF BENNY GOODMAN'S BEST-LOVED RECORDS HAD BEEN BODY AND SOUL, PLAYED BY A TRIO HE USED ONLY AT RECORDING DATES.

THE WHOLE COUNTRY HAD HEARD THE RECORD, BUT IT HAD NEVER OCCURRED TO GOODMAN TO BRING THE TRIO ON STAGE BECAUSE THE PIANO PLAYER, TEDDY WILSON, WAS A BLACK MAN.

WILSON WAS THE RESERVED, URBANE SON OF A LIBRARIAN AND A PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AT TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE.

[WHOPLAYING] HIS LIGHT TOUCH AND SEEMINGLY EFFORTLESS TECHNIQUE PERFECTLY MATCHED GOODMAN'S OWN PLAYING.

[I'VE GOT A HEART FULL OF MUSIC PLAYING] Giddins: THERE WAS NEVER A PIANO PLAYER LIKE TEDDY WILSON.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DISTINGUISHES HIM FROM ALL THE PIANO PLAYERS WHO PRECEDE HIM-- WALLER, DUKE ELLINGTON-- IS THEY HAD A VERY PERCUSSIVE TACK.

TEDDY WILSON HAD A LIGHT, LYRICAL TACK.

IT'S AN EXQUISITE SOUND.

HE MAKES EVERY KEY SOUND LIKE A CHIME OR A BELL.

AND HE'S VERY FAST.

AND YOU REALIZE THAT NO ONE HAS EVER MADE THE PIANO SOUND QUITE LIKE THAT.

AFTER TWO MEASURES YOU KNOW IT CAN'T BE ANYBODY ELSE BUT TEDDY WILSON.

[TIME ON MY HANDSPLAYING] Narrator: GOODMAN HAD FIRST PLAYED WITH WILSON AT A JAM SESSION IN 1934.

"TEDDY AND I BEGAN TO PLAY," HE REMEMBERED, "AS THOUGH WE WERE THINKING WITH THE SAME BRAIN."

WITHIN WEEKS, GOODMAN HAD BROUGHT HIS DRUMMER, GENE KRUPA, AND WILSON INTO THE STUDIO TO RECORD TOGETHER.

BUT WHEN A CONCERT WAS SCHEDULED IN CHICAGO AND THE PROMOTER, HELEN OAKLEY, SUGGESTED WILSON BE INCLUDED ON THE PROGRAM, GOODMAN WAS RELUCTANT.

Helen Oakley Dance: I SAID, "LET ME BRING TEDDY IN.

THAT'LL BE A TREMENDOUS ATTRACTION."

BENNY SAID, "I'M NOT SUCH A FOOL.

"I'M MAKING A HIT HERE, "AND I'M--THIS IS GONNA BE MY CAREER.

"I DON'T WANT TO WRECK EVERYTHING "TO PRESENT A BLACK TALENT IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING.

AND SO I DON'T LIKE THE IDEA."

Collier: THIS WAS THE DEPRESSION, MIND YOU, AND THE LAST THING HE WANTED TO DO WAS TO JEOPARDIZE THIS AND THROW IT ALL OUT THE WINDOW BY TAKING WHAT SEEMED TO EVERYBODY TO BE A GREAT CHANCE.

Narrator: HELEN OAKLEY, WHO KNEW HOW PROFOUNDLY GOODMAN HAD BEEN INFLUENCED BY BLACK MUSICIANS, AND WHO WAS EAGER TO SHOW THAT INTEGRATION WOULD WORK ON THE BANDSTAND, FINALLY CONVINCED HIM TO TAKE THE CHANCE WITH WILSON.

BY THAT TIME, BLACK AND WHITE MUSICIANS WERE FRATERNIZING AND HAD BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.

THEY'D GO INTO MIDNIGHT JAM SESSIONS TOGETHER AND SIT UNTIL 2:00, 3:00 IN THE MORNING BUT WHAT GOODMAN DID, HE PUT TEDDY WILSON IN SHOW BIZ.

[SWEET LEILANIPLAYING] Narrator: GOODMAN NEVER FORGOT THE TRIO'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN PUBLIC.

"THE THREE OF US WORKED TOGETHER AS IF WE HAD BEEN BORN TO PLAY THIS WAY," HE SAID.

"THE GOODMAN THING WAS AS SOLID AS A FAMILY," WILSON SAID LATER.

"WE WERE ALL THERE, JUST LIKE BROTHERS."

BENNY GOODMAN NOW SAW NO REASON WHY MERE CUSTOM AND PREJUDICE SHOULD KEEP HIM FROM IMPROVING HIS BAND BY ENLISTING MORE GREAT MUSICIANS JUST BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK.

IN A RUNDOWN BAR IN LOS ANGELES, HE HEARD LIONEL HAMPTON, A MASTER OF A NEW INSTRUMENT, THE VIBRAPHONE.

GOODMAN HIRED HIM ON THE SPOT AND TRANSFORMED THE TRIO INTO A QUARTET.

[I'VE GOT A HEART FULL OF MUSIC PLAYING] Man: THEY PLAY EVERY NIGHT, AND THEY MAKE MUSIC YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE.

NOT A FALSE NOTE, ONE FINISHING HIS SOLO AND DROPPING INTO BACKGROUND SUPPORT, THEN THE OTHER, ALL ADDING INSPIRATION UNTIL THEY GET GOING TOO STRONG TO QUIT.

THIS IS REALLY COMPOSITION ON THE SPOT, AND IT IS A COLLECTIVE THING, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF MEN WORKING TOGETHER TO BE SEEN IN PUBLIC TODAY.

OTIS FERGUSON, THE NEW REPUBLIC.

Narrator: DESPITE THE QUARTET'S SUCCESS, FEW OTHER WHITE BANDLEADERS WOULD DARE FOLLOW GOODMAN'S LEAD.

THE MUSIC MAY HAVE BEEN COLOR-BLIND, BUT THE COUNTRY WASN'T.

Lionel Hampton: WE HAD A PLACE WHERE WE WERE SITTING AND WHERE THE MUSICIANS COULD STOP AND HAVE A DRINK.

AND A GUY CAME OVER TO BENNY AND SAY, "WELL, BENNY, WHAT YOU DOING WITH THOSE NIGGERS IN THE BAND?"

AND BENNY SAY, "IF YOU SAY THAT AGAIN TO ME, I'LL TAKE THE CLARINET AND BUST YOU ACROSS THE HEAD WITH IT."

[ON THE ALAMOPLAYING] Marsalis: WELL, JAZZ DEFINITELY IS ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF OUR-- INHERENT IN OUR SYSTEM, BECAUSE WHEN A BAND PLAYS, THEY'RE DEALING WITH A NEGOTIATION.

THE THING ABOUT JAZZ IS IT'S A HEALING, BUT NOT BY RUNNING.

IT'S THE TYPE OF HEALING OF THE ENGAGEMENT.

IT'S LIKE, WELL, UH, WE HAVE A-- WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

BUT WE'RE GOING TO HEAL IT WITH SOME SOUL.

BUT IN ORDER FOR US TO HEAL IT, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT.

AND WE CAN'T RUN FROM IT.

AND THE MORE WE RUN FROM IT, THE MORE WE RUN INTO IT.

Narrator: IN 1935, DUKE ELLINGTON ASKED A MOSTLY UNKNOWN 19-YEAR-OLD SINGER TO APPEAR IN A SHORT FILM CALLED "SYMPHONY IN BLACK."

♪ SADDEST TALE ON LAND OR SEA ♪ ♪ WAS WHEN MY MAN WALKED OUT ON ME ♪ Narrator: HER NAME WAS BILLIE HOLIDAY, AND SHE HAD ALREADY BEEN LIVING THE KIND OF HARD LIFE SHE PORTRAYED IN THE FILM.

♪ MY MAN'S GONE, I FEELS ALONE ♪ ♪ I'VE GOT THOSE LOST MY MAN BLUES ♪ ♪ HE DIDN'T TREAT ME FAIR ♪ ♪ IT'S MORE THAN I CAN BEAR ♪ ♪ I'VE GOT THOSE LOST MY MAN BLUES ♪ ♪ I'VE GOT THOSE LOST MY MAN ♪ ♪ CAN'T GET HIM BACK AGAIN BLUES ♪ Narrator: SHE HAD BEEN BORN ELEANORA FAGAN IN 1915 AND WAS BROUGHT UP IN BALTIMORE.

HER PARENTS NEVER MARRIED, AND SHE YEARNED ALL OF HER CHILDHOOD FOR HER MOSTLY ABSENT FATHER, CLARENCE HOLIDAY, A GUITARIST WHO ONCE PLAYED WITH FLETCHER HENDERSON.

HER FATHER'S FLASHY EXAMPLE HELPED LURE HER INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS, BUT HIS HUSTLING WAYS WERE MIRRORED IN MANY OF THE PREDATORY MEN TO WHOM SHE WOULD BE ATTRACTED ALL HER LIFE.

SHE WAS MOLESTED AND ABUSED AS A CHILD, AND BY THE AGE OF 12, SHE WAS WORKING AS A PROSTITUTE IN A WATERFRONT WHOREHOUSE.

SHE EARNED EXTRA MONEY SINGING ALONG WITH THE VICTROLA IN THE PARLOR-- THE MUSIC OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND BESSIE SMITH.

[SOBBIN' HEARTED BLUESPLAYING] AT 13, SHE WAS IN NEW YORK, SINGING FOR TIPS AT RENT PARTIES AND SMALL HARLEM CLUBS, SINGING FOR FUN AT JAM SESSIONS, AND EVENTUALLY RENAMING HERSELF BILLIE HOLIDAY, AFTER HER ABSENT FATHER.

ONE EVENING IN 1933, SHE WAS SINGING IN A CLUB CALLED MONETTE'S WHEN THE JAZZ CRITIC AND PROMOTER JOHN HAMMOND HAPPENED TO DROP BY.

HE WAS DAZZLED BY THE WAY SHE LOOKED... AND BY THE WAY SHE SANG.

[A FINE ROMANCEPLAYING] ♪ A FINE ROMANCE ♪ ♪ WITH NO KISSES ♪ ♪ A FINE ROMANCE ♪ ♪ MY FRIEND, THIS IS ♪ Narrator: ALTHOUGH SHE HAD A TINY VOCAL RANGE-- JUST OVER AN OCTAVE-- HOLIDAY WAS ABLE TO MAKE EACH SONG HER OWN, IN PART BY SINGING JUST BEHIND THE BEAT.

SHE PHRASED THE MELODIES IN THE MANNER OF JAZZ INSTRUMENTALISTS... AND CONSIDERED HERSELF A MUSICIAN BEFORE SHE WAS A SINGER.

♪ I MIGHT AS WELL PLAY BRIDGE WITH MY OLD MAID AUNT ♪ ♪ I HAVEN'T GOT A CHANCE ♪ ♪ THIS IS A FINE ROMANCE ♪ Narrator: HAMMOND EVENTUALLY ARRANGED FOR A SERIES OF RECORDING SESSIONS LED BY TEDDY WILSON.

BENNY GOODMAN SOMETIMES SAT IN, TOO.

♪ A FINE ROMANCE ♪ ♪ MY GOOD FELLOW ♪ ♪ YOU TAKE ROMANCE ♪ ♪ I'LL TAKE JELL-O ♪ ♪ YOU'RE CALMER THAN... ♪ Woman: BILLIE HAD THAT STRANGE SCRATCH.

SHE HAD THAT ASTONISHING TIMING AHEAD OF NOTES, BEHIND NOTES.

WHEN YOU LISTEN TO THE EARLY RECORDS, THE BLUES FEELING, WHICH ALWAYS SUGGESTS A CERTAIN MELANCHOLY, LET'S SAY, YOU KNOW, IT SUGGESTS THAT LIFE IS GOING TO PLAY SOME, SOME HARD TRICK ALONG THE WAY, IT IS PERFECTLY BALANCED BY THIS KIND OF INSOUCIANCE.

SHE'S TERRIBLY WITTY.

LISTEN TO HER SING A FINE ROMANCE OR ANY SUCH THING.

SHE'S PRACTICALLY EBULLIENT WHEN SHE SOUNDS IN THOSE EARLY THINGS LIKE A HORN, SHE'S HAVING THE TIME OF HER LIFE.

♪ I'VE NEVER MUSSED THE CREASE IN YOUR BLUE SERGE PANTS ♪ ♪ I NEVER GET NO CHANCE ♪ ♪ THIS IS A FINE ROMANCE ♪ Narrator: HOLIDAY WAS FIERCELY INDEPENDENT.

A WOMAN WHO HAD KNOWN HER SINCE CHILDHOOD SAID, "SHE WAS JUST DON'T CARE-ISH."

[PENNIES FROM HEAVENPLAYING] BILLIE HOLIDAY WOULD REMAIN DON'T CARE-ISH ALL HER LIFE, CURSING, DRINKING, BRAWLING, PURSUING PARTNERS OF BOTH SEXES, LEADING A LIFE SO CLOSE TO THE EDGE THAT IT WAS A WONDER TO HER FRIENDS THAT SHE MANAGED TO SURVIVE.

BUT OUT OF ALL OF IT, SHE MADE UNFORGETTABLE ART AND WOULD EVENTUALLY BECOME THE MOST IMPORTANT FEMALE VOCALIST IN THE HISTORY OF JAZZ.

♪ OH, EVERY TIME IT RAINS, IT RAINS PENNIES FROM HEAVEN ♪ Marsalis: WHEN YOU HEAR BILLIE HOLIDAY SING, YOU HEAR THE SPIRIT OF BESSIE SMITH AND LOUIS ARMSTRONG TOGETHER IN A PERSON.

SO YOU HAVE THAT FIRE OF THE BLUES SHOUTER, YOU HAVE THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE OF NOTES LIKE A GREAT JAZZ MUSICIAN, LIKE LOUIS ARMSTRONG.

Holiday: ♪ BE SURE THAT YOUR UMBRELLA ♪ ♪ IS UPSIDE DOWN ♪ Marsalis: BUT YOU HAVE A-- WITH HER, A VERY PROFOUND SENSITIVITY TO THE HUMAN CONDITION.

SHE TELLS YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAIN OF THE BLUES, OF LIFE...

BUT INSIDE OF THAT PAIN IS A TOUGHNESS, AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE ATTRACTED TO.

♪ THERE'LL BE PENNIES FROM HEAVEN ♪ ♪ FOR YOU AND ME ♪ [STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOYPLAYING] Man: DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE?

MAYBE YOU DO.

MAYBE YOU WERE THERE.

MAYBE YOU WERE THERE IN NEW YORK 2/3 OF THE WAY THROUGH THE 1930s WHEN THERE WERE SO MANY GREAT BANDS PLAYING.

YOU COULD GO TO THE MANHATTAN ROOM OF THE HOTEL PENNSYLVANIA, WHERE BENNY GOODMAN WAS PLAYING WITH HIS GREAT BAND, COMPLETE WITH GENE KRUPA.

MAYBE YOU'D RATHER GO TO SOME OTHER HOTEL ROOM, LIKE THE PALM ROOM OF THE COMMODORE FOR RED NORVO AND MILDRED BAILEY AND THEIR SOFT, SUBTLE SWING, OR TO THE GRILL ROOM OF THE LEXINGTON FOR BOB CROSBY AND HIS DIXIELAND BOB CATS.

AND THEN THERE WERE THE BALLROOMS: THE ROSELAND WITH WOODY HERMAN AND THE SAVOY WITH CHICK WEBB.

GEORGE T. SIMON, METRONOME.

Narrator: THE SAVOY BALLROOM, AT 140th STREET AND LENOX AVENUE, WAS STILL HARLEM'S HOTTEST SPOT.

AND CHICK WEBB, WHO HAD BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST BANDLEADERS TO PLAY SWING, WAS STILL IN CHARGE.

Giddins: CHICK WEBB IS A-- A PHENOMENON.

THERE'S NEVER BEEN ANYONE LIKE HIM, NEVER WILL BE AGAIN.

HE WAS A HUNCHBACK DWARF, SUFFERED FROM A SPINAL DISFIGUREMENT FROM HIS CHILDHOOD.

AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT DRUMMER.

[HARLEM CONGOPLAYING] HERE'S THIS LITTLE GUY SITTING BEHIND A FULL-SIZE DRUM SET AND YET THEY HAD TO NAIL IT DOWN TO THE STAGE BECAUSE THE FORCE OF HIS FOOT PEDAL WOULD HAVE KICKED THE BASS DRUM RIGHT OFF.

[DRUM SOLO] Man: CHICK WEBB WAS MY FIRST HERO THAT I EVER SAW.

AND I WALKED IN, MY OLD MAN TOOK ME THERE-- I WAS...MUST HAVE BEEN 12 YEARS OLD, TO THE THEATER-- AND I'M LOOKING FOR A REAL, LIKE A DRUMMER AND ALL I SEE IS A GIGANTIC BASS DRUM WITH A HEAD STICKING OVER THE TOP OF IT AND THESE TWO-- TWO ARMS FLAILING AROUND, PLAYING THE GREATEST STUFF I EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE.

[DRUM SOLO] Narrator: ON MAY 11, 1937, BENNY GOODMAN VENTURED UPTOWN TO CHALLENGE WEBB IN WHAT WAS BILLED AS THE "MUSIC BATTLE OF THE CENTURY."

"FELLAS, THIS IS MY HOUR," WEBB TOLD HIS MEN, "ANYBODY MISSES NOTES-- DON'T COME BACK TO WORK!"

4,000 FANS JAMMED INTO THE BALLROOM, AND MOUNTED POLICEMEN AND FIREMEN HAD TO BE CALLED TO CONTROL THE CROWD OF 5,000 MORE WHO COULDN'T GET IN AND REFUSED TO GO HOME.

AMONG THOSE WHO DID GET IN WERE NORMA MILLER AND FRANKIE MANNING, PROFESSIONAL LINDY HOPPERS NOW, WHO HAD BEEN TAKING ON ALL COMERS IN DANCE CONTESTS AROUND THE WORLD.

THEY HAD COME HOME TO THE SAVOY TO SEE THEIR HERO FACE HIS MOST CELEBRATED CHALLENGER.

[DON'T BE THAT WAYPLAYING] THE NIGHT THAT BENNY GOODMAN CAME TO PLAY AGAINST CHICK WEBB... Woman: 1938.

THIS WAS AN ELECTRICAL NIGHT, THIS WAS, I MEAN, WITH THE, THE AIR OF BEING AROUND THE SAVOY BALLROOM.

HERE'S BENNY GOODMAN, THE KING OF SWING, AND HERE'S-- CHICK WEBB, THE KING OF SWING.

THE KING OF SWING.

YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CHICK WEBB GOING UP AGAINST BENNY GOODMAN.

[DON'T BE THAT WAYPLAYING, BENNY GOODMAN] Manning: YOU KNOW, GOODMAN WAS A GIANT BECAUSE THEY CALLED HIM "THE KING OF SWING" AT THAT TIME.

AND ANY BAND THAT PLAYED SWING, WE WOULD BUY THEIR RECORDS.

SO WE WE KNEW-- WE KNEW ABOUT BENNY GOODMAN.

A LOT OF PEOPLE MAY NOT REALIZE THAT A LOT OF THE ARRANGEMENTS THAT BENNY GOODMAN HAD, CHICK WEBB HAD THE SAME ARRANGEMENTS.

[DON'T BE THAT WAYPLAYING, CHICK WEBB] Manning: AND WHEN THEY GET ON A BANDSTAND, NOW THIS IS WHEN YOU CAN KNOW WHICH BAND IS THE BEST, BY LISTENING TO THEM PLAY THE SAME ARRANGEMENT.

[DON'T BE THAT WAYPLAYING, CHICK WEBB] Manning: TO ME, CHICK WEBB OUTSWUNG BENNY GOODMAN THAT NIGHT.

Miller: I SAY THE SAME THING, YEAH.

THAT WAS MY FEELING.

I'M NOT SAYING THIS BECAUSE-- NOT BEING PREJUDICED.

YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S CHICK WEBB OR BECAUSE I'M BEING PREJUDICED.

BUT TO ME, I FEEL THAT CHICK WEBB OUTSWUNG BENNY GOODMAN THAT NIGHT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I SAW GUYS ON BENNY GOODMAN'S BAND-- BANDSTAND WHEN CHICK WEBB WAS PLAYING...

I SEEN GUYS ON THERE, THEY'D STAND UP THERE AND SAY...

THEY JUST SHOOK THEIR HEADS.

Narrator: THE GOODMAN BAND WAS ROUTED.

GENE KRUPA BOWED DOWN IN TRIBUTE TO THE MAN WHO HAD BEATEN HIM: CHICK WEBB, HE SAID, HAD "CUT ME TO RIBBONS."

"NOBODY," ONE OF WEBB'S MEN REMEMBERED, "COULD HAVE TAKEN IT AWAY FROM CHICK THAT NIGHT."

[THESE FOOLISH THINGS REMIND ME OF YOUPLAYING] Narrator: DESPITE ITS OVERWHELMING POPULARITY, SWING MUSIC HAD NOT CAPTURED THE HEART OF EVERY MUSICIAN-- OR EVERY JAZZ FAN.

SOME FOUND BIG BANDS TOO STIFF, TOO REGIMENTED.

JOHN HAMMOND, WHO HAD HELPED BUILD THE BENNY GOODMAN BAND, NOW CHARGED THAT SWING HAD BECOME TOO COMMERCIAL, THAT IT STIFLED FREEDOM AND SELF-EXPRESSION, TOOK JAZZ IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.

Giddins: THERE WAS A PRESSURE ON EVEN THE BEST OF THE JAZZ BAND LEADERS.

NOT ALL OF THEM FELL TO THAT PRESSURE, BUT BENNY GOODMAN ON A TYPICAL RECORDING SESSION WOULD MAKE TWO GREAT JAZZ INSTRUMENTALS AND THEN TWO POP VOCALS AT THE SAME SESSION.

SO THERE WAS ALWAYS THIS-- THIS PRESSURE TO BE COMMERCIAL, TO REACH THE POPULAR AUDIENCE, TO BREAK THE GLEN MILLER BARRIER, AS IT WERE.

Man: ♪ DRIFTING THROUGH THE SKY ♪ ♪ WHILE I WONDER WHY MY LOVE ♪ ♪ EVER SAID GOOD-BYE ♪ Narrator: ONE SNOWY NIGHT IN 1936, JOHN HAMMOND GREW TIRED OF LISTENING TO BENNY GOODMAN PERFORM HIS FAMILIAR HITS AT THE CONGRESS HOTEL IN CHICAGO.

HAMMOND WENT OUTSIDE, GOT INTO HIS CAR, AND TURNED ON THE RADIO, HOPING TO HEAR SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING LESS PREDICTABLE.

HE CAME ACROSS AN EXPERIMENTAL STATION BROADCASTING LIVE FROM KANSAS CITY.

Hammond: IT WAS 1:00 IN THE MORNING.

THE NIGHTLY BROADCAST BY THE COUNT BASIE BAND FROM THE RENO CLUB WAS JUST BEGINNING.

[JUMPIN' AT THE WOODSIDE PLAYING] Hammond: I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EARS.

Narrator: JOHN HAMMOND NOW HAD A NEW MISSION: TO BRING COUNT BASIE AND THE SOUND OF KANSAS CITY TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY.

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