by Degen Pener
The Strip (1951, 85 min.)
Mickey Rooney stars as a former musician entangled with a group of gangsters trying to help a woman (Sally Forrest) succeed in the movie industry. The film is supported by performances from Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines, and Jack Teagarden.
Sun Valley Serenade (1941, 86 min.)
Figure-skater Sonja Henie stars in this improbable musical comedy as a Norweigan war refugee traveling with her foster parent (John Payne) and the Glenn Miller Orchestra to Sun Valley. Miller performs “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and “In the Mood.”
Sweet and Low-Down (1944, 75 min.)
A so-so story of a trombonist who hits the big time in Benny Goodman’s Orchestra. Jam sequences featuring Goodman are the highlight.
Swing Kids (1993, 112 min.)
This period film focuses on the struggle of a group of German teenagers (played by Christian Bale, Robert Sean Leonard, and Noah Wyle) who relish American swing music and are persecuted because of it during the Second World War.
Swing Parade of 1946 (1946, 74 min.)
The Three Stooges enliven this icky musical, as does Louis Jordan performing “Caldonia.”
Swing Time (1936, 103 min.)
In this winning film, Fred Astaire stars as a dancer who’s engaged to a girl in his hometown but falls for Ginger Rogers when he hits New York. It includes such musical gems as “A Fine Romance,” “Pick Yourself Up,” and “The Way You Look Tonight.”
Swingers (1996, 96 min.)
This indie hit comedy is the money. Set in Las Vegas and LA, Swingers focuses on the romantic mishaps of a young man living in the retrolounge and swing scene. With its fab clothes and lingo, this slick but ultimately heartwarming flick launched the careers of both its stars, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, and the band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. It climactic swing dance scene, with actress Heather Graham, takes place at the Derby.
Syncopation (1942, 88 min.)
Lame story about the history of jazz starring Jackie Cooper as a trumpet player. Nonetheless, features a swinging jam session with performances by all the regulars: Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, and Harry James.
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944, 124 min.)
Two sisters (June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven) manage a canteen for GIs and become involved with a sailor (Van Johnson). Features a cameo by Ava Gardner and wonderful music numbers by such stalwarts as Harry James, Lena Home, and Xavier Cugat.
You Can’t Have Everything (1937, 99 min.)
A nice show-biz musical replete with all sorts of backstage comedy and three Louis Prima songs. Stars Don Ameche, Alice Faye, and Gypsy Rose Lee.
loot Suit (1981, 103 min.)
A filmed theatrical production, this story of Chicano gang members in the early forties stars Edward James Olmos.
JAZZ MUSEUMS
Want to check out one of Louis Armstrong’s trumpets? Gape at a stylin’ pair of cat’s-eyes rhinestone glasses once worn by Ella Fitzgerald? Or stand near one of trumpeter Harry James’s original bandstands? Visit one of the growing number of jazz museums and halls of fame around the country.
Detroit. The Graystone International Hall of Fame Jazz Museum (1521 Broadway, 313-963-3813) displays instruments, memorabilia, and pieces from the great Graystone Ballroom, one of the finest dance palaces of the swing era.
Kansas City. The impressive Kansas City Jazz Museum (1616 East Eighteenth Street, 816-474-8463) not only includes Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong artifacts, it also provides a great audio tour of jazz music.
New Orleans. Among the treasures at the Louisiana State Museum Jazz Collection (located inside the old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade, 800-568-6968) are instruments played by Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Bix Beiderbecke.
Orlando. At the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame (Universal Studios’ City-Walk, 407-224-2189), you can not only check out instruments such as Glenn Miller’s first trombone and a pair of Lionel Hampton’s vibraphone mallets but also hear live music at the Cityjazz club.
Palm Beach. The new Big Band Hall of Fame Museum in West Palm Beach (812 Fern Street, 561-655-1113) has a trove of swing-era treasures. Here’s a short list: Harry James’s trumpet, one of Count Basie’s captain’s caps, a Gene Krupa drum set, a collection of ties worn by bandleaders, and a mirrored ball from the famous Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benny Goodman and the Swing Era, by James Lincoln Collier (Oxford University Press, 1989)
Beyond Category: The Life and Genius of Duke Ellington, by John Edward Hasse (Simon and Schuster, 1993)
The Big Bands, by George Thomas Simon (Schirmer Books, 1981)
Black Beauty, White Heat: A Pictorial History of Classic Jazz, 1020-1950, by Frank Driggs and Harris Lewine (Da Capo Press, 1996)
The Cotton Club, by Jim Haskins (Random House, 1977)
Dialogues in Swing: Intimate Conversations with the Stars of the Big Band Era, by Fred Hall, edited by Eugene D. Wheeler (Pathfinder Publishing, 1989)
The Duke Ellington Reader, edited by Mark Tucker (Oxford University Press, 1993)
Everyday Fashions of the Forties as Pictured in Sears Catalogues, edited by Joanne Olian (Dover, 1992)
Fit to Be Tied: Vintage Ties of the Forties and Early Fifties, by Rod Dyer and Ron Spark (Abbeville Press, 1987)
Good Morning Blues: The Autobiography of Count Basie, by Count Basie with Albert Murray (Da Capo Press, 1995)
Hamp: An Autobiography, by Lionel Hampton with James Haskins (Amistad, 1993)
The History of Jazz, by Ted Gioia (Oxford University Press, 1997)
Jazz Anecdotes, by Bill Crow (Oxford University Press, 1990)
Jazz Cavalcade: The Inside Story of Jazz, by Dave Dexter Jr. (Criterion, 1946)
Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance, by Marshall Stearns and Jean Stearns (Da Capo Press, 1994)
Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest, by Ross Russell (Da Capo Press, 1997)
Just a Gigolo: The Life and Times of Louis Prima, by Gary Boulard (University of Southwestern Louisiana Press, 1989)
Lady Sings the Blues, by Billie Holiday with William Duffy (Penguin Books, 1995)
Let the Good Times Roll: The Story of Louis Jordan and His Music, by John Chilton (University of Michigan Press, 1994)
Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz 1915-1945, by Richard M. Sudhalter (Oxford University Press, 1999)
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide, edited by Steve Holtje and Nancy Ann Lee (Visible Ink Press, 1998)
MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening, edited by Steve Knopper (Visible Ink Press, 1998)
MusicHound Swing: The Essential Album Guide, edited by Steve Knopper (Visible Ink Press, 1999)
Music Is My Mistress, by Duke Ellington (Da Capo Press, 1988)
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, edited by Barry Kernfeld (St. Martin’s Press, 1994)
The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, edited by Donald Clarke (Penguin Books, 1999)
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on Compact Disc, edited by Richard Cook and Brian Morton (Penguin Books, 1999)
The Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Album Guide, edited by John Swenson (Rolling Stone Press, published by Random House, 1999)
Shoes: Fashion and Fantasy, by Colin McDowell (Rizzoli, 1989)
Swing Changes: Big-Band Jazz in New Deal America, by David W. Stowe (Harvard University Press, 1996)
Swing! The New Retro Renaissance, by V Vale (V/Search Publications, 1998)
Swingin’ at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer, by Norma Miller with Evette Jensen (Temple University Press, 1996)
Swingin’ the Dream: Big Band Jazz and the Rebirth of American Culture, by Lewis A. Erenberg (University of Chicago Press, 1998)
The Way You Wear Your Hat: Frank Sinatra and the Lost Art of Livin, by Bill Zehme (HarperCollins, 1997)
Zoot Suits and Second-Hand Dresses, edited by Angela McRobbie (Unwin Hyman, 1988)
ACKNO
WLEDGMENTS
I’m grateful to the countless members of the swing world who offered their time and expertise to help me research and write this book. My thanks go out to Scotty Morris for writing the foreword, Bill Elliott, Eddie Reed, Lionel Hampton, Jonathan Bixby, Steve Lucky and Carmen Getit, Margaret Batiuchok, Petra Mason, Lavay Smith and Chris Siebert, Darrow Cannizzaro, Heidi Richman, Morty Okin, Chris Chavira, Margie Cormier, Paul Kelly, James Hrabak, and Max Young. Dance Manhattan’s Teddy Kern opened her heart to me and was constantly available, reading drafts of the dance chapter at the last minute and letting me take Lindy classes at the studio. Similarly, Chuck Haddix, sound recording specialist at the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, read the chapter on the history of swing and offered helpful suggestions. During a wonderful afternoon at their home in San Francisco, trumpeter Johnny Coppola and his wife, singer Frances Lynne, helped really turn me on to the music. Thanks also to Tophatters’ Marie and Ted Lee and the staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Thank you to all the swing experts who took the time to fill out my exhaustive survey of the top neoswing albums: Rich Conaty, host of Swing Time on New York’s WFUV 90.7 FM at Fordham University; Patrick Cullen, DJ of the Atlantic Dance club in Orlando; Melbourne, Florida’s DJ Cutter; Modern Lounge associate editor David Elsensohn; Swivel’s Tammy Francis; Oregon swinger Keith Hazleton; New York DJ Chad “Chops” Kincaid; Anyswinggoes.com’s Doug LeClair; Bo Lewis, DJ of the Big Band Dance Party on WNAV 1430 AM, Annapolis, Maryland; Blue Martini Pages’ editor Lucky Hand; Detroit DJ Sean McDonnell; Dante Murphy, who spins the tunes at Philadelphia’s Five Spot; Seattle’s Leslie Price of CSL Productions; Nicole Seefeldt, aka DJ Curly, of KSDJ 90.7 FM, Brookings, South Dakota; New York’s “LoFi” Lee Sobel; Denver DJ Tim “Dogboy” Wieser of Ninth Avenue West; Nocturne.com’s Karen Wilson; Gregg Wolfe, producer of Minneapolis’ s Swanktown Radio on KBEM 88.5 FM; and Pennsylvania 6-5000 cyberswinger Joe Wood.
A number of friends and colleagues in New York were also instrumental in helping me complete the book. I’m thankful for the invaluable contributions of Perry Turcotte, Anna Holmes, and Atomic magazine editor Leslie Rosenberg. Jason Schneider provided the book’s stylish illustrations. My friends and family, including Richard Anderson, Lisa Light, Michael Kroll, Caroline Khella, Bill Auerbach, Nadia Murray, and Jeannette Walls were unfailingly supportive. My brother Steve Pener and father, Harry Pener, helped with research. Brad Hurtado, Scott Wooledge, and Fred Bernstein got me through the hectic last week. Entertainment Weekly’s Clarissa Cruz first gave my name to Little, Brown, while Alexandria Carrion, Suzanne Regan, Rob Brunner, and Will Lee offered assistance as well. Thanks also to my agent, David Chalfant of IMG.
Finally, there are two people without whom this book would never have happened at all. Entertainment Weekly’s assistant managing editor Maggie Murphy first assigned me to write about swing for the weekly in 1998. That story ultimately caught the eye of my sharp and savvy editor, Little, Brown’s Michael Liss, a swing dancer himself who, I’m honored to say, is just two degrees of separation away from the original Savoy dancers. (His teacher Margaret Batiuchok was one of the first to meet up with members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in the 1980s.) When Michael called me up and asked me if I wanted to write a book on swing, little did I know what an enriching and captivating experience it would turn out to be.
Swing is king again. Louis Prima is the last word in cool; new bands like the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are jumping the charts; and across the country crowds are once more packing the dance floor. The Swing Book is a complete guide to swing, from back in the day to today’s new scene–everything you need to know about what to listen to, where to dance, how to dress, and how to move.
“What does swing mean? If you are compelled to grab ahold of the nearest girl and get on the dance floor and just make a fool of yourself, you can bet the song is swinging.”
—EDDIE REED, EDDIE REED BIG BAND
“When I started the band, I thought maybe we’ll just play to grandmas.… And all of a sudden there were these young kids getting into it.”
—EDDIE NICHOLS, ROYAL CROWN REVUE
“There will always be a future for swing music. Swing is here to stay.”
—LIONEL HAMPTON
“People say, Frankie, what’s your secret? I keep dancing. I get up in the morning and I put on Count Basie. He wakes me up. And at night I put on Ella Fitzgerald. She lets me sleep.”
FRANKIE MANNING, SWING DANCE INNOVATOR
“Swing music is the most fun kind of music that’s ever been invented.… It more directly taps into good feelings than almost any other kind of music.”
—BILL ELLIOTT, THE BILL ELLIOTT ORCHESTRA
“Swing music is just the best music in the world. Now people everywhere are finding out what we knew.” —NORMA MILLER, ORIGINAL SAVOY DANCER, ENTERTAINER
Degen Pener worked as a staff writer for Entertainment Weekly and as a columnist for the New York Times’ “Style of the Times.” He now contributes to The New Yorker, New York, Wallpaper, and In Style. He lives in Manhattan.