Swing music
In 1924, Louis Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in New York. This move shifted how jazz bands played rhythm forever. Before this moment, most dance music relied on a two-beat meter with a sousaphone and banjo holding down the bottom end. Armstrong introduced a new way of playing that emphasized the second and fourth beats instead. He used lead-in notes to create a pulse that happened between the main beats as well as on them. This technique gave musicians more freedom to improvise melodic lines without being constrained by call-response patterns from other instruments. The result was a rhythmic swing that felt like it moved forward even when the tempo stayed steady. By 1927, Armstrong worked with pianist Earl Hines at the Grand Terrace Cafe in Chicago. Hines developed horn-like phrasing that broke away from traditional piano conventions centered on pivot notes. Their collaboration laid the groundwork for what would become known as swing music.
On the 21st of August 1935, Benny Goodman's orchestra played at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. Young white dancers filled the floor and responded with energy to Goodman's rhythm and daring arrangements. This single engagement transformed the landscape of popular music across America. It launched an era that lasted until 1946, known as the swing era. During these years, big bands became the dominant form of American entertainment. People danced the Lindy Hop, jitterbugging to hot swing music that accompanied national craze. Professional dance troupes like Whitey's Lindy Hoppers appeared in films such as Everybody Dance (1936) and A Day At the Races (1937). Swing dancing outlived the swing era itself, becoming associated with R&B and early rock and roll. The Savoy Ballroom in New York hosted battles between bands like Chick Webb Orchestra and Count Basie Orchestra. These events brought Kansas City style riff-and-solo oriented swing to national attention. By 1938, Goodman held a historic concert at Carnegie Hall featuring guests from other major orchestras.
In July 1942, the American Federation of Musicians called a ban on recording until record labels agreed to pay royalties to musicians. Major labels stopped producing instrumental recordings for over a year while negotiations continued. The last agreement was reached in November 1944. Meanwhile, vocalists recorded backed by vocal groups and older swing recordings were released from vaults. This shift reflected growing popularity of big band vocalists rather than instrumental ensembles. In 1943, Columbia Records re-released Harry James Orchestra's 1939 version of All or Nothing at All with Frank Sinatra receiving top billing. The recording found commercial success that had eluded its original release. Wartime restrictions also limited travel and raised touring expenses. Military drafts reduced available manpower for large swing bands. In 1944, the federal government imposed a 30% excise tax on dancing nightclubs, undercutting markets for dance music in smaller venues. ASCAP demanded higher royalties from broadcasters starting in 1941, leading to bans on airplay of their repertoire. These combined pressures made broadcast swing less appealing during the war years despite its continued popularity among audiences.
From the 1970s into the 1980s, fans attended Big Band Nostalgia tours featuring semi-retired bandleaders like Harry James and vocalist Dick Haymes. Historically-themed radio broadcasts included period comedy, melodrama, and music to sustain interest in swing era sounds. Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks presented adaptations of gypsy swing while David Grisman followed suit. In Seattle, the New Deal Rhythm Band revived 1930s swing with comedy behind vocalists Phil Shallat and Cheryl Bentyne. Bentyne left the group in 1978 for her career with Manhattan Transfer. A new swing revival emerged during the 1990s and 2000s led by Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lavay Smith, and Brian Setzer. Many bands played neo-swing combining swing with rockabilly, ska, and rock elements. This movement brought renewed attention to swing dancing including Lindy Hop. Robbie Williams released Swing When You're Winning in 2001 selling over seven million copies worldwide. Another album titled Swings Both Ways arrived in November 2013.
Jimmie Rodgers, Moon Mullican, and Bob Wills combined swing and blues elements to create Western swing in country music. Mullican left Cliff Bruner band to pursue a solo career maintaining swing structures throughout his songs. Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel continued incorporating swing elements into country music decades later. Asleep at the Wheel recorded Count Basie tunes like One O'Clock Jump using steel guitar instead of horns. Nat King Cole followed Sinatra's path into pop music bringing piano to the forefront alongside ballads. Fats Domino and Elvis Presley included swing-era standards in their repertoire making crooning ballards Are You Lonesome Tonight and My Blue Heaven into rock and roll hits. The Marcels doo-wop group scored big with lively versions of Blue Moon. Multi-genre mandolinist Jethro Burns produced albums featuring jazz rhythms and swing chord progressions earning him recognition as Father of Jazz Mandolin.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, new urban-styled swing-beat emerged called New Jack Swing created by producer Teddy Riley. Electro swing became mainly popular in Europe blending swing samples with hip hop or house beats. Artists like Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar gained popularity in the late 2010s. These genres often sample music from the earlier Charleston era of the 1920s rather than actual swinging records. Both swing house and electro swing connect with revivals of swing dances such as Lindy Hop. Electro swing incorporates influences including tango and Django Reinhardt's gypsy swing. Gypsy swing bands typically consist of no more than five players using guitars and bass as backbone without brass or percussion sections. Their repertoire overlaps 1930s swing including French popular music and compositions by Reinhardt himself.
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Common questions
When did Louis Armstrong join the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and how did it change jazz rhythm?
Louis Armstrong joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1924. This move shifted how jazz bands played rhythm forever by emphasizing the second and fourth beats instead of a two-beat meter.
What event launched the swing era on the 21st of August 1935?
Benny Goodman's orchestra played at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles on the 21st of August 1935. This single engagement transformed the landscape of popular music across America and launched an era that lasted until 1946 known as the swing era.
Why did the swing era end around 1944 and what government tax affected dance clubs?
The swing era ended due to combined pressures including military drafts, touring expenses, and a federal government excise tax imposed in 1944. The 1944 federal government imposed a 30% excise tax on dancing nightclubs which undercut markets for dance music in smaller venues.
Which artists led the new swing revival during the 1990s and 2000s?
A new swing revival emerged during the 1990s and 2000s led by Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lavay Smith, and Brian Setzer. Robbie Williams released Swing When You're Winning in 2001 selling over seven million copies worldwide.
How did Western swing combine swing and blues elements with country music?
Jimmie Rodgers, Moon Mullican, and Bob Wills combined swing and blues elements to create Western swing in country music. Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel continued incorporating swing elements into country music decades later.