He was born in New York City (but grew up in New Haven, Connecticut) and began learning the saxophone when he was 15 and by age 16, had begun to tour with a band. He reached Hollywood the first time, as a sideman with Irving Aaronson's band in 1931, performing at the famous Orange Blossom Room (site of the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929). Returning to New York City in1932, he became a highly in-demand session musician, working for example as one of just a handful of accompanists to Bing Crosby's first signature radio show for William S. Paley's already powerful and influential CBS radio network. Ultimately, Artie (who was known strictly as "Art" Shaw until his fortuitous Summer, 1938 contract with RCA Victor records' Bluebird label commenced) organized and led five, full-time touring orchestras that were all extremely popular -save the last, from 1949, with its be-bop oriented book. Ironically, that final Shaw-led big band (populated with players like Al Cohn), is considered by most jazz critics to have been Artie's best. With time out to lead a Navy service band (in the Pacific combat theater) during WWII, Shaw's actual big band- leading career lasted less than a decade overall -yet, it was a remarkably productive one, populated with some fourteen "Gold" records. These included such mega-hits as "Begin the Beguine", "Stardust", "Frenesi", "Moonglow", "Temptation", "Dancing In The Dark" and "Summit Ridge Drive" -the latter by his famous quintet billed as the Gramercy 5.
Shaw was known for being an innovator in the big band idiom, pioneering strings with jazz and using unusual instrumentations. His Summer, 1935 piece "Interlude in B-flat" was one of the earliest examples of what would be later dubbed "third stream". In 1938 he convinced Billie Holiday to be his band's vocalist, becoming the first white bandleader to hire a full-time black female singer. This 1938-1939 orchestra became phenomenonally successful and appeared in the movie "Dancing Co-ed" which also featured one of his future wives, Lana Turner, in the cast. Artie's clarinet playing, had by now reached a level that was arguably the greatest in jazz, easily rivaling that of Benny Goodman. Longtime Duke Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard, himself a highly talented musician -cited Shaw (in 1940) as his "favorite" clarinet player. Literally abandoning his famous 1938-1939 band at the absolute peak of its' fame and earning power (Artie, just himself alone pulling down more than $10K per week) in late November, 1939, Shaw "abdicated" to Acapulco, Mexico. Returning to the U.S. he organized an entirely new orchestra, with full string section in the Summer of 1940. A truly stellar aggregation, it lasted until mid-1941, featuring stars Billy Butterfield, Johnny Guarneiri, Nick Fatool and Ray Conniff as principal arranger. This outfit can be prominently seen in the RKO film "Second Chorus" starring Fred Astaire and Paulette Goddard. The final pre-war Shaw band, started in late, 1941, had Davey Tough and Hot Lips Page and big hits on St. James Infirmary Blues and Blues In The NIght. Artie broke this outstanding unit up shortly after Pearl Harbor so he could "enlist" in the Navy -refusing an offered commission. Back from the Navy, Shaw put together a new band that featured Roy Eldridge and an ambitious library stocked with arrangements by Eddie Sauter, Buster Harding, Ray Conniff and others. Hit records for this band included "Little Jazz" and "S'Wonderful" and by now Artie was married to Ava Gardner. His final public performances (as a clarinetist) took place in 1954, including with a sublime quartet in an extended Las Vegas booking. Apparently, he last picked up and played his fabled clarinet in about 1960 at his beach house in Spain (as recounted in final wife actress Evelyn Keyes' autobiography) and resisted all lucrative offers to return to the stage until finally fielding a "ghost" band under the highly capable aegis of outstanding clarinetist Dick Johnson in 1985. For about the first year, Artie often appeared on stage with this very fine orchestra at certain, prestigious bookings, but soon tired of the "grind" -and not to Dick Johnson's dismay. This now true "ghost" band is still appearing during Summer seasons (with much of the original Shaw "books"), principally in the New England area (Johnson lives in Boston) and is well worth seeing. Although he had more wives (8) than bands, Artie fell one wife short of Charlie Barnet's record (for a famous bandleadrer) of nine.
Diga Diga Doo
Artie Shaw Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gear his heart beat a little tattoo
Diga diga doo diga doo doo
Diga diga doo diga doo
You love me and I love you
And when you love it is natural to
Diga diga doo diga doo doo
I'm so very diga diga doo by nature
If you don't say diga diga to your mate
You're gonna lose a papa.
So let those funny people smile
How can there be a Virgin isle
With diga diga doo diga doo doo
Diga diga doo diga doo
No one heeds the marriage laws
Yours is mine and mine is yours
With diga diga doo diga doo doo
Diga diga doo diga doo
The lyrics to Artie Shaw and His Orchestra's song Diga Diga Doo are an example of the popular music of the 1930s. While the lyrics may seem nonsense, on closer inspection, they speak of love and connection, while also making a tongue-in-cheek reference to cultural differences. The song starts by talking about a "Zulu man" feeling blue and hearing his heart beat "a little tattoo". This is followed by the refrain of "diga diga doo", which is repeated throughout the song. The lyrics then move on to the concept of love, with the lines "You love me and I love you / And when you love it is natural to diga diga doo".
The song also references cultural differences, with the line "I'm so very diga diga doo by nature / If you don't say diga diga to your mate / You're gonna lose a papa". The phrase "diga diga" is taken from the Zulu language, which was not well-known in America at the time, and was meant to be funny and exotic. The lyrics also contain a reference to the Virgin Islands, saying "How can there be a Virgin isle / With diga diga doo diga doo doo".
Overall, the lyrics to Diga Diga Doo speak to the themes of love, connection, and cultural difference that were common in popular music of the 1930s.
Line by Line Meaning
Zulu man is feelin' blue
The Zulu man is feeling sad
Gear his heart beat a little tattoo
His heart is beating heavily
Diga diga doo diga doo doo
Using 'diga diga doo' to express emotions
Diga diga doo diga doo
Expressing love through 'diga diga doo'
You love me and I love you
Mutual love between two people
And when you love it is natural to
It is natural to express love
I'm so very diga diga doo by nature
Naturally expressive with 'diga diga doo'
If you don't say diga diga to your mate
If you don't express your love
You're gonna lose a papa.
You might lose your partner
So let those funny people smile
Don't let others' judgment stop you from expressing yourself
How can there be a Virgin isle
A rhetorical question to challenge societal norms
With diga diga doo diga doo doo
Expressing contempt towards societal norms through 'diga diga doo'
No one heeds the marriage laws
People don't follow the societal norms of marriage
Yours is mine and mine is yours
Sharing everything in a relationship
With diga diga doo diga doo doo
Reinforcing the message of sharing in a relationship through 'diga diga doo'
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOROTHY FIELDS, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ray Szymarek
The great Artie Shaw Big Band. Sensational with all great musicians. then you have the Thunder God of Drumming none better Buddy Rich. Buddy Rich was the main force behind making Shaw Swing like Crazy. I love Artie Shaw but without Buddy Rich behind a set of drums there is no drive or power. Give me Buddy Rich any time. thank you for posting this gem.
TC Pratt
Buddy Rich isn't the sole reason the Artie Shaw Orchestra could have drive or power - for proof, listen to Shaw's arrangement of "Diga Diga Do" played by his "Frenesi" band (no Buddy Rich) of 1940-41 - drums were present, but they cooperated with the bass and the piano to set the rhythm (significantly faster than the 1938-39 version) very well.
In fact, in the 1940-41 version, piano and bass were very noticeable in a bit over one minute sequence that covered Shaw's clarinet solo, then the piano / bass front and center in a duet, then a saxophone solo - the drums were there, but quite subtle.
It's interesting to compare the 1938-39 Shaw recording of "Begin the Beguine" with his 1940-41 recording as well. From my observations, I'd say that 80% of Shaw fans much prefer the 1938-39 versions of both over the 1940-41 versions. For me, I have a very personal reason for much preferring the 1940-41 versions - the Artie Shaw "Frenesi" orchestra was the house band for the George Burns & Gracie Allen radio program, and listening to them introduced me to Artie Shaw. (Shaw's use of strings in his "Frenesi" band was very well done imo - his "Begin the Beguine" especially so.)
Mario Caffari
Very bad audio quality
Jorge Alberto Rodríguez
The audio quality doesn't matter. If i'm not wrong, this is one of the last recordings of the great 1938/39 Shaw band, a historic document by itself. BTW, Georgie Auld plays the tenor sax solo.
Mario Caffari
@Heinz Becker You can find them on YOUTUBE Greetings from Switzerland
Heinz Becker
If you have a better, please send it to mee