Goodman was regarded by some as a demanding taskmaster, by others an arrogant and eccentric martinet. Many musicians spoke of The Ray, Goodman's trademark glare that he bestowed on a musician who failed to perform to his demanding standards. Anita O'Day and Helen Forrest spoke bitterly of their experiences singing with Goodman. "The twenty or so months I spent with Benny felt like twenty years," said Forrest. "When I look back, they seem like a life sentence." He could also be incredibly self-absorbed; it is reported that when eating an egg onto which a ketchup bottle cap had fallen, Goodman simply ate around it. At the same time, there are reports that he privately funded several college educations and was sometimes very generous, though always secretly. When a friend asked him why one time, he reportedly said, "Well, if they knew about it, everyone would come to me with their hand out."
Some suggest that Elvis Presley had the same success with rock and roll that Goodman achieved with jazz and swing. Without Goodman there would not have been a swing era. It is true that many of Goodman's arrangements had been played for years before by Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. While Goodman publicly acknowledged his debt to Henderson, many young white swing fans had never heard Henderson's band. While most consider Goodman a jazz innovator, others maintain his main strength was his perfectionism and drive. Goodman was a non - pariel virtuoso clarinetist and -along with only Artie Shaw, amongst the most technically proficient jazz clarinetists of all time.
Goodman is also responsible for a significant step in racial integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. In the Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by the Jim Crow laws. Benny Goodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with him ] in the Autumn of 1936. He then added Lionel Hampton on vibes in December, 1936, and in the early Summer of 1939 he augmented the famous "quartette" with pioneering jazz guitarist Charlie Christian to his band and small ensembles, who played with him until his untimely death from tuberculosis less than three years later. To give an understanding of American history at this time, Goodman's integration of popular music happened ten years before Jackie Robinson entered Major League Baseball. "[Goodman's] popularity was such that he could remain financially viable without touring the South, where he would have been subject to arrest for violating Jim Crow laws." By the mid- Summer of 1941, Benny had hired the incomparably rhythmic and show-man drummer, legendary "Big Sid" Catlett, the (later) famous John Simmons on bass, and still possessed the incomparable Charlie Christian on electric guitar -plus Cootie Williams was in the middle of his one-year contract... This amounted to virtually one-quarter of the orchestra of black heritage, but of course -following Jimmy Munday and Fletcher Henderson (who also joined the band as pianist for 6 months in July, 1939) it was really an orchestrated white extension of black big band jazz -only, curiously -better.
Beatle Street Blues
Benny Goodman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Mississippi
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
The band's there to meet us
Old friends there to greet us
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
Basin Street is the street
Where the best folks always meet
In New Orleans, land of dreams
You'll never know how nice it seems,
Or just how much it really means
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
Where welcome's free and dear to me
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
Is the street, mama
New Orleans, land of dreams
The lyrics of "Basin Street Blues" speak of a journey with an invitation to travel to the Mississippi and take a boat to New Orleans, where the shores are welcomed by the warm notes of jazz. The city is depicted as a mythical place where the proud and the elite meet, a place that embodies the idea of heaven on earth, the so-called Basin Street. The song shows that in Basin Street, the best folks always meet.
The verses are colored by a romantic tone, as the singer expresses his happiness being on Basin Street, where welcoming is free and dear to him, and he can lose his Basin Street Blues. The singer highlights the idea that this place has something special that is impossible to understand fully, a place where one can forget about their worries and simply be glad to be there.
Overall, the song conveys a message of happiness, warmth, and the feeling of being in a magical place full of good vibes and great music, which is what New Orleans is reputed for.
Line by Line Meaning
Won't you come along with me
Join me on a voyage
To the Mississippi
Travel to the river
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Board a ship en route to a wondrous place
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
Sail down the current to the city of New Orleans
The band's there to meet us
The orchestra is eagerly awaiting our arrival
Old friends there to greet us
Acquaintances from the past are prepared to receive us
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
Basin Street is a place where the wealthy and influential gather
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Many consider Basin Street to be an earthly paradise
Basin Street is the street
The famous road is called Basin Street
Where the best folks always meet
It is where the most important and outstanding individuals assemble
In New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans is a place of hope and possibility
You'll never know how nice it seems,
You cannot comprehend its true beauty until you experience it
Or just how much it really means
Its value is immeasurable
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
How happy I am to be here
Where welcome's free and dear to me
A place where hospitality is given freely and is cherished
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
My worries and sorrows disappear when I am in Basin Street
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
Basin Street is a great place
Is the street, mama
It is the place of significance, mother
New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans is a place where people dream of coming to
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Spencer Williams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
bob boscarato
Tegarden's vocal are great.
MrJimmienoone
What a fine, soulful trumpeter Charlie Teagarden was! If there had not been his giant brother overshadowing him, Charlie would have ranked among the best swing trumpeters.
msjazzmeblues
@bob boscarato Charlie played with Benny Goodman, too. He played with a LOT of good bands in the 1930s & '40s.
bob boscarato
He also played with Bob Crosby Bobcats!
Daniel Weinstein
And he was only 18!
Audiophile 102
The music "Sure is pretty". You are a slide show master.
Louis Mcelwee
Glen Miller at the time was also arranging for the Dorsey Brothers and The Boswell Sisters
Thomas Smith
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