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.
My Little Cousin
Benny Goodman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines that I knew long ago
I can hear old guitars a playing, on the beach at Hoonaunau
I can hear the Hawaiians saying "Komomai no kaua ika hale welakahao"
It won't be long 'til my ship will be sailing back to Kona
A grand old place that's always fair to see
I'm just a little Hawaiian and a homeside Island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi
Where the Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa goes swimming by
Where the Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa goes swimming by
I want to go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines that I knew long ago
I can hear old guitars a playing, on the beach at Hoonaunau
I can hear the Hawaiians saying "Komomai no kaua ika hale welakahao"
It won't be long 'til my ship will be sailing back to Kona
A grand old place that's always fair to see
I'm just a little Hawaiian and a homeside Island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi
I want to go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii
Where the Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa goes swimming by
The lyrics to Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee's song "My Little Cousin" are a nostalgic call to a simpler time in the singer's life. The song's speaker longs to return to their childhood home in Kealakekua, Hawaii, to be with the old friends and community they grew up with. The singer remembers the sound of old guitars playing on the beach at Hoonaunau and the Hawaiian phrase "Komomai no kaua ika hale welakahao" ("Come on in, let's go to the house made of ironwood") being spoken. The singer knows it won't be long until they can return to Kona, a place they describe as "always fair to see." They end the song by expressing their desire to return to the simple pleasures of fish and poi and watching the Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa fish swim by in their little grass shack.
The song is not just a longing for a place, but also a longing for a specific time in the singer's life. It's a nostalgia for a simpler, more community-focused Hawaii that the singer feels has been lost. The use of Hawaiian phrases in the song also adds to the sense of longing for a cultural identity that may no longer be fully present. The song reflects the common theme of many nostalgic songs, which is the bittersweet longing for a time and place that can never be fully recaptured.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii
I long for the simple life in my small house made of grass in Kealakekua, Hawaii
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines that I knew long ago
I miss spending time with the men and women I knew in the past
I can hear old guitars a playing, on the beach at Hoonaunau
I can hear the sound of the old guitars being played on Hoonaunau Beach
I can hear the Hawaiians saying "Komomai no kaua ika hale welakahao"
I can hear the Hawaiians welcoming us to their home with the phrase "come on in to the house made of shining light"
It won't be long 'til my ship will be sailing back to Kona
I will soon be sailing back to Kona on my ship
A grand old place that's always fair to see
Kona is a wonderful and beautiful place to visit
I'm just a little Hawaiian and a homeside Island boy
I am a small and humble person from Hawaii
I want to go back to my fish and poi
I miss the simple but delicious food of fish and poi
Where the Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa goes swimming by
I long to be back in a place where the colorful fish Humuhumu, Nukunuku a puaa swim by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILL COGSWELL, JOHNNY NOBLE, TOMMY HARRISON, WILLIAM COGSWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrRubeo
I have the 78 record I came here to look it up & listen to it. Thank you
@robertocampos6662
Nice Nightcap.
Sincerely,
Ebenezer
@coloraturaElise
Ok, Benny playing some klez!
@peterhammond796
Where did this recording come from Bob ?, its way better than the official Columbia/Legacy double CD version,
No echo on Peggy Lee's vocals ! Sublimely close miked as the makers intended !
@the78prof72
Sorry, but I'm not really sure. My database doesn't indicate a source from my own collection, so it apparently was chosen (some years ago) from among various available online files; and I may or may not have performed any additional digital cleaning or EQ adjustment.
@merylfox6071
Benny and Peggy Lee Helped put Jewish music on the map!