Teenagers and college students invented new dance steps to accompany the new music sensation. Benny's band, along with many others, became hugely successful among listeners from many different backgrounds all over the country.
During this period Benny also became famous for being colorblind when it came to racial segregation and prejudice. While these groups were not the first bands to feature both white and black musicians, Benny's national popularity helped to make racially mixed groups more accepted in the mainstream.
In 1938, at the pinnacle of the Swing Era, the Benny Goodman band, along with musicians from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands, made history as the first jazz band ever to play in New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall.
Following the concert at Carnegie Hall, the Benny Goodman band had many different lineup changes. Gene Krupa left the band, among others, and subsequent versions of the band included Cootie Williams and Charlie Christian, as well as Jimmy Maxwell and Mel Powell, among others.
In the 1940s, although the big band days were drawing to a close and new forms of music were emerging, the Goodman band continued to play music in the swing style.
In 1953, Benny's band planned to join Louis Armstrong and his All Stars in a tour together, but the two band leaders argued and the tour never opened at Carnegie Hall, as had been planned. It is not certain whether the tour was canceled due to Benny's illness or the conflict between the band leaders. The rest of the decade marked the spread of Benny's music to new audiences around the world. Benny also toured the world, bringing his music to Asia and Europe. When he traveled to the USSR, one writer observed that "the swing music that had once set the jitterbugs dancing in the Paramount aisles almost blew down the Iron Curtain."
In 1978, the Benny Goodman band appeared at Carnegie Hall again to mark the 30th Anniversary of when they appeared in the venue's first jazz concert.
Bumble Bee Stomp
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Buzz around, buzz around
Keep a-buzzin' 'round)
Bring home all the honey, love, to me
(Little bee, little bee, little bee)
Let me spend the happy hours
Roving with you 'mongst the flow'rs
And when we get where no one else can see
Be my little baby bumble bee
(Buzz around, buzz around
Keep a-buzzin' 'round)
We'll be just has happy as can be
(You and me, you and me, you and me)
Honey, keep a-buzzin', please
I've got a dozen cousin bees
But I want you to be my baby bumble bee
Be my little baby bumble bee
Bring home all the honey, love, to me
Let me spend the happy hours
Roving with you 'mongst the flow'rs
And when we get where no one else can see
(Cuddle up, cuddle up, cuddle up)
Be my little baby bumble bee
(Buzz around, buzz around
Keep a-buzzin' 'round)
We'll be just has happy as can be
(You and me, you and me, you and me)
Honey, keep a-buzzin', please
I've got a dozen cousin bees
But I want you to be my baby bumble bee
Buzz-buzz
The lyrics to Benny Goodman and His Orchestra's song Bumble Bee Stomp speak of a lover who is comparing their partner to a little baby bumble bee. They want their partner to keep buzzing around and bringing home all the honey and love to them. The lyrics are filled with cute little references to bee behaviour, like "cuddle up" and "keep a-buzzin', please". The imagery of flowers and a secluded area where they can cuddle up also adds to the overall sweetness of the song.
The song is essentially a love song, but its uniqueness comes from its theme of bees. It is a fun playful tune that is easy to dance along to. The lyrics are simple and sweet, making the song a great choice for weddings, engagement parties, or any other romantic occasion.
Line by Line Meaning
Be my little baby bumble bee
I want you to be my special companion, like a baby bumble bee.
(Buzz around, buzz around
Keep a-buzzin' 'round)
I want you to fly around like a buzzing bee, always staying close to me.
Bring home all the honey, love, to me
(Little bee, little bee, little bee)
Please bring me all your love and affection, just like a hardworking honeybee would.
Let me spend the happy hours
Roving with you 'mongst the flow'rs
I want to spend my happy times with you, amongst the flowers.
And when we get where no one else can see
(Cuddle up, cuddle up, cuddle up)
When we have some private time together, I want us to snuggle and cuddle up.
We'll be just has happy as can be
(You and me, you and me, you and me)
We'll be extremely happy as long as we're together, just you and me.
Honey, keep a-buzzin', please
I've got a dozen cousin bees
Please keep buzzing around me, because even though I have many other potential companions, I want you.
But I want you to be my baby bumble bee
Of all the bees in the world, I want you to be my special baby bumble bee.
Buzz-buzz
The sound of a busy bee buzzing around.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bob Greenlee, Kenny Neal
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jimdenham4008
Dave Tough and Bud Freeman: absolutely brilliant!
@joostkiefte7683
Hah, love Freeman, alway so unpredictable. I love his being so different from either Hawkins or Young. As Glenn Miller said of their time together in the Ray Noble band, when Freeman soloed Miller would bet with Will Bradley whether or not Freeman could untangle himself from the knots he put himself in while giving free rein to his abundant ideas. Bradley, who said he could, usually won the bet.
@ScottMacGillivray558
This live air check is so much better than the RCA studio record. Goodman is especially animated, and Bud Freeman is great on saxophone. This broadcast was short-waved to Japan, and the closing greeting was read in Japanese by Burton Crane. Bert Parks was the studio announcer.
@mamarremamarremamarremamar4092
Harry James' solo is just amazing
@joostkiefte7683
Sure is.
@WilliamSilva-ml5nw
A great live recording of BG's band.
@Trombonology
Hot! it's interesting to compare this band with the Goodman crew of such a short time earlier: changed personnel makes a world of difference. Dave Tough replacing Krupa is instantly notable; too, Bud Freeman brought a new tenor sound to the band. Great stuff!
@konidolfine
+Trombonology Erstwhile
The BG orchestra at that time has not yet lost a golden trumpet section.
Three of them brought about force to rank with 5trumpets of Herman's and Kenton's.
@shrinkprof
Dave Matthews played the alto solo. Bernardi was the section leader. My ears identify the trumpet soloist as Elman, not James. I'm quite confident of this attribution.
@annanoli
Title should be adjusted to Bumble Bee Stomp.also i'd say that the alto break is by Matthews,not by Bernardi