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.
IMAGINATION
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra Lyrics
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Makes a bee think of honey just as I think of you
Imagination is crazy, you whole perspective gets hazy
Starts you asking a daisy what to do, what to do
Have you ever felt a gentle touch and then a kiss and then, and then
Find it's only your imagination again, oh well
For example I go around wanting you
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
Imagination is silly, you go around willy-nilly
For example I go around wanting you
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
The song "Imagination" by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra is about the power of imagination and how it can make a person's cloudy day sunny. The lyrics describe how imagination can make one think of a loved one just as a bee thinks of honey. The song talks about how imagination can be crazy and can make one's perspective hazy. Sometimes it even starts conversations with everyday objects like asking a daisy what to do.
The song also hints at the idea of unrequited love. The line "I go around wanting you, And yet I can't imagine that you want me too" shows that the singer is in love with someone who does not love them back, but their imagination makes them keep hoping that maybe one day they will be loved too. The line "Have you ever felt a gentle touch and then a kiss and then, and then, Find it's only your imagination again, oh well" implies that the singer has experienced disappointment in love before and recognizes that their imagination can sometimes deceive them.
Line by Line Meaning
Imagination is funny, it makes a cloudy day sunny
Imagination can create a positive outlook, even on gloomy days.
Makes a bee think of honey just as I think of you
Imagination can associate everyday things with thoughts of the person one desires.
Imagination is crazy, you whole perspective gets hazy
Imagination can distort one's perspective, causing confusion and uncertainty.
Starts you asking a daisy what to do, what to do
Imagination can lead to seeking advice from unlikely sources.
Have you ever felt a gentle touch and then a kiss and then, and then
Imagination can create vivid experiences and sensations, even if they are not real.
Find it's only your imagination again, oh well
Imagination can create disappointment when reality does not match expectations.
Imagination is silly, you go around willy-nilly
Imagination can make one act impulsively and without direction.
For example I go around wanting you
Imagination can create intense desire for someone or something unreachable.
And yet I can't imagine that you want me too
Imagination can create doubt and uncertainty in one's ability to achieve their desires.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind