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.
It's Only A Paper Moon
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
Without your love
It's a honky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Say, it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
Without your love
It's a honky-tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me
It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me
Benny Goodman's song "It's Only a Paper Moon" incorporates images of the surreal and the fantastical to explore themes of love and the power of belief. The song opens with the refrain "Say, it's only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea / But it wouldn't be make-believe if you believed in me." These lines establish the central metaphor of the song: the idea that the world can be transformed into a more magical and meaningful place through the power of belief. The song goes on to describe other fantastical elements, such as a "canvas sky" and a "muslin tree," and suggests that these elements would be real if one simply believed in their existence.
The remainder of the song describes a world that is essentially empty and meaningless without love. The lines "Without your love, it's a honky-tonk parade / Without your love, it's a melody played in a penny arcade" suggest that the world is nothing more than a cheap performance or a shallow source of entertainment without the presence of love. In this way, the song suggests that belief and love are two important components of a fulfilling life - and that they are intimately connected.
Overall, "It's Only a Paper Moon" is a song about the transformative power of belief, and the way that love makes the world a more meaningful and magical place.
Line by Line Meaning
Say, it's only a paper moon
Let me be clear, what you're seeing is only a representation of reality
Sailing over a cardboard sea
This paper moon is moving along an artificial ocean made of cardboard
But it wouldn't be make-believe
However, this fantasy wouldn't be an illusion
If you believed in me
If you have trust in me as a person, this paper moon could be much more than just a decoration
Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Similarly, what you're seeing up there is simply a representation of the sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
This canvas sky is hanging over a tree made of muslin
Without your love
In the absence of your affection
It's a honky-tonk parade
Everything around me seems like a dishonest, frivolous celebration
It's a melody played in a penny arcade
It's like the background music of a cheap, commercial amusement park
It's a Barnum and Bailey world
In fact, everything is a metaphor for a circus, a spectacle made of trickery and illusion
Just as phony as it can be
Everything is as fake as possible
But it wouldn't be make-believe
However, there's a chance that all of these illusions could turn into truth
If you believed in me
If you trusted me and believed in me, all of this could become genuine
It's phony it's plain to see
It's undoubtedly evident that things aren't genuine
How happy I would be
Considering how things are, I'd be extremely happy
If you believed in me
If only you had faith in me
Lyrics © S.A. MUSIC, SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: BILLY ROSE, E.Y. HARBURG, HAROLD ARLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hungry Dragon Vs Frightend Hobbit
I've got this original record in glorious 78 rpm shellac. It's fantastic.
Asko Varjorinne
Good old Benny thank´s to memories!!!🎶🎶💫💫
K Hussein
Awesome!
Rube Waddell
My son used to hate it when he was a little tacker and we were out in public and I would randomly start singing this song.
Mario Malnati
Thank god you made another channel!