Thomas Francis Dorsey, Jr. was born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, and started out only 16 years later in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with big band leader Russ Morgan in the famous pick-up band of the 1920s "The Scranton Sirens".
Tommy and his brother Jimmy worked in several bands, including those of Rudy Vallee, Vincent Lopez, and especially Paul Whiteman, before forming the original Dorsey Brothers Orchestra in 1934. Ongoing acrimony between the brothers, however, led to Tommy Dorsey's walking out to form his own band in 1935, just as the Orchestra was having a hit with "Every Little Moment."
Tommy Dorsey's first band formed out of the remnant of the Joe Haymes band, and his smooth, lyrical trombone style – whether on ballads or on no-holds-barred swingers – became one of the signature sounds of both his band and the Swing Era. The new band hit from almost the moment it signed with RCA Victor with "On Treasure Island", the first of four hits for the new band that year. That led to a run of 137 Billboard chart hits, including his theme song, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" (which showcases his phenomenal range and masterful mute use, reaching up to the high C #), "Marie", "The Big Apple", "Music, Maestro, Please", "I'll Never Smile Again", "This Love of Mine", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie", "Well, Git 'It", "Opus One", "Manhattan Serenade", and "There Are Such Things" – among many others.
The band featured a number of the best instrumentalists in jazz at the time, including trumpeters Bunny Berigan, Ziggy Elman, George Seaberg, Carl "Doc" Severinsen, and Charlie Shavers, pianist Jess Stacy, trumpeter/arranger/composer Sy Oliver (who wrote "Well, Git 'It" and "Opus One"), clarinetists Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Mince and Peanuts Hucko drummers Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Gene Krupa and Dave Tough and singers Jack Leonard, Edythe Wright, Jo Stafford, Dick Haymes and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra achieved his first great success as a vocalist in the Dorsey band and claimed he learned breath control from watching Dorsey play trombone. Dorsey said his trombone style was heavily influenced by that of Jack Teagarden. Another member of the Dorsey band probably spent considerable time observing and listening to Sy Oliver's striking arrangements: trombonist Nelson Riddle, whose later partnership as Sinatra's major arranger and conductor is considered to have revolutionised post-World War II popular music.
Dorsey might have broken up his own band permanently following World War II, as many big bands did due to the shift in music economics following the war, and he did disband the orchestra at the end of 1946. But a top-ten selling album (All-Time Hits) made it possible for Dorsey to re-organise a big band in early 1947.
The biographical film of 1947, "The Fabulous Dorseys" describes sketchy details of how the brothers got their start from-the-bottom-up into the jazz era of one-nighters, the early days of radio in its infancy stages, and the onward march when both brothers ended up with Paul Whiteman before 1935 when The Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra split into two.
The Dorsey brothers themselves later reconciled – Jimmy Dorsey had had to break up his own highly successful big band in 1953, and brother Tommy invited him to join up as a feature attraction – but before long Tommy renamed the band the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. On December 26, 1953, the brothers appeared with their orchestra on Jackie Gleason's CBS television show, which was preserved on kinescope and later released on home video by Gleason. The brothers took the unit on tour and onto their own television show, Stage Show, from 1954 to 1956, on which they introduced Elvis Presley to national television audiences, among others.
Fools Rush In
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where angels fear to tread
And so I come to you my love
My heart above my head
Though I see
The danger there
If there's a chance for me
Fools rush in
Where wise men never go
But wise men never fall in love
So how are they to know
When we met
I felt my life begin
So open up your heart and let
This fool rush in
The lyrics of the song Fools Rush In speaks of a person who is in love and willing to take a risk, even though they are aware that there is danger involved. The opening lines of the song, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," alludes to Alexander Pope's quote, where he cautions against rushing into something foolishly. Despite this warning, the person confesses their love and approaches their partner with their heart ruling over their head. The lines "my heart above my head" captures the situation of someone who is in love and acting on their emotions.
The second verse highlights that the person is aware of the dangers that lie ahead in the relationship, but they are willing to take the risk. Although wise men would never take such a risk, the person is willing to gamble everything for the possibility of love. When they met their partner, they felt that their life had begun, and they urge their beloved to open their heart and let them in.
Overall, the lyrics of Fools Rush In speak of someone who is deeply in love and willing to take a risk, even when they know that there might be dangers ahead. The song captures the essence of love and the feeling of being willing to bet everything on the possibility of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Fools rush in
Impulsive people act without thinking
Where angels fear to tread
In situations that are risky or dangerous
And so I come to you my love
I'm heading towards you, my dear
My heart above my head
My emotions are leading, not my intellect
Though I see
Although I'm aware
The danger there
That a threat exists
If there's a chance for me
If there's a possibility for me
Then I don't care
I'm careless about the risks involved
Fools rush in
Rash people act recklessly
Where wise men never go
In territories unperturbed by sensible folks
But wise men never fall in love
But sensible folks never experience true love
So how are they to know
So they can't comprehend
When we met
When we first made acquaintance
I felt my life begin
I felt reinvigorated
So open up your heart and let
So let yourself be vulnerable
This fool rush in
This senseless person make advances
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, RUBE BLOOM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Berry
So many singers have recorded this song over the past 80 years or so but none have made a better version than this masterpiece from T Dorsey, and a young and still smooth voiced Frankie. It’s totally wonderful.
ddkoda
What a great example of TD's seamless phrasing in the introduction, an example that Frank incorporated into his own inimitable vocal style. Of we can't forget this grand orchestration by Axel Stordahl.
Only Connect
Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra were magic together
John Camacho
A bygone era and we all should be happy we still have records, cds and everything else to remember and listen to this great music; Frank was and will always be one of the greatest singers of all time.
bbcisrubbish
To me the greatest inventions ever were the gramophone and youtube. (And the people who up load them).
ddkoda
The great Tommy Dorsey organization, arrangement by Axel Stordahl perhaps?, and Frank Sinatra's rich voice; how can anything be derived from this combination except excellence that breaks the mold and stands the test of time. For me listening to the capture of this coalescence of genius from 1940 is never tiresome.
gacj2010
My mother loved this song ... She heard it at Palisides park while dating...It would always bring her back to that place and feeling .... now I remember her singing it....Oh how I could wish to have her here singing again to the music ... I loved her so much
Karen Freid
I was looking up "Fools Rush In" thinking it was a song from the late "50's or early"60's--surprised to hear the version by the great Dorsey Brothers and sung by Frank Sinatra. He had such a sweet voice when he was young and sang this -it's a wonderful version. His voice got appropriately rich and "worldly" sounding as he matured--always marvelous.
LivinMyLife
I wasn't even born in this era, I was born in the late 50's but I just simply love the style of the Big Band sound, So Relaxing and Classy music.
Miguel Antonio González San Martín, de Chile.
De los tiempos en que la orquesta era la estrella.