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.
I Tried
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tried to impress you,
My love,
I gave it all
Each hour ever at your beck and call.
I tried,
Tried to caress you,
My soul,
Two arms craving the one I admire.
Your charm was so appealing,
I loved you from the start,
There's still that same old feeling,
Concealed here in my heart.
I tried making you love me,
And you couldn't decide,
But I'll never regret that I tried,
And tried and tried.
The song "I Tried" by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra is a heartfelt lament by the singer, who has tried everything to win over his lover. The lyrics express how he has given his all to impress her, and has been at her beck and call every hour. He has tried to caress her with his soul, his desire, and his arms, but to no avail. Despite her appealing charm, she has not reciprocated his love. The singer still feels the same old feeling, concealed in his heart, and he has tried and tried to make her love him. Although she couldn't decide, he'll never regret that he tried.
The lyrics of "I Tried" showcase the singer's vulnerability and desperation to win over his lover. The repetition of "I tried" emphasizes his efforts and determination to make her love him. The use of the word "beck" highlights his readiness to comply with her every wish, while the phrase "two arms craving the one I admire" demonstrates the intensity of his desire for her. The words "concealed here in my heart" add to the melancholic tone of the song, as the singer's love remains unrequited.
Line by Line Meaning
I tried
I made an effort
Tried to impress you
Tried to make you like me
My love
The person I love
I gave it all
I put all my effort into it
Each hour ever at your beck and call.
I was always available to you
Tried to caress you
Tried to touch you affectionately
My soul
The essence of my being
Filled with desire
Full of longing
Two arms craving the one I admire.
I wanted to hold and cherish you
Your charm was so appealing,
I found you very attractive
I loved you from the start,
I had feelings for you from the beginning
There's still that same old feeling,
I still have the same feelings for you
Concealed here in my heart.
I keep my feelings hidden in my heart
I tried making you love me,
I attempted to make you fall in love with me
And you couldn't decide,
You were unsure about your feelings for me
But I'll never regret that I tried,
I don't regret putting in effort to make you love me
And tried and tried.
I kept trying even when it seemed hopeless
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Bluewater Music Corp., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Leonard Caston, Willie Dennis, Anthony Douglas Gilmour, Brad Jordan, Theresa G. McFaddin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dudley5533
Such enjoyable type of music with perfectly balanced orchestration and vocal arrangement...nothing like this is heard today.....thanks for keeping such beautiful music available to us.
@greytemp
great selection of great old songs. Roy
@robertglade-wright1764
Wonderful Frank and Tommy. Confess to having six Frank albums by age 16 in '65.
@maureen1938
THANK YOU for posting this awesome gem. This is what I call music....!!!
@fernandodieguez2553
oh lord I love this sound..thanks Frank.
@Mayerling52
love this song! I just got the album " This Love of Mine" and enjoy all the songs on it! and dancing around Thank you so much for posting this song!♥
@paulie4m
Thanks again this made my day.
@edwardconway27
this is really great, the lyric is very romantic!
@SergioVellatti
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this!!
@Mike16011
Gracias, muchas gracias.