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.
Kiss the Boys Goodbye
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That it isn't right, no, it isn't fair
To all those other boys I gave the air
So, Daddy, let me stay out late
For tomorrow is our wedding date
Let the baby kinda celebrate
Kiss the boys goodbye
Daddy, let me wear the mink
What's the difference what the neighbors think
Let the baby linger on the brink
Oh, kiss the boys goodbye
And while I'm kissing them sentiment'ly
Keep the liberal point of view
Because I'm breaking it to them gently
That my heart belongs to you
So, Daddy, please remember this
That tomorrow starts a life of bliss
Let me show them what they're gonna miss
Kiss the boys goodbye
The song "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra is a cheerful tune with rather ironic and thought-provoking lyrics. The song revolves around the idea of saying goodbye to the men the singer has been involved with before getting married. She mentions that she gave "the air" to those boys, which could refer to how she ignored them or left them behind. However, the singer is asking her father to allow her to stay out late and celebrate with those same boys. She wants to wear a mink coat and give them a goodbye kiss while showing off what they will never have.
The song's main irony is how the singer says her heart belongs to her future husband but is still using the past to her advantage. The line "While I'm kissing them sentiment'ly, keep the liberal point of view" shows how detached the singer is from her partners. She is kissing them in a sentimental way, which means she has feelings for them, but at the same time, tells her father to keep a liberal point of view. With this, she is asking her father to allow her to be affectionate with these men while still intending to marry someone else. Hence, the song suggests that the idea of marrying someone is more of a social norm than a true emotion.
Line by Line Meaning
We're such a happy pair,
We are a content and cheerful couple
That it isn't right, no, it isn't fair
It is unjust and inappropriate
To all those other boys I gave the air
To all the boys I had to break up with
So, Daddy, let me stay out late
Father, allow me to stay out longer
For tomorrow is our wedding date
Because tomorrow is when we get married
Let the baby kinda celebrate
Let me enjoy the moment
Kiss the boys goodbye
Say goodbye to the other boys
Daddy, let me wear the mink
Father, allow me to wear my fur coat
What's the difference what the neighbors think
What the neighbors think does not matter
Let the baby linger on the brink
Let me enjoy myself to the fullest
Oh, kiss the boys goodbye
Say goodbye to the other boys
And while I'm kissing them sentiment'ly
As I show sentiment to them during our goodbyes
Keep the liberal point of view
Continue to maintain the attitude of freedom
Because I'm breaking it to them gently
As I am letting them down softly
That my heart belongs to you
My heart belongs to you, my future spouse
So, Daddy, please remember this
Father, kindly recall
That tomorrow starts a life of bliss
That tomorrow, our happy life begins
Let me show them what they're gonna miss
Allow me to demonstrate to them what they will miss out on
Kiss the boys goodbye
Bid farewell to the other boys
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: FRANK LOESSER, VICTOR SCHERTZINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@allenlevy3919
Buddy does some rockin' back beat in the middle.
@ianblakesley3349
Tommy Dorsey at his swinging peak! Catch Charlie Shavers hitting those high notes and Buddy Rich driving it all along. If it had been "Kiss the Girls Goodbye", Sinatra would have swung it like no-one else. It doesn't get much better than this.
@christophercanzoneri2962
It couldn't be Charlie Shavers. He wasn't in the band yet. Not until two or three years later. Sounds more like Ziggy Elman to me.
@josephfollo7530
I think that it was actually Chuck Peterson who didn't solo a lot with TD (The Skunk Song, the great trumpet duel with Ziggy Elman on Well, Git It!). He played a little stiffer than Ziggy on his solos, and he stuck more to the melody line. He was the lead trumpet in Artie Shaw's great 1938-39 band before joining Tommy.
@harlsmith2521
it's Ziggy elman not Charlie shaves!!!!!!!