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.
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't forget your hat
But leave your worries
Leave 'em on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
To the sun sunny side of the street
Pitter-pat
Life sorry
If you dig that beat
On the sun sunny side of the street
Used to walk in the shade
With those blues on parade
What a drag old man
Getting stuck in my shade
Get hip
Don't be afraid
Move it on over
Kill yourself in the clover
Only here for a cent
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
Can't be beat
Gold dust round my feet
On the sunny sunny side of the street
The lyrics to Tommy Dorsey's "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" are a call to action to leave behind one's worries and walk towards a brighter, more optimistic future. The first couple of lines, "Grab your coat / Don't forget your hat," suggest urgency and a sense of purpose. The singer implores the listener to "leave [their] worries" behind, to not dwell on the negative, and instead to focus on the positive aspects of life. He urges them to "direct [their] feet / To the sun sunny side of the street" – to actively seek out positivity and to choose happiness.
The second verse describes the singer's own personal experience of having "used to walk in the shade / With those blues on parade." This imagery reinforces the song's message of overcoming negativity and embracing positivity. The lines "What a drag old man / Getting stuck in my shade / Get hip / Don't be afraid" suggest that this state is undesirable and preventable – the singer encourages the listener to "move it on over" and "kill yourself in the clover," that is, to embrace a life of abundance and positivity. The final two lines are especially evocative: "Can't be beat / Gold dust round my feet / On the sunny sunny side of the street." The metaphor of "gold dust" reinforces the sense of abundance and positivity, and the repetition of the word "sunny" adds a lilt to the musicality of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Grab your coat
Get ready to leave
Don't forget your hat
Take everything you need with you
But leave your worries
Don't worry about anything
Leave 'em on the doorstep
Put your worries aside
Just direct your feet
Keep moving forward
To the sun sunny side of the street
Go to a happier, more positive place
Pitter-pat
Move quickly and happily
You know that happy tune is my step
I'm always in a good mood
Life sorry
Life can be tough sometimes
If you dig that beat
If you like my style
On the sun sunny side of the street
In a happier, more positive place
Used to walk in the shade
I used to be unhappy
With those blues on parade
I was constantly feeling sad and down
What a drag old man
It was really hard
Getting stuck in my shade
Feeling trapped in my own sadness
Get hip
Get smart and be happy
Don't be afraid
Be bold and confident
Move it on over
Make some room for a better life
Kill yourself in the clover
Enjoy life to the fullest
Only here for a cent
Life is short
I'd be rich as Rockefeller
I'd be happy and successful
Can't be beat
It's perfect
Gold dust round my feet
I'm surrounded by good things
On the sunny sunny side of the street
In a happier, more positive place
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Saxoskop
In the 70ies en 80ies this was the signature tune of a legendary jazz programme in Austrian radio ('Vokal - Instrumental - International') - - haven't heard it for decades! Great tune, great arrangement, lots of memories!
@jmrodas9
Every time I hear songs and tunes like this I realize how far we have fallen in the quality of popular music. This one is miles above most of that is heard in the radios today. A nice invitation to enjoy life and be happy. Let's leave all our woes and blues behind and enjoy we are still alive, and can still work and do other things!
@lazurm
Your last sentence absolutely contradicts your first sentence. Lessons unlearned....
@jmrodas9
@@lazurm Think so? well go ahead, we are different and think differently. Regards.
@lazurm
@@jmrodas9 Yes, we are different and think differently but, if you read the following you may understand better where I'm coming from:
"Every time I hear songs and tunes like this I realize that it's a nice invitation to enjoy life and be happy. Let's leave all our woes and blues behind and enjoy that we are still alive!"
But, if you really believed the above (note, all your words but without the negatives which you seem to have a poor opinion of, given your 3rd and 4th sentence) you wouldn't have contradicted yourself by adding the negativity, yes?
@danielgraber6365
You're completetly right!!
@tttzzz1957
You could also say the quality of music has been decreasing so since Mozarts Times. Every Generation got its own style and its geniuses. You cant say dorsey, as qualified as He was, is the Meter of All music to come. Thi k, you just Listen to the wrong Radio Stations.
@TenguKobra
This song literally saved me when I got a depression.
@TheAntHar1
AMEN
@modernvintagelifestyles
Great song. Jesus love you!