Herman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a child he worked as a singer in vaudeville, then became a professional saxophone player at age 15. When Isham Jones's band, of which Herman had been a member, broke up in 1936, he formed his own band, the Woody Herman Orchestra, with some of his band mates. This band became known for its orchestrations of the blues and was sometimes billed as "The Band That Plays The Blues".
On April 12, 1939 Woody Herman recorded his greatest commercial and mega popular hit record "Woodchoppers' Ball", featuring Woody on clarinet, Neal Ried on trombone, Saxie Mansfield on Sax, Steady Nelson on trumpet and Hy White on guitar. Other big early hits were "Blue Flame," "Dupree Blues", "Blues Upstairs and Downstairs" and "Blues in the Night" with Joe Bishop on flugelhorn, Tommy Linehans on piano, Cappy Lewis on trumpet, and the strong rhythm team of Walt Yoder and Frankie Carlson.
This popular swing band took off and was listed number three in the country in a popularity poll by Down Beat Magazine in 1940. This band recorded for the Decca label. The band was first pinned "Herman's Herd" in a Martin band instrument advertisement in the same magazine on April 1, 1941.
This band's music was heavily influenced by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Its lively, swinging arrangements, combining bop themes with swing rhythm parts, were greatly admired; Igor Stravinsky wrote "Ebony Concerto" for this band. Other pieces for which the band was known include "Caldonia" and "Northwest Passage." During this time, Woody Herman recorded for the Columbia label. Featured musicians were trumpeter Sonny Berman,trumpeter/arranger Neil Hefti, trumpeter/vocalist Steady Nelson, tenor saxist Flip Phillips, trombonist Bill Harris, vibraphonist Red Norvo, pianist/arranger Ralph Burns, drummers Davey Tough and Don Lamond and bassist Chubby Jackson, who was the driving force/talent scout behind the bands progressive development.
Herman was forced to disband the orchestra in 1946 at the height of its success, his only financially successful band, to spend more time with his wife and family. During this time, he and his family had just moved into the former Hollywood home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Another reason Herman may have disbanded was his wife Charlotte's growing problems with alcoholism and pill addiction. In 1947 Herman organized the Second Herd and in 1948 moved to the Capitol label. This band featured a cooler sound, provided by such musicians as Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Serge Chaloff, Al Cohn, Gene Ammons, Lou Levy, Oscar Pettiford, Terry Gibbs, Shelly Manne, and Herbie Steward. Among this band's hits were "Early Autumn," "The Goof and I," and "Four Brothers". This band was also known as the Four Brothers band.
Herman's many later bands included the Third Herd and the New Thundering Herd. He was known for hiring the best young musicians and using their arrangements. His band's book consequently came to be heavily influenced by rock and roll.
By the 1970s, Herman had returned to straight forward jazz, dropping some of the newer, even rock-oriented approaches. A highlight of the nineteen seventies was the appearance of the Woody Herman orchestra with Frank Sinatra at Madison Square Garden for his "Main Event" television special and "Main Event" recording for Reprise records.
He continued to perform into the 1980s, chiefly to pay back taxes caused by an incompetent manager in the 1960s. When his health began to fail, he delegated most of his duties to leader of the reed section, Frank Tiberi, before his death in 1987. Tiberi leads the band in performances to this day.
After the death of Herman, Charles Mingus, and other jazz greats, ASCAP created a retirement fund in 1991 to which artists were given the opportunity to fund their latter years when they no longer were recording artists.
Too Late
Woody Herman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's somethin' wrong here, there can be no denyin'.
One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
It used to be so easy, livin' here with you.
You were light and breezy, an' I knew just what to do.
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
There'll be good times again for me and you,
But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too?
Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it. (we can't make it)
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
It's too late baby, it's too late now darling
It's too late.
The lyrics of Woody Herman and His Orchestra's song Too Late is about a relationship that has run its course, is no longer working and there's no going back. The opening line shows that the singer is not motivated enough to get out of bed and start the day, indicating a lack of energy or enthusiasm in his life. The second line suggests that there’s something wrong with the relationship, and the third line mentions someone has changed or they’ve stopped trying. The line “One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'" implies that whichever the case may be, change or no change, the relationship is beyond repair.
The chorus “And it's too late, baby now, it's too late, Though we really did try to make it. Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide, And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no” shows that despite their best efforts to save the relationship, the damage is already done. The lines “There'll be good times again for me and you, But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too? Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you” implies that they both know that it's too late to go back to how things used to be, but they treasure the memories of the good times they had.
Overall, the song Too Late is a melancholic ballad about the realization that a relationship has come to an end and the sadness that accompanies the end of a once-great romance.
Line by Line Meaning
Stayed in bed all mornin' just to pass the time.
I spent the entire morning in bed just to kill time.
There's somethin' wrong here, there can be no denyin'.
There's a problem in our relationship that's impossible to ignore.
One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'.
Either one or both of us have changed or we're no longer putting effort into our relationship.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Our relationship is beyond repair and it's too late to fix it.
Though we really did try to make it.
We've made an effort to salvage our relationship, but it's not enough.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
A part of myself has been lost and I can't conceal it any longer.
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
I can't pretend that everything is okay anymore.
It used to be so easy, livin' here with you.
Our relationship used to be simple and effortless.
You were light and breezy, an' I knew just what to do.
You were carefree and easy to be with, and I felt confident in our relationship.
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool.
You seem miserable, and I feel foolish for not being able to fix it.
There'll be good times again for me and you,
We'll both experience happy times in the future separately.
But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too?
However, we can no longer stay together in our current state, and I hope you feel the same.
Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you.
Despite everything, I'm grateful for our past and how much I loved you.
It's too late baby, it's too late now darling
Our relationship is over, and it's too late to save it now.
It's too late.
There's nothing more to be done, our relationship has reached its end.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID JOHANSEN, JOHNNY THUNDERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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