A Brief History of Swing
Swing music followed on from the Jazz combos in the 20s and early 30s that frequented the black clubs in Harlem. With influences from gospel and African sounds, it grew into a distinctive style using a strong rhythm section of double bass and drums as a lead. It also includes a brass section such as trombones and trumpet, alongside clarinets and sometimes a string section of violins and guitars.
Early swing bands such as Chick Webb played to mainly black audiences but Benny Goodman’s, Let’s Dance radio broadcasts in 1934 were opening up swing music to a broader audience. When his band played at the Palmour Ballroom in August of 1935 they were met with great enthusiasm from a young white audience that had heard his music on the radio – he was billed as “The King of Swing” and from then on the swing era was born.
Radio and records sales led to the popularity of the bands such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman – soon dance halls all over the country were jumping with young people jitterbugging and lindy hopping into the night.
During World War Two, bands toured with the USO (United Service Organisation), which was set up to provide entertainment for troops serving overseas. Many of the band leaders and their musicians were servicemen and so formed smaller versions of the civilian bands during this time. Hearing the music from back home helped the troops deal with the stress and trauma of the war.
1935 – 1946 was the period that Swing reached its peak but after this time it began to decline mainly due to the cost of touring with such a large ensemble; this led to the emergence of smaller three-five piece combos, consisting of a base, various brass and wind instruments, and sometimes a piano. Bands such as Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, and Roy Milton and Roy Brown, played a more rhythmic version of swing that became known as Jump Jive, which ultimately developed into Rock and Roll.
