Western Music: The Swing Era

The Swing Era is the period of time (1936–1947) when big band swing music is the most popular music in America.

Though the music has been around since the late 1920s -early 1930s, being played by Black bands like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald,Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, & Fletcher Henderson, most historians believe that the Swing Era starts with Benny Goodman's performance at the Palomar Ballroom on August 21, 1935, bringing the music to the rest of the country.

Other musicians who rise during this time include Jimmy Dorsey, his younger brother Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, & Goodman's future rival Artie Shaw.

Several factors lead to the demise of the swing era.

One is the recording ban from August 1942 to November 1944, when the union that most jazz musicians belong to tells its members not to record until the record companies agree to pay them each time their music is played on the radio.

Other factors include the earlier ban of ASCAP songs from radio stations; the Second World War,which makes it harder for bands to travel around as well as the "cabaret tax", which is as high as 20%; and finally, the change in music taste and the consequent rise of bebop.

Though Ellington and Basie will be able to keep their bands together (the latter will briefly downsize his band from 1950-1952), by the end of 1946, most of their competitors are forced to disband, bringing the swing era to a close.

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