Benny Goodman and the Swing Era

In this major work about jazz and one of its most significant figures, James Lincoln Collier brilliantly recreates the colorful popular music world of the 1920s and 1930s, when the music industry was just expanding, radio was the great source of musical entertainment, and swing bands that had emerged out of the growth of jazz in the 1920s were first finding national audiences. He chronicles the rise and success of Goodman and his band against the social milieu and popular music of the time, and perceptively analyzes dozens of Goodman's significant recordings, making the reader hear them afresh. Through this intriguing study, it becomes clear that Benny Goodman was a brilliant musician but an enigmatic man. Collier's biography captures this elusive personality with great insight and understanding.