In the News
• Golden Gate Bridge opens in San Francisco (1937)
• First transcontinental radio broadcast recounts Hindenberg disaster in Lakehurst, N.J. (1937)
• Amelia Earhart is lost during flight over the Pacific (1937)
• Orson Welles's broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds incites panic (1938)
• Apex of appeasement policy reached with Munich Agreement, which cedes Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland to Germany (1938)
On the Bookshelf
• To Have and Have Not, by Ernest Hemingway (1937)
• Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck (1937)
• Our Town, by Thornton Wilder (1938)
• The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1938)
• Pearl S. Buck awarded Nobel Prize in literature (1938)
At the Movies
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, produced by Walt Disney (1937)
• Camille, starring Greta Garbo (1937)
• Pygmalion, starring Leslie Howard (1938)
• The Lady Vanishes, directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1938)
Out and About
• Joe Louis regains heavyweight title (1937)
• Lincoln Tunnel opens in New York (1937)
• Lambeth Walk is the new dance craze (1938)
• United States establishes 40-hour work week (1938)
"Heartaches" (Hoffman/Klenner), performed by Ted Weems
Weems started his first band in the 1920s and gained fame in the 1930s via radio. He appeared on such programs as The Jack Benny Show, The Fibber McGee and Molly Show, and Beat the Band. During the war, Weems joined the Merchant Marines and later reformed his band. They continued to make music into the 1950s.
"Boogie Woogie" (Smith), performed by Tommy Dorsey
Together with his brother, Jimmy, on clarinet, trombonist Tommy formed the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. The band featured such future stars as Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby and became one of the most popular Big Bands of the early Swing Era. In 1935, the brothers split and formed bands of their own. "Boogie Woogie" became one of Tommy Dorsey's signature numbers.
"Begin the Beguine" (Porter), performed by Artie Shaw
A clarinetist and a competitor of Goodman, Shaw was one of the most popular musicians of the Swing Era, particularly with his group the Gramercy Five. His hits, including "Begin the Beguine" and "Summit Ridge Drive" (which sold a million copies), were signature tunes of the time. During the Second World War, he entertained troops in the Pacific, taking Swing to the battle lines as the frontman of the Naval Band.
The music featured on this page is from the Big Band Magic 2-CD set available as a thank-you gift when you pledge the Big Band Magic! program.
