Swing (music)
Swing music is a vibrant style of jazz that emerged in the 1920s and gained immense popularity through the 1930s, marking what is known as the swing era from approximately 1935 to 1945. Often referred to as big band music, it is characterized by its arrangement for large ensembles typically comprising brass, reeds, and rhythm sections, with a focus on structured compositions rather than group improvisation. Notable figures in the swing movement include bandleaders like Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie, while many famous vocalists, such as Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, also rose to prominence during this time.
Swing music was not only a significant cultural force in dance halls and clubs but also made its way into mainstream media through films and radio broadcasts. The genre is recognized for its infectious rhythms that inspired energetic dance styles, including the jitterbug, and was visually represented by fashion trends like the zoot suit. While the swing era eventually declined in the 1940s due to musical shifts and industry changes, it experienced a revival in the late 20th century, introducing modern interpretations influenced by various musical genres. Today, swing music continues to be celebrated, with enthusiasts often embracing its historical dance styles and aesthetics.
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Swing (music)
Swing music is a style of jazz that began during the 1920s and became very popular during the 1930s. It is also called big band music. The decade from about 1935 to 1945 is known as the swing era. Swing music was featured in films, on albums and radio shows, and in dance halls, ballrooms, and clubs in many communities. The swing music culture became known for aerial dance moves and the zoot suit.
Many mainstream audiences first experienced jazz music through swing bands. Benny Goodman is credited with launching the big band era with a performance at the Palomar Ballroom in Hollywood, California, on August 21, 1935. Other bandleaders known for swing music include Black American musicians Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Chick Webb, and Jimmie Lunceford, and White musicians Harry James, Glenn Miller, and Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Singers who gained fame performing with swing bands include Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughan. Well-known songs include "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)."
Brief History
White bandleader Benny Goodman thrust swing into the national consciousness. As a young man, the clarinet player earned a spot on Let's Dance, a weekly New York radio program. Goodman began including arrangements by Black American bandleader Fletcher Henderson. These numbers were more upbeat, closer to the music of Black American jazz ensembles. The radio show typically aired after midnight on the East Coast. In 1935, Goodman and his band went on a summer tour that appeared to be a failure, at least until it reached the West Coast. At the Palomar in Los Angeles, the band members realized that their performances on Let's Dance, while essentially invisible on the East Coast, were wildly popular in California due to the three-hour time difference. The popularity of swing exploded following the Palomar show, which was broadcast live on the radio.
Swing music was adopted and accepted by Americans of all ethnicities. For some time, however, swing bands were distinctly racially separated. In 1936, Goodman integrated his band. This step forward did not lead to widespread acceptance among either fans or bandleaders, but both Black and White musicians respected Goodman for making the change.
From its earliest days, swing music was known for two primary competing styles. The same night as Goodman's Palomar Ballroom concert, the famed swing club the Savoy in New York hosted a battle of the bands billed as solid swing facing off against sensational swing. The Count Basie Orchestra represented solid swing, the blues-toned sound with the slower tempo. Chick Webb's band performed the up-tempo numbers that pulled dancers to the floor. In a close competition, the audience voted for Basie's style that night.
The traditionalists who favored the sweet swing sound scorned the wild dancers who called out requests for up-tempo music. These jitterbug dancers were regarded as vulgar. Many bandleaders discouraged fast dancing. Traditionalists encouraged the audience to slow dance or simply listen to the music.
Swing music's heyday ended during the 1940s due to several factors. Some young musicians rejected what they saw as a commercial music form. They turned away from danceable music and instead focused on artistry. The resulting style became known as bebop jazz.
The musicians' union—the American Federation of Musicians—instituted several recording bans meant to help out-of-work musicians, but the interruption disrupted swing itself. Musicians suffered a number of setbacks through the first half of the twentieth century: the film industry moved from silent movies to "talkies," which put theater musicians out of work; radio became the primary form of entertainment, but stations fired staff musicians and instead played records; and many bars and restaurants replaced live music with jukeboxes. These changes benefited musicians who were successful in landing recording contracts, but thousands of others were unemployed.
The union did not oppose sales of records to consumers, but radio airplay did not generate revenue. The union even tried for a time to force stations to destroy records after one play. The union demanded that record companies donate to funds established to help performers who were unemployed because of the record industry.
The first ban produced results, but the 1948 ban was less successful. Columbia Records decided to avoid a fight by focusing on consumer sales. It introduced the first long-play (LP) albums, which could hold up to fifteen minutes per side. RCA introduced records with forty-five revolutions per minute (rpm) in 1949, and they soon became popular in jukeboxes. These singles were increasingly popular with teens, who listened primarily to rhythm and blues rather than swing. Greater changes in the recording industry opened the door to mainstream jazz, and, eventually, rock music dominated the airwaves in many markets. The swing era was decidedly over.
Overview
Unlike other forms of jazz, swing developed without group improvisation, instead featuring solos by featured musicians. Music was primarily arranged and in written form. The upright or double bass replaced the tuba.
Twelve to sixteen musicians organized into brass, reeds, and rhythm sections usually play swing music. The music is generally arranged with sections played against each other.
Riffing is common in swing music. It is a repetition of a riff, which is a musical phrase that a band or section plays in counterpoint with other sections. The sections continue riffing, repeating the riff many times.
Swing music enjoyed a surge in popularity beginning in the late twentieth century. This retro movement featured a number of bands—including the Atomic Fireballs, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Rocket 88, and Squirrel Nut Zippers—who took the genre into the mainstream in the 1990s. Swing dancing enjoyed a resurgence as people born decades after swing's heyday embraced the genre. As they had more than half a century earlier, fans of exuberant dancing clamored for a fast tempo and loud music.
Music of the swing revival was influenced by jazz as well as punk, rockabilly, ska, and other genres. For example, drumming in traditional swing music kept time; drum solos, which are commonly associated with rock music, were incorporated in retro swing. Guitars had no place in big band music, while they were prominently featured in retro swing. Modern swing bands, bolstered by high-tech amplification, often have a rhythm section (bass, guitar, drums, and piano), horn soloists, and a vocalist. The tempo is typically much faster than classic swing.
Like the jitterbug dancers of the swing era, modern-day swing fans often donned zoot suits and colorful dresses to execute aerial moves on the dance floor.
Bibliography
Early, Gerald. "Freedom's Story - Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition." National Humanities Center TeacherServe, nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1917beyond/essays/jazz.htm. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
Myers, Marc. "The Silence That Sparked New Sounds." Wall Street Journal, 26 Dec. 2012, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324024004578171403739777528. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
“The Orchestra Swings: What is Swing.” Carnegie Hall, www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Programs/Link-Up/National-Program/The-Orchestra-Swings/What-Is-Swing. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
"Style Sheets - The Swing Era." Jazz in America, www.jazzinamerica.org/jazzresources/stylesheets/9. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
"20th Century Music." PBS History Detectives, www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/20th-century-music. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.