When Benny was 10, his father signed Benny and two older brothers up
for music lessons at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue. The next year he
joined the boys club band at Jane Addams's Hull House, where he
received lessons from the director James Sylvester. Also important
during this period were his two years of instruction from the
classically trained clarinetist Franz Schoepp.[3]

His early influences were New Orleans jazz clarinetists working in
Chicago, notably Johnny Dodds, Leon Roppolo, and Jimmy Noone.[4]
Goodman learned quickly and became a strong player at an early age. He
was soon playing professionally while still 'in short pants', playing
clarinet in various bands.

When Goodman was 16, he joined one of Chicago's top bands, the Ben
Pollack Orchestra, with which he made his first recordings in 1926.[5]
He made his first record under his own name two years later. Remaining
with Pollack through 1929, Goodman recorded with both the regular
Pollack band as well as smaller groups drawn from the orchestra. The
side sessions produced scores of often hot sides recorded for the
various dime-store record labels under a bewildering array of group
names, such as Mills' Musical Clowns, Goody's Good Timers, The Hotsy
Totsy Gang, Jimmy Backen's Toe Ticklers and Kentucky Grasshoppers.

Goodman's father, David, was a working-class immigrant about whom
Benny said (interview, 'Downbeat', Feb 8, 1956); "...Pop worked in the
stockyards, shovelling lard in its unrefined state. He had those
boots, and he'd come home at the end of the day exhausted, stinking to
high heaven, and when he walked in it made me sick. I couldn't stand
it. I couldn't stand the idea of Pop every day standing in that stuff,
shoveling it around".

On December 9, 1926 David Goodman was killed in a traffic accident
shortly after Benny joined the Pollack band and had urged his father
to retire, now that he (Benny) and his brother (Harry) were doing well
as professional musicians. According to James Lincoln Collier, "Pop
looked Benny in the eye and said, 'Benny, you take care of yourself,
I'll take care of myself.'" Collier continues: "It was an unhappy
choice. Not long afterwards, as he was stepping down from a street car
— according to one story — he was struck by a car. He never
regained
consciousness and died in the hospital the next day. It was a bitter
blow to the family, and it haunted Benny to the end that his beloved
father had not lived to see the enormous success he, and through him
some of the others, made of themselves. It is, truly, a sad story. The
years that the immigrant David Goodman had sweated in the stockyards
and the garment lofts had paid off in a way he could never have
possibly imagined, and he never got that reward."[6] "Benny described
his father's death as 'the saddest thing that ever happened in our
family.'"[7]
Goodman left for New York City and became a successful session
musician during the late 1920s and early 1930s. He made a reputation
as a solid player who was prepared and reliable. He played with the
nationally known bands of Ben Selvin, Red Nichols, Isham Jones, and
Ted Lewis before forming his own band in 1932. In 1934 he auditioned
for the NBC "Let's Dance" radio program. Since he needed new charts
every week for the show, his agent John Hammond suggested that he
purchase some Jazz charts from Fletcher Henderson, who had New York's
most popular African-American band in the 1920s and early 1930s.

The combination of the Henderson charts, his solid clarinet playing,
and his well rehearsed band made him a rising star in the mid-1930s.
In early 1935, Goodman and his band were one of three bands featured
on "Let's Dance", a well regarded radio show that featured various
styles of dance music. His radio broadcasts from New York had been too
late to attract a large audience on the East Coast, but had an avid
following in California, and a wildly enthusiastic crowd for the first
time greeted Goodman. He and his band were to remain on the show until
May of that year when a strike forced the cancellation of the radio
show. With nothing else to do, the band set out on a tour of America.
However, at a number of engagements the band received a hostile
reception, as many in the audiences expected smoother, sweeter jazz as
opposed to the "hot" style that Goodman's band was accustomed to
playing. By August of 1935, Goodman found himself with a band that was
nearly broke, disillusioned and ready to quit. It was at this moment
that everything for the band and jazz changed.

[edit] Palomar Ballroom engagement
The last scheduled stop of the tour came on August 21, 1935 at the
Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles. Goodman and his band were scheduled
for a three week engagement. The Palomar provided the ideal
environment, as there was a huge dance floor with a capacity of 4,000
couples. On hand for the engagement were famed musicians Gene Krupa,
Bunny Berigan and Helen Ward. The first night, Goodman and his band
started cautiously playing some recently purchased stock arrangements.
The reaction was, at best, tepid. Seeing the reaction, Krupa said "If
we're gonna die, Benny, let's die playing our own thing".[8] As George
Spinks states:

At the beginning of the next set, Goodman told the band to put aside
the stock arrangements and called for charts by Fletcher Henderson and
other 'swing' arrangers who were writing for the band. When the band's
trumpeter, Bunny Berigan, played his solos on Henderson's versions of
'Sometimes I'm Happy' and 'King Porter Stomp,' the Palomar dancers
cheered like crazy and exploded with applause! They gathered around
the bandstand to listen to this new music.[8]

Over the nights of the engagement, a new dance labelled variously as
the "Jitterbug" captured the dancers on the floor, and a new craze had
begun.[9] Onlookers gathered around the edges of the ballroom floor.
Within days of the opening, newspapers around the country were
headlining stories about the new phenomenon that had started at the
Palomar. Goodman was finally a nationally known star, and the Swing
Era began, led by Goodman. Following this the big band era exploded.

[edit] Carnegie Hall concert
In bringing jazz to Carnegie, [Benny Goodman was], in effect,
smuggling American contraband into the halls of European high culture,
and Goodman and his fifteen men pull[ed] it off with the audacity and
precision of Ocean's Eleven.[10]

In late 1937, Goodman's publicist Wynn Nathanson attempted a publicity
stunt in the form of suggesting Goodman and his band should play
Carnegie Hall in New York City. "Benny Goodman was initially hesitant
about the concert, fearing for the worst; however, when his film
Hollywood Hotel opened to rave reviews and giant lines, he threw
himself into the work. He gave up several dates and insisted on
holding rehearsals inside Carnegie Hall to familiarize the band with
the lively acoustics."[11]

The concert was scheduled for January 16, 1938. It sold out weeks
before, with the capacity 2,760 seats going for the top price of
US$2.75 a seat, for the time a very high price. Once again, initial
crowd reaction, though polite, was tepid. Some of the earlier sets,
including a jam session featuring members of the Count Basie and Duke
Ellington bands as guests, did not go as well as hoped. As the concert
went on, things livened up. Some of the later trio and quartet numbers
were well-received, and a vocal on "Loch Lomond" by Martha Tilton,
though nothing special, provoked five curtain calls and cries for an
encore. The encore forced Goodman to make his only audience
announcement for the night, stating that they had no encore prepared
but that Martha would return shortly with another number.

By the time the band got to the climactic piece "Sing, Sing, Sing",
success of the night was assured. Bettering the commercial 12-inch
record, this live performance featured playing by tenor saxophonist
Babe Russin, trumpeter Harry James, and then Benny Goodman, backed by
drummer Gene Krupa in accompaniment. But the really unforgettable
moment came when Goodman finished his solo and unexpectedly tossed the
ball to pianist Jess Stacy. "At the Carnegie Hall concert, after the
usual theatrics, Jess Stacy was allowed to solo and, given the venue,
what followed was appropriate. Used to just playing rhythm on the
tune, he was unprepared for a turn in the spotlight, but what came out
of his fingers was a graceful, impressionistic marvel with classical
flourishes, yet still managed to swing. It was the best thing he ever
did, and it's ironic that such a layered, nuanced performance came at
the end of such a chaotic, bombastic tune."[12]

This concert has been regarded by some as the most significant in jazz
history. After years of work by musicians from all over the country,
jazz had finally been accepted by mainstream audiences. While the big
band era would not last for much longer, it was from this point
forward that the ground work for multiple other genres of popular
music was laid.

Recordings were made of this concert, but even by the technology of
the day the equipment used was not of the finest quality. Acetate
recordings of the concert were made, and aluminum studio masters were
also cut.

The recording was produced by Albert Marx as a special gift for his
wife, Helen Ward and a second set for Benny. He contracted Artists
Recording Studio to make 2 sets. Artists Recording only had 2
turntables so they farmed out the second set to Raymond Scott's
recording studio. [...] It was Benny's sister-in-law who found the
recordings in Benny's apartment [in 1950] and brought them to Benny's
attention.[13]

In early 1998, the aluminum masters were rediscovered and a new CD set
of the concert was released based on these masters.

[edit] Charlie Christian
Pianist/arranger Mary Lou Williams[1] was a good friend of Columbia
records producer John Hammond's and Benny Goodman's. She first
suggested to John Hammond that he see Charlie Christian.[2]

Charlie Christian was playing at the Ritz Cafe in Oklahoma City where
[...] John Hammond heard him in 1939. Hammond recommended him to Benny
Goodman, but the band leader wasn't interested. The idea of an
electrified guitar didn't appeal, and Goodman didn't care for
Christian's flashy style of dressing. Reportedly, Hammond personally
installed Christian onstage during a break in a Goodman concert in
Beverly Hills. Irritated to see Christian among the band, Goodman
struck up "Rose Room," not expecting the guitarist to know the tune.
What followed amazed everyone who heard the 45-minute performance.[3]

Charlie was a hit on the electric guitar and remained in the Benny
Goodman Sextet for two years (1939-1941). He wrote many of the group's
head arrangements (some of which Goodman took credit for) and was an
inspiration to all. The sextet made him famous and provided him with a
steady income while Charlie worked on legitimizing, popularizing,
revolutionizing, and standardizing the electric guitar as a jazz
instrument.[4]

Christian eventually stayed in New York City, jamming with bop
musicians at Minton's in Harlem. "Charlie impressed them all by
improvising long lines that emphasized off beats, and by using altered
chords."[5] Charlie Christian died in Staten Island, March 2, 1942 of
tuberculosis. Helping to broaden the form of jazz, Benny Goodman gave
the nascent talent a huge start. Charlie Christian's recordings and
rehearsal dubs he made at Columbia records with Benny Goodman in the
early forties are widely known and widely respected.
Goodman continued his meteoric rise throughout the late 1930s with his
big band, his trio and quartet, and a sextet. He influenced almost
every jazz musician who played clarinet after him. However, in time
the movement in jazz that he ignited in 1935 began to fade. By the
mid-1940s, big bands lost a lot of their popularity. There were
several reasons for this decline. In 1941, ASCAP had a licensing war
with music publishers, in 1942 to 1944 and 1948, the major musicians
union went on strike against the major record labels in the United
States and singers took the spot in popularity that the big bands once
enjoyed.[6] Also, by the late nineteen forties, swing was no longer
the dominant mode of jazz musicians.[7]

By the nineteen forties, jazz musicians were borrowing some of the
more advanced ideas that classical musicians has been using. Be bop
and then later cool jazz were beginning to be heard. The recordings
Goodman made in the bop style for Capitol Records were highly praised
by jazz critics. When Goodman was starting a bebop band, he hired
Buddy Greco, Zoot Sims, Wardell Gray and a few other modern
players.[14]

Pianist/arranger Mary Lou Williams had been a favorite of Benny's
since she first appeared on the national scene in 1936 [...]. [A]s
Goodman warily approached the music of [Charlie] Parker and [Dizzy]
Gillespie, he turned to Williams for musical guidance. [...] Pianist
Mel Powell was the first to introduce the new music to Benny in 1945,
and kept him abreast to what was happening around 52nd Street.[14]

Goodman enjoyed the new music of bebop and cool jazz that was
beginning to arrive in the nineteen forties. When Goodman heard
Thelonious Monk, a celebrated pianist and accompanist to bop players
Parker, Gillespie and Kenny Clarke, he remarked, "I like it, I like
that very much. I like the piece and I like the way he played it.
[...] I think he's got a sense of humor and he's got some good things
there."[14]

'Benny had heard this Swedish clarinet player named Stan Hasselgard
playing bebop, and he loved it [...] [.]' 'So he started a bebop band.
But after a year and a half, he became frustrated. He eventually
reformed his band and went back to playing Fletcher Henderson
arrangements. Benny was a swing player and decided to concentrate on
what he does [sic] best.[8]

By 1953, Goodman completely changed his mind about bebop. "Maybe bop
has done more to set music back for years than anything [...]
Basically it's all wrong. It's not even knowing the scales. [...] Bop
was mostly publicity and people figuring angles."[15] After his bop
period, Goodman furthered his interest in classical music written for
the clarinet, and frequently met with top classical clarinetists of
the day as well.

In 1949, when he was forty, Goodman decided to study with Reginald
Kell, one of the world's leading classical clarinetists. To do so, he
had to change his entire technique: instead of holding the mouthpiece
between his front teeth and lower lip, as he had done since he first
took a clarinet in hand thirty years earlier, Goodman learned to
adjust his embouchure to the use of both lips and even to use new
fingering techniques. He had his old finger calluses removed and
started to learn how to play his clarinet again--almost from
scratch.[9]

Goodman commissioned and premiered works by leading composers for
clarinet and symphony orchestra that are now part of the standard
repretoire, namely Contrasts by Béla Bartók, Clarinet Concerto No. 2
Op. 115 by Malcolm Arnold and Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto. While
Leonard Bernstein's Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs was commissioned for
Woody Herman's big band, it was premiered by Goodman. While the Ebony
Concerto by Igor Stravinsky is generally also thought to be written
for Goodman, it was actually also written for Woody Herman in 1945,
and premiered by him in 1946. "Many years later Stravinsky made
another recording, this time with Benny Goodman as the soloist."[10]
He twice recorded Mozart's clarinet quintet, once in the late 1930s
with the Budapest String Quartet and once in the middle 1950s with the
Boston Symphony Orchestra String Quartet; he also recorded the
clarinet concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber,
and Carl Nielsen.[16]

After forays outside of swing, Goodman started a new band in 1953.
According to Donald Clarke, this was not a happy time for Goodman.

In 1953 Goodman re-formed his classic band for an expensive tour with
Louis Armstrong's All Stars that turned into a famous disaster. He
managed to insult Armstrong at the beginning; then he was appalled at
the vaudeville aspects of Louis's act [...] a contradiction of
everything Goodman stood for.[17]

Goodman's success story was told in the 1955 motion picture The Benny
Goodman Story[11] with Steve Allen and Donna Reed. A
Universal-International picture, it was a follow up to 1953's
successful The Glenn Miller Story.

[edit] Personality and Influence on American Popular Music
Goodman was regarded by some as a demanding taskmaster, by others an
arrogant and eccentric martinet. Many musicians spoke of "The Ray"[18]
, Goodman's trademark glare that he bestowed on a musician who failed
to perform to his demanding standards. Anita O'Day and Helen Forrest
spoke bitterly of their experiences singing with Goodman.[19] "The
twenty or so months I spent with Benny felt like twenty years," said
Forrest. "When I look back, they seem like a life sentence." He could
also be incredibly self-absorbed; it is reported that when eating an
egg onto which a ketchup bottle cap had fallen, Goodman simply ate
around it.[10] At the same time, there are reports that he privately
funded several college educations and was sometimes very generous,
though always secretly. When a friend asked him why one time, he
reportedly said, "Well, if they knew about it, everyone would come to
me with their hand out."[19]

Some suggest that Elvis Presley had the same success with rock and
roll that Goodman achieved with jazz and swing. Both helped bring
black music to a young, white audience. However Goodman is arguably
the most important figure in popular music in the twentieth century.
Without Goodman there would not have been a swing era. It is true that
many of Goodman's arrangements had been played for years before by
Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. While Goodman publicly acknowledged
his debt to Henderson, many young white swing fans had never heard
Henderson's band. While most consider Goodman a jazz innovator, others
maintain his main strength was his perfectionism and drive. Goodman
was a virtuoso clarinetist and amongst the most technically proficient
jazz clarinetists of all time.

Goodman is also responsible for a significant step in racial
integration in America. In the early 1930s, black and white jazz
musicians could not play together in most clubs or concerts. In the
Southern states, racial segregation was enforced by the Jim Crow laws.
Benny Goodman broke with tradition by hiring Teddy Wilson to play with
him and drummer Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio. In 1936, he
added Lionel Hampton on vibes to form the Benny Goodman Quartet; in
1940 he added pioneering jazz guitarist Charlie Christian to his band
and small ensembles, who played with him until his untimely death from
tuberculosis less than two years later. To give an understanding of
American history at this time, Goodman's integration of popular music
happened ten years before Jackie Robinson entered Major League
Baseball. "[Goodman's] popularity was such that he could remain
financially viable without touring the South, where he would have been
subject to arrest for violating Jim Crow laws." [12]

[edit] John Hammond and Alice Goodman
One of Benny Goodman's closest friends off and on, from the 1930s
onward was celebrated Columbia records producer John Hammond.

John Henry Hammond, Jr. was born December 15, 1910 in an eight-story
mansion in New York City. He was the son of John Henry Hammond Sr., a
very successful businessman and lawyer, and Emily Vanderbilt Sloan
Hammond, an heir to the Sloan Furniture and Vanderbilt fortunes. John
Hammond, Jr. attended the esteemed Hotchkiss Prep School and Yale
University.[20]

Hammond and Goodman were so close that Hammond influenced Goodman's
move from RCA records to the newly created Columbia records in
1939.[21] Benny Goodman dated John Hammond's sister, Alice Hammond
Duckworth (? - 1978) for three months. They married on March 14, 1942.
They had two daughters, Benjie and Rachel.[22] Both daughters studied
music to some degree, though neither became the musical prodigy
Goodman was. Hammond had encouraged Goodman to integrate his band,
having persuaded him to employ pianist Teddy Wilson. He all but forced
Goodman to audition Charlie Christian, Goodman believing no one would
listen to an electric guitarist. But Hammond's tendency to interfere
in the musical affairs of Goodman's and other bands led to Goodman
pulling away from him. In 1953 they had another falling-out during
Goodman's ill-fated tour with Louis Armstrong, which was produced by
John Hammond.[23] Goodman appeared on a 1975 PBS salute to Hammond but
remained at a distance. In the 1980s, following the death of Alice
Goodman, John Hammond and Benny Goodman, both by then elderly,
reconciled. On June 25, 1985, Goodman appeared at Avery Fisher Hall in
New York City for "A Tribute to John Hammond".[24]

[edit] Later years
Goodman continued to play on records and in small groups. One
exception to this pattern was a collaboration with George Benson in
the 1970s. The two had met when they taped a PBS salute to John
Hammond and re-created some of the famous Goodman-Charlie Christian
duets.[25] Benson later appeared on several tracks of a Goodman album
released as "Seven Come Eleven." In general Goodman continued to play
in the swing style he was most known for. He did, however, practice
and perform classical music clarinet pieces and commissioned some
pieces for the clarinet. Periodically he would organize a new band and
play a jazz festival or go on an international tour.

Despite increasing health problems, he continued to play the clarinet
until his death in New York City in 1986 at the age of 77. A longtime
resident of Pound Ridge, New York, Benny Goodman is interred in the
Long Ridge Cemetery, Stamford, Connecticut. The same year, Goodman was
honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[26] Benny
Goodman's musical papers were donated to Yale University after his
death.[3]

[edit] Discography
A Jazz Holiday (1928, Decca)
Benny Goodman and the Giants of Swing (1929, Prestige)
BG and Big Tea in NYC (1929, GRP)
Swinging '34 Vols. 1 & 2 (1934, Melodean)
Sing, Sing, Sing (1935, Bluebird)
The Birth of Swing (1935, Bluebird)
Original Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet Sessions, Vol. 1: After You've
Gone (1935, Bluebird)
Stomping at the Savoy (1935, Bluebird)
Air Play (1936, Doctor Jazz)
Roll 'Em, Vol. 1 (1937, Columbia)
Roll 'Em, Vol. 2 (1937, CBS)
From Spirituals to Swing (1938, Vanguard)
Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1938, Columbia)
Carnegie Hall Concert Vols. 1, 2, & 3 (Live) (1938, Columbia)
Ciribiribin (Live) (1939, Giants of Jazz)
Swingin' Down the Lane (Live) (1939, Giants of Jazz)
Featuring Charlie Christian (1939, Columbia)
Eddie Sauter Arrangements (1940, Columbia)
Swing Into Spring (1941, Columbia)
Undercurrent Blues (1947, Blue Note)
Swedish Pastry (1948, Dragon)
Sextet (1950, Columbia)
BG in Hi-fi (1954, Capitol)
Peggy Lee Sings with Benny Goodman (1957, Harmony)
Benny in Brussels Vols. 1 & 2 (1958, Columbia)
In Stockholm 1959 (1959, Phontastic)
The Benny Goodman Treasure Chest (1959, MGM)
The King Swings Star Line
Pure Gold (1992)
1935-1938 (1998)
Portrait of Benny Goodman (Portrait Series) (1998)
Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert '38 (1998)
Bill Dodge All-star Recording (1999)
1941-1955 His Orchestra and His (1999)
Live at Carnegie Hall (1999)

[edit] Samples
Download sample of "And the Angels Sing" by Benny Goodman and Martha
Tilton, a legendary swing recording that helped keep Goodman's career
afloat as the band members departed.

[edit] References
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 19.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 18.
^ a b JAZZ A Film By Ken Burns: Selected Artist Biography - Benny
Goodman. PBS (2001-01-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 26-34.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 35.
^ Collier, James Lincoln (1989). Benny Goodman and the Swing Era.
Oxford University Press.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 42.
^ a b 70 Years Ago: Goodman Opens at the Palomar (2005-08-20).
Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ BBC (2006-03-22). Jitterbug. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ a b Will Friedwald (2006-11-20). Arts and Letters: Peplowski Blows
Back to His Roots. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ Mike Joyce. The 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ David Rickert (2005-01-31). Benny Goodman: "Sing, Sing, Sing".
Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 366.
^ a b c Schoenberg, Loren (1995), "Liner Notes", Benny Goodman:
Undercurrent Blues
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 354.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 246-247, 250, 252, 324.
^ Donald Clarke. The Rise and Fall of Popular Music. Retrieved on
2007-02-30.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, p. 173.
^ a b Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times
of Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 296, 301-302, 401.
^ Charlie Dahan. Jazz Impressario: John Hammond. Retrieved on
2007-03-30.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 258-259.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 309-310.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 380.
^ John S. Wilson (1985-06-29). JAZZ FESTIVAL; BENNY GOODMAN JOINS JOHN
HAMMOND TRIBUTE. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
^ Firestone, Ross (1993). Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and Times of
Benny Goodman. New York: Norton, pp. 433-434.
^ Lifetime Achievement Award. The Recording Academy. Retrieved on
2007-04-02.

[edit] External links
Benny Goodman official site
Benny Goodman Biography at PBS Kids
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Goodman"
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musicians | 1909 births | 1986 deaths