10 Favorite Benny Goodman Tracks
In 1938, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America. The concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City that year is described by critic Bruce Eder as “the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz’s ‘coming out’ party to the world of ‘respectable’ music”. It crowned Benny Goodman as the ‘King of Swing,’ and solidified his position in the annuls of history as one of the most important and influential musicians in history.
It is a recording from that concert, Swingtime In The Rockies, that is at the top of my 10 favorite Benny Goodman tracks of all time. But after the top spot, it gets pretty difficult to narrow down my next 9 favorite Benny Goodman tracks. So with a note of apprehention, I list out my 10 favorite songs from the King of Swing.
- Swingtime In The Rockies – Live at Carnegie Hall 1938
- St. Louis Blues – On The Air 37-38
- Bugle Call Rag – Chronological Classics 1936 Vol. 2
- Caprice Paganini XXIV – Chronological Classics 1941 Vol. 3
- Moonglow – Chronological Classics 1936 Vol. 2
- House Hop – Live at the Madhattan Room 1937
- All The Cats Join In – All The Cats Join In
- Roll ‘Em – On The Air 37-38
- Sweet Georgia Brown – The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings
- Mazel – Benny Goodman ’45 & ’47
What are some of your favorite Benny Goodman tracks?
DJ
Music is one of my sincerest passions. I have been a swing music aficionado since 1996, and haven’t looked back. From Goodman to Stout, Django to Pinetop, and Ellington to Miller, if they file it under swing at Canterbury Records, then I’m in! Classic big band swing is at the heart of my collection; its chock full of great tracks from Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and Artie Shaw. But I would be remiss if I stunted the description of my collection with only those selections. Small groups, boogie woogie, trad jazz and Gypsy have a happy home in my collection as well.
I like to view being a DJ like being the conductor of a train. The job is to take their passengers from A to B, and along the way provide them with an experience they won’t forget, filled with beauty, excitement, and wonder. The DJ is the conductor of an evening’s journey through music and dance. Taking the dancer from stop to stop, giving them the chance to get off where they wish, but hoping that the ride is just too good not keep going. This involves crafting a set that moves seamlessly from Lionel Hampton to Louis Prima to Django and on, taking my passengers to the familiar hot spots of Basie and Bechet, but pushing their musical boundaries, bringing them to new found hot spots like Edgar Hayes and Gene Kardos. The journey is a non-stop flight of excitement, thrill and musical seduction. My goal is to leave the dancing passengers wanting more.
My DJ experience is vast, some of the highlights include:
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- Camp Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)
- All Balboa Weekend (Cleveland, OH)
- Eastern Balboa Championships (Raleigh, NC)
- Balboa on the Promenade (Nice, FR)
- Northwest Balboa Fest (Seattle, WA)
- Inspiration Weekend (Orange County, CA)
- Sin City Exchange (Las Vegas, NV)
- San Francisco Lindy Exchange (San Francisco, CA)
- Lindy Groove (Pasadena, CA)
- ATOMIC Ballroom (Irvine, CA)
- Hiball Lounge (San Francisco, CA)
- 920 Special (San Francisco, CA)
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