Pick a Day

Benny Goodman Dies

Big band leader Benny Goodman dies at age 77.

Born Benjamin David Goodman in Chicago, on May 30, 1909, Goodman became one of the most celebrated and significant jazz musicians and composers of the 20th century. Goodman, the ninth of 12 children born into a poor Russian immigrant family, picked up his first clarinet at the age of 10. His introduction to music was at Chicago's Kehelah Jacob Synagogue, where he studied with Franz Schoepp of the Chicago Symphony. By the age of 12, Goodman was performing professionally with local jazz bands, and by 14, he had his union card. Throughout the late 1920s and into the 1930s, Goodman forged a successful career, displaying lightning-quick fingers and a seemingly innate talent for improvisation. His first album, A Jazz Holiday, released in 1928, featured band members that went on to become stars in their own right, not the least of which is Glenn Miller on the trombone. Jumping from Chicago to Los Angeles and finally to New York, Goodman played with some of the greatest jazz legends to ever record, including Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, and Bessie Smith. In 1934, he became the leader of his own 12-piece band. Despite these successes, neither Goodman nor his music was highly regarded by music critics or those who considered themselves "serious" music fans. The upbeat hot jazz that launched the Swing Era was fine for nightclubs and dance halls but not true art. However, Goodman ushered jazz into the mainstream when he and his racially integrated band took the stage at the prestigious Carnegie Hall on January 16, 1938. The crowd and the critics were won over by Goodman's exciting brand of jazz, which earned its rightful place as an art form in American culture. Long after the Swing Era came to an end, Goodman continued to write and perform. He experimented with bebop in the 1940s and he studied classical clarinet, but eventually returned to his beloved swing. He was rarely without his clarinet, affectionately called "one sweet licorice stick." Even while watching the World Series on television, Goodman found time to practice during the commercials. Near the end of the 20th century, Goodman began to receive the accolades befitting the accomplishments of his remarkable career. He received honorary doctorates from Bard College, Brandeis University, and Columbia University. He was a recipient of Kennedy Center Honors in 1982 and received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in 1986. On the summer day that Goodman dies of a heart attack, it seems altogether appropriate that he is doing just what would be expected: rehearsing for an upcoming show.

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