Benny Goodman and His Orchestra
“Sing, Sing, Sing” is probably the most famous tune associated with Goodman, if not the entire Swing Era.
On July 6th 1937, band leader Benny Goodman, who also played clarinet, recorded New Orleans swing standard in Hollywood with his band.
It was originally a tune written by Louis Prima, and actually featured vocals, originally intending as a feature for singer Helen Ward. However, the talented band kept changing the tune at each of their performances, adding new choruses and quotes from other songs, to the point where it was almost unrecognizable. But the most recognizable part of the song is Gene Krupa’s drumming, which exists as a motif throughout the song. Ward recalls that one night Krupa refused to stop drumming when he got to the end of the third chorus and Goodman decided to pick up his clarinet and solo with him. The tune continued to change until it reached a length of eight minutes.
Helen Ward, singer, and Benny Goodman, band leader & clarinetist.
“Sing, Sing, Sing” is one of the most joyous songs and energetic big band classics of all time, and personally one of my all time favorites! I’ve played it numerous times throughout middle school/high school jazz band, and enjoyed every single second of it! Just the up-beat feel just makes you want to get up and move, and the connectedness of the whole band is really breathtaking, as if it’s a giant machine working all together!
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