swing era
Goodman's musical heyday
The swing era was a period in American music history, roughly 1935 to 1946, when big band jazz dominated popular culture.
Swing bands led by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie played danceable music with strong rhythmic drive and featured both ensemble arrangements and solo improvisation.
The era ended as smaller bebop combos and vocalists rose to prominence after World War II.
- Count BasieKansas City bandleader
- Cab CallowayScat-singing jazz bandleader
- big bandLarge jazz ensemble
- bandleaderDirector of musical ensemble
- jazzImprovisational American music genre
Duke Ellington · hot jazz · Cotton Club · Benny Goodman · saxophone · 1930s · Great Depression · Tin Pan Alley · Savoy Ballroom · juke joint · zoot suits · Glenn Miller · call-and-response · Lindy Hop · jitterbug · Harlem Renaissance · segregation · Ella Fitzgerald
- American musicjazz, blues, country music, rock, country
- music trendsBeatlemania, disco fever, streaming, rave culture, punk rock
- vintage stylesretro, antique, Victorian, Art Nouveau, mid-century modern
- jazzbebop, hard bop, soul jazz, cool jazz, post-bop
- dance historycourt dance, dance halls, speakeasies, discotheques, dance marathons
- swing bandsbig band, bandleader, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington