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I’m Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.Today we tell the story of a musician who led one of the mostpopular American bands during the nineteen thirties and forties.
His name was Artie Shaw. Listen for a few minutes to one of hismany hit songs. This one is called “Frenesi.” Artie Shaw plays theclarinet.
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On December thirtieth, two thousand four, Artie Shaw died after along sickness. He was ninety-four years old. He was the last greatmusician and bandleader of what has been called the “Big Band Era.”Some of the others were Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
In the nineteen thirties andnineteen forties Artie Shaw was one of the most popular musiciansand bandleaders in the United States. Just a few notes from hisclarinet could start people dancing. His music sold millions ofrecords.
It still is difficult to listen to an old Artie Shaw recordingand not tap your foot in time with the music. Or want to dance. Orsing along with his great sound.
Listen to Shaw on the clarinet and his band play part of a songrecorded in Hollywood, California in nineteen forty. It is called”Summit Ridge Drive.”
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Artie Shaw was born in New York City in nineteen ten. His namewas Arthur Arshawsky. His parents were poor immigrants who had cometo the United States from Eastern Europe. His family later moved toNew Haven, Connecticut.
At the age of fourteen, he began to play the saxophone and thenthe clarinet. From a very young age, Artie Shaw wanted to play hisclarinet better than anyone. He wanted his sound and music to beperfect. He worked at this task much of his life.
He began working as a professional musician when he was fifteen.He left home and began playing in bands across the United States.
In nineteen twenty-seven, young Artie Shaw traveled to Chicago,Illinois to hear the great trumpet player, Louis Armstrong. Heimmediately understood that Armstrong’s great jazz sound was thebeginning of something new and exciting. Artie left Chicago with agrowing interest in jazz music. Soon after, he moved to New YorkCity.
He got work playing the clarinet for the Columbia BroadcastSystem radio network. In nineteen thirty-six, he was given a chanceto form a small group and play at New York’s famous Imperial Theateron Broadway. His group was not the top band in the show. But thecrowd loved his music. This proved to a major step in his career.
Artie Shaw was always trying something new, something different.He heard a young black woman sing and hired her for his band. Thiswas the first time that a black woman sang with white musicians.Racial separation was the rule in many states. Artie Shaw did notcare.
The young singer was Billie Holiday. She would become very famouswithin a few years. Listen as Billie Holiday sings with Artie Shaw’sband. This recording was made in nineteen thirty-eight. It is called”Any Old Time.”
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That same year, Artie Shaw and hisband recorded what would be one of their most popular songs. It soldmillions of records. It still sells several thousand each year. Shawwas surprised that it became so popular. The song is “Begin theBeguine” written by Cole Porter.
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Artie Shaw was well known before he recorded “Begin the Beguine.”But that record made him extremely famous. He and his band earned asmuch as sixty thousand dollars each week. That was a huge amount ofmoney then. However, the fame caused problems for Shaw. He could notgo anywhere without being recognized. He no longer had a privatelife.
Artie Shaw was married eight times. Two of his wives were LanaTurner and Ava Gardner. They were the most famous and beautifulHollywood movie actresses of that time. Those marriages increasedhis fame and made it even harder to have a private life. The famemay have helped lead to the failure of his marriages.
His attempts to create better music also caused problems forArtie Shaw. Many years later, he said people always wanted to hearthe old songs he had recorded. They did not want to hear new musiche was writing. He did not like playing the same old songs again andagain.
Critics have always said his playing was very special. SometimesShaw did not follow the music. He would improvise. This means hewould play the music as he felt it. He often took a song thateveryone knew and changed it so it sounded very different.
Listen to Artie Shaw improvise with a song called “Stardust.” Itwas recorded in nineteen forty. It was another major hit for Shawand his band and sold millions of records.
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Artie Shaw made his last public appearance as a musician innineteen fifty-four. He said the struggle with fame and trying toproduce a perfect sound was destroying him. He was only forty-fouryears old. He never played the clarinet again.
Artie Shaw wrote several books in his later years. He wrotestories for magazines. He spoke about music at colleges anduniversities. But he had very little to do with the world ofrecording or music. During those years however, he received manyawards and honors for his music. These included a Hall of Fame awardfrom the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Music experts will tell you that Artie Shaw was one of the bestof the big band leaders and musicians. Much of his work from so longago is still fresh and exciting today.
We leave you with one more Artie Shaw song. He recorded it innineteen forty. It is called “Blues.” Listen as Artie Shaw makes hisclarinet fly.
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This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. BobDoughty was our engineer and I’m Doug Johnson. Listen again nextweek for another People In America program in VOA Special English.