----Benny Goodman - The King Of Swing----

The Benny Goodman Story was a movie many jazz fans would cherish. It featured a truly, great clarinetist who was born in the late 1900's and lived till the 1980's. This 'King of Swing' was still around when they featured him in a movie which became a success in 1955. Steve Allen starred as Goodman in this classic.

His music included, 'Don Be That Way', 'Avalon', 'Sing, Sing, Sing', 'Stomping At The Savoy' and the favourites of the 20th century, 'Moonglow' (Kim Novak danced to it in the movie 'Picnic") and 'Memories Of You'. These melodies are the ones stamped and sealed in my memory after I learnt about his music from the movie. It was also the first time I learnt about Carnegie Hall.

Benny Goodman who was born in Chicago was a great influence and instilled the love for jazz in the average man. Singapore musicians were strongly influenced by his style too and the Capitol Cinema showed the movie to capacity crowd. I was a teenager then and Goodman started my love for jazz.

There are numerous sites on the Net about Benny Goodman.

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