Category: 1930s
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Agustín Lara
About Ángel Agustín María Carlos Fausto Mariano Alfonso del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Lara y Aguirre del Pino, known as Agustín Lara, was a Mexican composer and performer of songs and boleros. He is recognized as one of the most popular songwriters of his era. His work was widely appreciated not only in Mexico but…
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Antonio Machín
About Antonio Abad Lugo Machín was a Spanish-Cuban singer and musician. His version of El Manisero, recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú’s orchestra, was the first million record seller for a Cuban artist. Although this was labelled a rhumba, it was in reality a son pregón, namely, a song based on a street-seller’s…
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Carlos Gardel
About Carlos Gardel was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential interpreters of world popular music in the first half of the 20th century. Gardel is the most famous popular tango singer of all time and is…
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Benny Carter
About Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career in the 1920s, he worked as an arranger including written charts for Fletcher Henderson’s big band that shaped the swing style. He had…
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Coleman Hawkins
About Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed “Hawk” and sometimes “Bean”, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, as Joachim E. Berendt explained: “there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn”. Hawkins biographer John Chilton described the prevalent styles of…
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Cole Porter
About Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in Hollywood films. Albums/Songs: The Film Musicals Collection: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers From This Moment On You’re the Top: Cole Porter in…
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Jimmie Lunceford
About James Melvin Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era. Albums/Songs: Jimmie Lunceford: Volume 4 1936 – 1937 Complete Edition For Dancers Only Harlem Shout The Classic Tracks Classic Jazz Archive: Jimmie Lunceford Strictly Lunceford Big Bands: Jimmie Lunceford Jimmie Lunceford – New York – Los Angeles – 1934…
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Charlie Christian
About Charles Henry Christian was an American swing and jazz guitarist. He was among the first electric guitarists and was a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra from August 1939 to June 1941. His single-string technique, combined…
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Rudy Vallee
About Hubert Prior Vallée, known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer. He was the first male singer to rise from local radio broadcasts in New York City to national popularity as a “crooner”. Albums/Songs: The Best of Rudy Vallee I’m Just a Vagabond Lover Collection The Voice That…
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Tommy Dorsey
About Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the “Sentimental Gentleman of Swing” because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. His theme song was “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You”. His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians.…
