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Music For America's Greatest Generation |
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Radio Stardust is a celebration of the greatest music, musicians and bandleaders from a golden era in American music history. In the 30's and 40's the Big Band craze swept the nation with some of the most memorable music of all time. |
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Benny Goodman was not the first to lead a successful big band, but he quickly earned the title "The King of Swing" and became an icon of the era.  Another giant of the day was Count Basie. Basie blended the smooth jazz sound into the context of a big band and the effect was like nothing else. And of course the music of the era would feel the effects of Glenn Miller's genius for many years to come. The new Miller band immediately attracted large audiences to their concerts and records. Beginning in June 1938, Miller dominated the top spot on various popular music charts for more than a year, with "In the Mood" holding the top spot for more than fifteen weeks at the beginning of 1940. "Tuxedo Junction" took over, keeping Miller at number one into the summer.  From 1939 to 1942, his band was featured three times a week during a broadcast for Chesterfield cigarettes. On February 10, 1942, RCA Victor presented Miller with the first ever gold record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo". By RCA accounting, the Glenn Miller Band had 22 recordings reach number one on the charts.
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Help Us Build The Music Library |
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Songs from The Big Band era are some of the most moving, unforgettable music of all time. Unfortunately, we've discovered it is also the most difficult to find. If you know of a resource that we could utilize to grow our music library, or if you would like to share music from your personal library, please get in touch. With your help, we can continue to share the music that saw American through some of its most difficult times. |
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