James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)" and "It's the Dreamer in Me". His other major recordings were "Tailspin", "John Silver", "So Many Times", "Amapola", "Brazil" ("Aquarela do Brasil"), "Pennies from Heaven" (with Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Frances Langford), "Grand Central Getaway", and "So Rare". He played clarinet on the seminal jazz standards "Singin' the Blues" in 1927 and the original 1930 recording of "Georgia on My Mind", which were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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Early life
Jimmy Dorsey was born on Leap Day 1904 in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, United States, the first son of Theresa Langton Dorsey and Thomas Francis Dorsey. His father, Thomas, was initially a coal miner, but would later become a music teacher and marching-band director. Both Jimmy and his younger brother, Tommy, were musically active during their childhoods, and by the age of seven, Jimmy was already playing with his father's band. He made his first public appearance at age nine while playing trumpet with J. Carson McGee's King Trumpeters in New York in 1913. He switched to alto saxophone in 1915 and then learned clarinet. Dorsey played an Albert system clarinet, as opposed to the more common Boehm system used by most of his contemporaries, including Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw.
With his brother Tommy on trombone, they formed Dorsey's Novelty Six, later called Dorsey's Wild Canaries, one of the first jazz bands to broadcast. In 1924, he joined the California Ramblers (based in New York City). He did much freelance radio and recording work throughout the 1920s. The brothers also appeared as session musicians on many jazz recordings. He joined Ted Lewis's band in 1930, with whom he toured Europe. The same year, he played clarinet on the iconic jazz standard "Georgia on My Mind" in 1930, with Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra, which featured Bix Beiderbecke on cornet. Dorsey married Jane Porter in 1928, and they had one daughter, Julia. Porter and Dorsey divorced in 1949.
Career
During his early days as a musician, Jimmy Dorsey performed with various ensembles and artists, including the Scranton Sirens, the California Ramblers, Red Nichols, Jean Goldkette, Frankie Trumbauer, Ben Pollack, and Paul Whiteman. He played the clarinet solo on the iconic 1927 jazz standard "Singin' the Blues", with the Frankie Trumbauer Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke (which would, a half-century later, be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame). After returning to the United States from his European tour, he worked briefly with Rudy Vallée and with several other bandleaders, and likewise with his brother Tommy—including starting their famed eponymous band. He appeared on at least seventy-five radio broadcasts, many of them with his brother. He was a member of Nat Shilkret's orchestra, on programs such as (starting in 1937) "The Music that Satisfies" (also known as the Chesterfield Quarter Hour). Glenn Miller arranged and played trombone on several early sessions that Dorsey and his brother made for OKeh Records, including "The Spell of the Blues", "Let's Do It", and "My Kinda Love"—all with Bing Crosby on vocals.
In 1927, the brothers created the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra and signed with OKeh Records. For some of their sessions, Glenn Miller would join them as trombonist, arranger, and composer, composing "Annie's Cousin Fannie", "Tomorrow's Another Day", "Harlem Chapel Chimes", and "Dese Dem Dose". Their first song to chart was "Coquette" with vocals from Bill Dutton in June, 1928. Their song, "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)", with vocals by Bing Crosby, was their first to reach the top ten charts. Despite their success, the brothers frequently disagreed over management of the band and their conflict would come to a head in May 1935 when, after an onstage disagreement, Tommy stormed off. Afterward, Jimmy continued the band, keeping the Dorsey Brothers name in hopes his younger brother would return; in September 1935, the Dorsey Brothers band became "Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra", and he signed with Decca Records. In December, 1935 Dorsey's first song with the band, "You Let me Down", would reach the charts. For the next two years, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra would provide accompaniment for Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall radio show. The band was featured on 73 programs, from December 1935 to July 1937; they also backed Crosby on his commercial recordings during this time. In 1936, Bing Crosby released the single "Pennies from Heaven" recorded with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra on Decca Records. The early band was considered more jazz-oriented than his brother's, and in response the band recorded instrumental swing classics: "Dorsey Stomp," "Tap Dancer's Nightmare," "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps," "John Silver" and "Dusk in Upper Sandusky," and included musicians such as Bobby Byrne, Ray McKinley, Donald Matteson and Skeets Herfurt along with vocalists Bob Eberly and Kay Weber.
Movie appearances and filmography
Dorsey appeared in a number of Hollywood motion pictures, including That Girl from Paris, Shall We Dance, The Fleet's In, Lost in a Harem with Abbott and Costello, I Dood It, and the biopic with his brother Tommy, The Fabulous Dorseys, in 1947.
In 1938, Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra also appeared in a movie short performing many of his hits, including "It's the Dreamer in Me", "I Love You in Technicolor", and "Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps".
Films in which Dorsey appeared
That Girl from Paris (1936)
Shall We Dance (1937)
Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (1938 short)
Birth of the Blues (1941)
The Fleet's In (1942)
I Dood It (1943)
Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
Lost in a Harem (1944)
Hollywood Canteen (1944)
The Fabulous Dorseys (1947)
Music Man (1948)
Make Believe Ballroom (1949)
Compositions
"Dixieland Band from Santa Claus Land"
"Mood Hollywood"
"Shim Sham Shimmy"
"So Many Times" – reached Billboard no. 20 in 1939, staying on the charts for one week; Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded the song, as well as Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra
"Beebe"
"Oodles of Noodles"
"John Silver" with Ray Krise, which reached no. 13 on Billboard in 1938, staying on the charts for 2 weeks
"Parade of the Milk Bottle Caps"
"Dusk in Upper Sandusky" with Larry Clinton
"Shoot the Meatballs to Me Dominick Boy" with Toots Camarata
"A Man and his Drums"
"Mutiny in the Brass Section
"Praying the Blues"
"Contrasts", his theme song
"Major and Minor Stomp"
"Hep-Tee Hootie (Juke Box Jive)" with Fud Livingston and Jack Palmer
"I Bought A Wooden Whistle"
"Tailspin" with Frankie Trumbauer, the classic jazz standard
"I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People)"
Number-one hits
Jimmy Dorsey had eleven No. 1 hits with his orchestra in the 1930s and the 1940s:
"Is It True What They Say About Dixie?"
"Change Partners"
"The Breeze and I"
"Amapola"
"My Sister and I"
"María Elena"
"Green Eyes"
"Blue Champagne"
"Tangerine"
"Bésame Mucho"
"Pennies from Heaven" with Bing Crosby
"So Rare", which went to the No. 2 position in 1957, and was on the record charts for 38 weeks.
In 1935, he had two more number ones as part of the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra: "Lullaby of Broadway" and "Chasing Shadows". His biggest hit was "Amapola", which was number one for ten weeks in 1941 on the Billboard pop singles chart.
Honors
In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service issued a Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey commemorative postage stamp.
In 2009, the Recording Academy added the 1942 recording of "Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)", by Jimmy Dorsey & His Orchestra, to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
V-Disc recordings
Dorsey and his band made a number of V-Discs when the program was in operation.
Julia, No. 117A, 1940
John Silver, No. 117B, 1940
The Breeze (Bob Eberly, vocal)/You, You Darlin' (Helen O'Connell, vocal), No. 217B, 1940
The Great Lie, No. 283A;Navy 63A, 1944
Sunset Strip, No. 326A; Navy 106A, 1944
Contrasts/Oh! What A Beautiful Mornin', No. 314A; Navy 94A, 1944
Grand Central Getaway/All the Things You Ain't, No. 391B, 1944
Long John Silver, No. 409B; Navy 189B, 1944
Jumpin' Jehosaphat, No. 470B; Navy 189B, 1944
Together, No. 514A; Navy 274A
Grammy Hall of Fame
Jimmy Dorsey's recordings were posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."