Tommy Dorsey, livin' in a great big way

the long version

Swing has never gone out of style. It was the music the Greatest Generation danced to - and went to war to. No musician evokes those times more strikingly than Tommy Dorsey (1905-1956), whose trombone style and smash hits created legions of fans and influenced popular music for decades. Dorsey led a rich and complex life. After a harsh childhood in the coal mining towns of eastern Pennsylvania, the young trombonist rose to fame and fortune during the Jazz Age. With his brother Jimmy, Tommy Dorsey created one of the most popular bands of the era and played with such giants as Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller. But Dorsey's volcanic personality eventually erupted, and he went off to start his own band.