The Frankie Manning Foundation is pleased to welcome guest bloggers on a variety of subjects. Kicking off our new Lindy Hop DJ Corner is Michael Gamble:
HELLO, MICHAEL GAMBLE HERE
I want to talk to you, dancers and DJ’s, about my passion for big band music. Mostly, I want you to fall in love with it the way I have, and, if you’re a DJ, to take it upon yourself to make sure this stuff saturates the dance floor. I’m gonna make a lot of suggestions, over many posts, but this first one is just to get us rolling and introduce the topic.
IN THIS SERIES
I will present information in a simplified way that hopefully makes it easy to find. If you find that you are interested in certain details (“who’s that clarinet soloist??”) that are not listed, I welcome comments and questions, and will try to update/reply with information that may prove useful.
IN THIS POST
I will list big bands and songs alphabetically, cleverly avoiding the need to rank them in any subjective way.
I will include “big” bands of various sizes. And though there was a range, I’ll say a minimum of 10 musicians counts as “big” for this list.
I will include a spotify link to all the music at the bottom of the post.
GET THIS MUSIC AND PLAY IT
- Al Cooper & His Savoy Sultans – Sophisticated Jump
- Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds of Joy – Walkin’ and Swinging’
- Artie Shaw & His Orchestra – Everything Is Jumping’
- Benny Goodman & His Orchestra – Roll ‘Em
- Boots & His Buddies – Rhythmic Rhapsody
- Charlie Barnet – The Right Idea
- Chick Webb & His Orchestra – Blue Lou
- Count Basie & His Orchestra – Sent For You Yesterday
- Duke Ellington Orchestra- Stepping Into Swing Society
- Gene Krupa & His Orchestra – Boogie Blues
- Earl Hines & His Orchestra – Riff Medley
- Edgar Hayes & His Orchestra – Meet The Band
- Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra – Rockin’ Rollers’ Jubilee
- Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra – Christopher Columbus
- Glen Grey & The Casa Loma Orchestra – Little Brown Jug
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra – Johnson Rag
- Harry James Big Band – Rose Room
- Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra – Okay For Baby
- Larry Clinton & His Orchestra – Sugarcoat Stomp
- Lionel Hampton & His Orchestra – Till Tom Special
- Lucky Millinder Orchestra – How About That Mess
- Teddy Powell – Teddy Bear Boogie
- Teddy Wilson – Jumpin’ For Joy
- Will Bradley – All That Meat and No Potatoes
Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/Michael Gamble is a DJ, Musician, and dancer from Ashville, NC, and one of the organizers of Lindy Focus.
