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/wmgamble/playlist/6GjOy5co9X6JqlPrK0YUHk
Michael Gamble is a DJ, Musician, and dancer from Ashville, NC, and one of the organizers of Lindy Focus.
