ANNOUNCER:
I’m Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we
tell the story of a musician who led one of the most popular American bands
during the nineteen thirties and forties.
His name was Artie Shaw. Listen for a few minutes to one of his many hit
songs. This one is called “Frenesi.” Artie Shaw plays the clarinet.
(MUSIC)
On December thirtieth, two thousand four, Artie Shaw died after a long
sickness. He was ninety-four years old. He was the last great musician and
bandleader of what has been called the “Big Band Era.” Some of the others
were Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
In the nineteen thirties and nineteen forties Artie Shaw was one of the most
popular musicians and bandleaders in the United States. Just a few notes from
his clarinet could start people dancing. His music sold millions of records.
It still is difficult to listen to an old Artie Shaw recording and not tap
your foot in time with the music. Or want to dance. Or sing along with his
great sound.
Listen to Shaw on the clarinet and his band play part of a song recorded in
Hollywood, California in nineteen forty. It is called “Summit Ridge Drive.”
(MUSIC)
Artie Shaw was born in New York City in nineteen ten. His name was Arthur
Arshawsky. His parents were poor immigrants who had come to the United States
from Eastern Europe. His family later moved to New Haven, Connecticut.
At the age of fourteen, he began to play the saxophone and then the clarinet.
From a very young age, Artie Shaw wanted to play his clarinet better than
anyone. He wanted his sound and music to be perfect. He worked at this task
much of his life.
He began working as a professional musician when he was fifteen. He left home
and began playing in bands across the United States.
In nineteen twenty-seven, young Artie Shaw traveled to Chicago, Illinois to
hear the great trumpet player, Louis Armstrong. He immediately understood
that Armstrong’s great jazz sound was the beginning of something new and
exciting. Artie left Chicago with a growing interest in jazz music. Soon
after, he moved to New York City.
