Artie Shaw

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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.

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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."

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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.

He got work playing the clarinet for the Columbia Broadcast
System radio network. In nineteen thirty-six, he was given a chance
to form a small group and play at New York's famous Imperial Theater
on Broadway. His group was not the top band in the show. But the
crowd loved his music. This proved to a major step in his career.

Artie Shaw was always trying something new, something different.
He heard a young black woman sing and hired her for his band. This
was the first time that a black woman sang with white musicians.
Racial separation was the rule in many states. Artie Shaw did not
care.

The young singer was Billie Holiday. She would become very famous
within a few years. Listen as Billie Holiday sings with Artie Shaw's
band. This recording was made in nineteen thirty-eight. It is called
"Any Old Time."

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That same year, Artie Shaw and his
band recorded what would be one of their most popular songs. It sold
millions of records. It still sells several thousand each year. Shaw
was surprised that it became so popular. The song is "Begin the
Beguine" written by Cole Porter.

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Artie Shaw was well known before he recorded "Begin the Beguine."
But that record made him extremely famous. He and his band earned as
much as sixty thousand dollars each week. That was a huge amount of
money then. However, the fame caused problems for Shaw. He could not
go anywhere without being recognized. He no longer had a private
life.

Artie Shaw was married eight times. Two of his wives were Lana
Turner and Ava Gardner. They were the most famous and beautiful
Hollywood movie actresses of that time. Those marriages increased
his fame and made it even harder to have a private life. The fame
may have helped lead to the failure of his marriages.

His attempts to create better music also caused problems for
Artie Shaw. Many years later, he said people always wanted to hear
the old songs he had recorded. They did not want to hear new music
he was writing. He did not like playing the same old songs again and
again.

Critics have always said his playing was very special. Sometimes
Shaw did not follow the music. He would improvise. This means he
would play the music as he felt it. He often took a song that
everyone knew and changed it so it sounded very different.

Listen to Artie Shaw improvise with a song called "Stardust." It
was recorded in nineteen forty. It was another major hit for Shaw
and his band and sold millions of records.

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Artie Shaw made his last public appearance as a musician in
nineteen fifty-four. He said the struggle with fame and trying to
produce a perfect sound was destroying him. He was only forty-four
years old. He never played the clarinet again.

Artie Shaw wrote several books in his later years. He wrote
stories for magazines. He spoke about music at colleges and
universities. But he had very little to do with the world of
recording or music. During those years however, he received many
awards and honors for his music. These included a Hall of Fame award
from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Music experts will tell you that Artie Shaw was one of the best
of the big band leaders and musicians. Much of his work from so long
ago is still fresh and exciting today.

We leave you with one more Artie Shaw song. He recorded it in
nineteen forty. It is called "Blues." Listen as Artie Shaw makes his
clarinet fly.

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This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. Bob
Doughty was our engineer and I'm Doug Johnson. Listen again next
week for another People In America program in VOA Special English.